EDITOR’S NOTE:
This story has been edited from its original printed form.
For more on the correction, please see the note at the end of this article.
University alumni and first-time visitors will come together in a traditional building on the east corner of campus, pending University President Dave Frohnmayer’s approval.
University of Oregon Alumni Association President Cheryl Ramberg Ford and her husband made the initial $5 million donation in June 2006 that launched a private donation drive with the ultimate goal of $20 million.
“The campaign really got underway with that gift,” said Alumni Center Program Manager Kathie Bedbury. “We essentially embarked on a process to raise funds to plan for and ultimately build the Alumni Center.”
The most recent development in those plans took place Feb. 22 at a Campus Planning Committee meeting, at which CPC members reviewed and put forward to Frohnmayer a plan to make the proposed construction site official. Upon approval, committee members will begin the search for an architect.
An architect should be secured by the end of spring term. The anticipated completion of fundraising is fall 2008, and the exact construction timeline will be set after that. The schedule will be partially driven by other construction projects in that area and around campus.
“The construction timetable will really depend on the design and the fundraising timetables,” Bedbury said. “It will depend on the University’s ability to support this construction.” She pointed out that there are several planning and construction projects underway right now, and that all Alumni Center plans are tentative.
The chosen site, along Franklin Boulevard between 13th and Agate Streets, will also host the proposed Academic Learning Center. Bedbury said the academic center is not an obstacle for the CPC because no conceptual site mappings or drawings of the Alumni Center have been done yet.
Since Ford announced her donation, donors have made several “major gift level” donations – amounts exceeding $25,000. There have also been signed or verbal commitments for another $3 million. The campaign committee, chaired by Ford, hopes to hit the $10 million mark by this fall.
The Alumni Center will have three main components: housing for the Alumni Association, the Foundation, and the Office of Development; a University welcome center; and an eastern University gateway.
Bedbury said the first component will put all of Oregon’s outreach programs in one place and allow them to appropriately work together, providing more “synergy.”
She said the welcome center component will provide visitors with a designated first stop when they arrive on campus for the first time.
The eastern gateway will serve as a “front door for the University,” Bedbury said.
The Alumni Center campaign said that in addition to complementing the campus, the center is crucial to the University’s success because of its central role in outreach efforts and personal connections.
Frohnmayer said he supports the campaign because “Oregon’s continued success depends upon our ability to make and sustain a strong connection with our students, alumni, donors, and visitors.” He said the Alumni Center will go a long way toward serving that need.
Bedbury said the center is also necessary for competitive purposes.
“Other Universities have found alumni centers make a dramatic difference in a university’s ability to continue successful outreach, raise funds, engage alumni and keep them connected,” she said. “It’s no secret that we’re in the minority of universities without an alumni center, because they provide a very critical tool for outreach efforts.”
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CORRECTION:
Because of a reporter’s error the article in Monday’s Emerald (“Alumni Center proposed for east corner of campus”) misstated the construction timeline for the Alumni Center. The anticipated completion of fundraising is fall 2008, and the exact construction timeline will be set after that. The schedule will be partially driven by other construction projects in that area and around campus. The Emerald regrets the error.