A group of Oregon philanthropists is bringing new hope to students during a dark period of budget cuts to higher education in the form of a $12 million donation for scholarships.
University President Dave Frohnmayer announced the gifts, which will fund about 100 scholarships per year, at a press conference in Portland on Wednesday. He said the funds, donated by 15 alumni and University supporters, exemplify the generosity of the University’s “family and friends.”
“The generosity of our donors ensures that the University of Oregon can continue to attract the state’s best and brightest students and that all qualified students, regardless of family income, can enjoy the opportunities that result from a University of Oregon education,” he said in a University press release.
The funds include a pledge from Ann and Bill Swindells Charitable Trust of Portland that will fund 32 Presidential Scholarships per year. William Swindells is a 1979 University graduate and is president of the University Foundation, which manages private gifts given to the University.
According to the release, graduates of Oregon high schools in areas where former building materials and paper products company Willamette Industries operated will receive preference for those scholarships.
“Oregon’s past includes a heritage in natural resources, but its future is in the knowledge economy, so we need educated citizens,” Swindells said in the release.
Freshman Babak Ghafarzade received a Presidential Scholarship from the Swindells trust, which he said gives him the time to explore various subjects and classes because he doesn’t have to work to put himself through school.
“I’m trying to kind of get my feet wet wherever I can,” he said, adding that he can also continue to participate in extracurricular activities as he did in high school. “It just gives you time and freedom to do other things.”
He added that with one brother in college and another on the way, the money will help take the financial burden off his family.
In addition to the gift from the Swindells trust, five donors gave $8.45 million toward Presidential Scholarships, and three donors contributed $925,000 toward Dean’s Scholarships. Eight donors also gave $2.6 million to support specific University schools and college scholarships, according to the release.
Freshman Dana Harlan, who also received a Presidential Scholarship, said the money her parents had saved for her college fund can now go toward graduate school.
Harlan, who achieved junior status by taking college credit courses in high school, said the funds have given her the time to develop more meaningful relationships with other students now that she doesn’t need to keep a job throughout college.
“I’ve been able to make a lot more friends,” she said. “I just feel like I have more time to do more self-growth type of things.”
The University currently awards about 200 Presidential Scholarships a year at about $5,400 each, and about 3,400 students receive the Dean’s Scholarships, which vary from $500 to $5,000, Director of Admissions Martha Pitts said. Scholarship money comes either directly from actual funds or from fee remissions, she added.
The $12 million will be placed in endowments where it will accrue interest that will continuously fund scholarships, she said.
“This will affect students for many, many years,” she said, adding that it is important to maintain and protect the endowments to ensure students always have access to scholarship funds.
The donations count toward the University’s Campaign Oregon: Transforming Lives initiative, which has an overall goal of raising $600 million to support students, faculty, programs and facilities, according to the release. The campaign will formally kick off next year when directors will announce its progress.
Campaign Oregon Vice Chairman Tim Boyle, who is also chief executive officer of Columbia Sportswear Co., noted the importance of college graduates to Oregon’s economic health.
“In the next few decades, new and existing businesses will need thousands of college-educated employees,” Boyle said in the release, adding that it is up to universities to provide graduates to support and draw in businesses. “This is critical for Oregon’s future prosperity.”