EUGENE, Ore. -- (Feb. 23, 2010) -- The University of Oregon has raised $75.6 million in private gifts in just more than seven months of the 2009-2010 fiscal year, President Richard Lariviere announced today.
That puts it on track to far exceed its annual goal of $90 million to $100 million, which could make this one of the university's best fundraising years of the past decade.
"These wonderful gifts demonstrate that, despite a challenging economy, supporters of the University of Oregon are making investments in higher education a high priority," said Lariviere. "The contributions have a profound effect on the quality of education we can offer our students."
"We are truly grateful to our donors for their ongoing support despite the economic challenges we all face in these times," he added.
If the university continues to bring in gifts at the same pace, the fiscal year's total could exceed all but one or two of the annual fundraising sums in UO history. The highest one-year total was $277.9 million in fiscal year 2007-2008. But that total was boosted by two extraordinary gifts-$100 million from Phil and Penny Knight for athletics and $74.5 million from Lorry Lokey for academic purposes. The second highest year was 2008-2009, with a total of just over $129 million.
The university's fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
Lariviere cited two recent $5 million gifts-one for journalism and one for business-as examples of how donors are helping to improve the university.
A $5 million gift from an anonymous donor to the School of Journalism and Communication will fund a new endowed chair in journalism innovation and civic engagement. The other $5 million gift, from Hope Anstett of Las Vegas, Nev., a 1955 UO business graduate, to the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business will help renovate Gilbert Hall.
During its last formal fundraising campaign, Campaign Oregon: Transforming Lives, the university raised more than $853 million in eight years for support of students, faculty members, programs and facilities. The campaign ended in 2008, but private gifts remain one of the primary sources of support for improvements in the quality of teaching and research at the UO, Lariviere said.
The endowed chair in journalism will enable the school to hire a nationally recognized thought leader with professional experience who will guide students and the communications industry in redefining journalism to meet the many challenges faced by the industry today.
"It's an exciting time to be a journalism student," said Tim Gleason, Edwin L. Artzt Dean of the UO School of Journalism and Communication. "In this time of historic change in journalism and communication, our graduates are discovering new ways to use technology to inform the public. They will be the entrepreneurs, finding new revenue streams to fund journalism. Journalism schools must create opportunities for students to experiment, partner with industry and incubate new ideas. Thanks to this visionary gift, the UO will be a leader in this venture."
The chair will be involved with undergraduate and graduate journalism programs both on campus and at the school's George S. Turnbull Center in Portland. The chair will also be the focal point for a future interdisciplinary center for journalism innovation and civic engagement in the UO journalism school, Gleason said.
Hope Anstett's gift to the business college will help launch a $6.5 million renovation of Gilbert Hall, a 1921 building that is part of the Lillis Business Complex. The complex includes the stunning LEED-certified Lillis Hall, which opened in 2003, and Peterson Hall, another historic building that was completely renovated in 2007.
Lundquist College of Business Dean Dennis Howard says construction will begin on the Gilbert Hall renovation in April and is expected to be completed in about a year. The building will be closed during renovation.
The university intends to rename the building Anstett Hall in honor of Hope Anstett and her husband, Joseph, who died in 2008. Both 1955 graduates in business from UO, the Anstetts married the day after graduation. Joseph worked for Silver State Disposal Inc. in Las Vegas for 37 years, first as an accountant and later as president and chief executive officer.
The plaza surrounded by Lillis Hall and the two historic wings will be permanently named in honor of James Gilbert, professor of economics and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences during the first half of the 20th century.
The Anstetts have been long-time supporters of the Lundquist College of Business. They gave $1 million to the Lillis Hall construction fund in 2001 for the Anstett Family Accounting Suite and have supported the accounting department and the Business Investors Fund. In 2008, Hope Anstett gave $1 million to establish a scholarship endowment in memory of her husband.
"I have very strong feelings for the university and the business college," said Anstett, who, with her husband, took classes in Gilbert Hall in the 1950s. "I thought this gift would be a good way to complete the Lillis Business Complex and provide a lasting memory of my husband. After I saw Peterson Hall, I knew what could be done with renovation."
The Anstett gift "is going to have enormous ramifications for us immediately," said Howard. "We are growing rapidly. We're running out of space. We simply don't have enough offices and classrooms to accommodate this growth. Our ability to renovate and modernize the Gilbert wing is crucial."
Enrollment in the business college, including minors and pre-majors, has grown from 2,661 students in 2000 to 4,377 students in 2009, an increase of 64 percent.
The Gilbert Hall renovation will be very similar to the remodeling of its mirror image across the courtyard, Peterson Hall. The historic exterior will be preserved, but the inside will be essentially gutted and replaced with new classrooms and faculty offices, technology upgrades and sustainable design elements.
The first floor will provide four medium-size classrooms and four faculty offices for general university use. The second and third floors will house business faculty offices and the relocated Anstett Family Accounting Suite.
Howard noted that all three wings of the Lillis Business Complex have been funded almost entirely with private gifts and that the projects have provided numerous classrooms, conference rooms and offices for general university use.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 62 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.
Contact: Julie Brown, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu
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