Portland State Magazine Fall 2015

FALL 2015 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 27 Athletics IN 1990, a group of Nancy Ryles’ friends came up with a plan to honor her long legacy of public service and her advocacy for education, women and human rights. When they told Ryles they were creating a scholar- ship in her name, she insisted that it go to students who returned to school at PSU after their education was interrupted. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Nancy Ryles Scholarship, which has been shepherded through the years by many of the same friends who launched it. Together, they have celebrated Ryles’ unique accomplishments in state and local government. Ryles, who died in September 1990, was elected to the Beaverton School Board in 1972 and then served in the Oregon Legislature. She was later the first woman appointed to the Oregon Public Utility Board. Nearly 40 women have been awarded the scholarship, which is renewable and will provide $8,000 for the 2015-16 school year, the equivalent of a full year’s tuition. For some students, the scholarship has been the difference between earning a degree and dropping out of school. “I just don’t know how some people do it, even if you have a scholarship,” says Joan Johnson ’78, Hon.D. ’02, a longtime friend who helped create the scholarship. “A lot of them are working and raising a family. It seems impossible.” But the recipients say they get far more out of the schol- arship than smaller tuition bills. They are welcomed into the community of Ryles’ friends and other scholarship supporters who gather each year for a dinner that includes recipients. Michelle deParrie received a Ryles scholarship in 2013 while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in child and family studies in the School of Social Work. She says that joining the Ryles community has been an unexpected bonus to the scholarship. “It’s incredible, year after year, maintaining that connec- tion,” says deParrie. “It’s really powerful.” RYLES GREW UP in Portland and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1955. She dropped out of Willamette Univer- sity after one year, got married in 1957 and had two children. Ryles served in the legislature for eight years, where she helped pass a bill in 1981 that mandated public kindergarten in Oregon. She was also a vocal supporter of girls’ sports and hiring more female principals and administrators. One reason Ryles wanted the scholarship to go to students whose educations were interrupted is because her own college experience ended when she had a family, says Martha DeLong, a friend who worked for Ryles in Salem. “I think that she always wished that she had finished,” DeLong says. To make a gift to the Nancy Ryles Scholarship, please go to portlandstate-foundation.org/nancy-ryles-scholarship . THE PSU FOUNDATION is committed to supporting Portland State’s mission to be a leading public university and strives to fulfill the philanthropic needs of the university. Gifts to PSU support academic excellence, cutting-edge research, exceptional faculty and valuable community partnerships. Philanthropy has the ability to transfrom PSU. – written by Steve Beaven, development writer in the PSU Foundation  Scholarship supports returning students Giving The Nancy Ryles Scholarship helped Michelle deParrie graduate in 2014—a proud day for her daughters Jeanne (left) and Lydia.