The University announced $3.1 million in donations for international scholarships Wednesday, the largest-ever gifts for study abroad and international student programs.
Three donations from alumni will endow scholarships for international relations majors studying abroad, establish a travel fund for international internships and create scholarships for students traveling to and from China.
University President Dave Frohnmayer said the donations represented the significance the University places on “the international experience” and the need for students to become good global citizens.
Steve Durrant, vice provost for international affairs, said 25 percent of University undergraduates study abroad. When announcing the donations at the Mills International Center Wednesday, Durrant said he often thinks back to when he first studied abroad 45 years ago.
“We must be filled with gratitude for people like you who are making this a possibility,” he said of the donors.
Judy Fosdick Oliphant, a 1962 alumna who studied foreign languages, gave $500,000 to endow scholarships for international studies majors studying abroad. Oliphant, who now resides in Lafayette, Calif., has visited 100 countries, which “speaks to the centrality of international issues in her own life,” Frohnmayer said.
Richard and Gerri Leeds of Irvine, Calif., gave more than $1 million to create an international travel fund in their names that will provide stipends for students interning and studying abroad. Seventy-five percent of the endowment will support interns in developing nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The Leedses will match any donations to the fund made by others.
“Small gifts can have great impact,” Richard Leeds said in a press release. “Assistance can be one person at a time.”
A $1.6 million charitable trust from Timothy and Virginia Cha Foo will endow a scholarship for movement of exceptional students between China and the University, Frohnmayer said.
Students from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as University students studying in those areas, will be eligible for the Dr. Cha Chi Ming International Scholarship, named after Virginia Foo’s father.
The Foos, who now live in San Francisco, met while studying at the University as international students from Hong Kong. They married after Virginia Foo earned a Bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1971, Frohnmayer said.
Timothy Foo said in a prepared statement that he and his wife “would like to see more students coming to the UO from greater China. We received scholarships from the university, and we want to help make sure money will be available for other international students.”
International studies professor Dennis Galvan is currently with a group of students in Senegal. “I’m on the ground participating in the kind of program your generosity will make accessible to more students,” he said in a message to donors.
The University sponsors more than 150 study abroad programs in more than 90 countries, according to its Web site, and international students make up six percent of the student body.
Allan Price, vice provost for University advancement, said the Campaign Oregon fundraising effort has now exceeded $800 million.
“You remember our goal was $600 million, so we missed,” Price joked.
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