Portland State Magazine Winter 2013

24 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE WINTER 2013 A RECORD $1 MILLION was raised and Stephanie Fowler, Irving Levin, Arlene Schnitzer, Jordan Schnitzer, and Travis Knight were honored at the Simon Benson Awards Dinner in October. Nearly 1,700 people turned out to celebrate the award recipients and listen to actress Diane Keaton, keynote speaker. The event owed much of its success to co-chairs Kimberly Cooper and Ken Thrasher. The Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund matched $100,000 in scholarship gifts, raising a total of $270,300 for scholarships. At the event, PSU President Wim Wiewel announced that Levin and Fowler have funded a new Graduate School of Education scholarship. More than 60 students have benefited from a University-wide scholarship the couple previously created. Levin is executive chairman of Genesis Financial Solutions and chairman of Digital Divide Data. Fowler is an award-winning journalist and psychotherapist. Jordan Schnitzer, president of Harsch Investment Properties, his mother, Arlene, and his late father, Harold Schnitzer, have been philanthropic forces in Oregon for decades. The Schnitzer family has contributed more than $1.6 million to PSU, making it possible to hire the first tenured faculty member in Judaic Studies, and also create the James DePreist Visiting Professorship in Ethnic Art. Knight ’98, winner of the Alumni Achievement Award, is president and CEO of Laika, the Hillsboro animation studio that produced the films Coraline and ParaNorman . Knight earned a bachelor’s degree in social science from Portland State. His wife, Donna, is also a PSU graduate. Read more about Knight on page 10. Honoring those who give and achieve Giving TOP: Travis Knight ’98 (far right), receives the Alumni Achievement Award. He is joined by (left to right) parents Penny and Phil Knight and wife Donna Knight ’99. MIDDLE: Stephanie Fowler and Irving Levin pose with actress Diane Keaton. Fowler and Levin won Simon Benson Awards for funding student scholarships. BOTTOM: Jordan Schnitzer accepts Simon Benson Awards from President Wim Wiewel for himself and his mother, Arlene Schnitzer, recognizing their longtime philanthropy.