Summer 2007 Edition

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Tidbits & Briefs

Festival Brings Campus Together

Taiko drummers kicked off festivities at Wulapalooza, an annual springtime celebration of art, music and planet Earth. It’s the Willamette version of Lollapalooza, a legendary 1990s music festival that encapsulated youth culture much as Woodstock did in the 1960s.

Two stages featured indie rock, Latin-funk, acoustic, bluegrass, fire dancers and TIUA break dancers, with a hand-painted psychedelic backdrop to the main stage. Original artwork and films were shown, and students mud wrestled, twirled hula-hoops and danced. A rubber duck race in the Mill Stream and used-clothing flea market raised money for nonprofits. Almost every student organization on campus participated.

“You know how Glee was the big thing for past students. Wulapalooza is like that for our generation,” says Marcie Kriebel ’07. “It’s a springtime experience where everybody gets together and has fun.”

Little Students on Campus

Willamette welcomed more than 100 children to campus on Kids Day, held May 1. Local elementary school children joined staff children for a day of creative learning as they explored science with the campus Chem Club, created origami with TIUA students, shot hoops with the basketball coach, got an up-close look at a fire truck, made music with student band members, and found Where the Wild Things Are through interactive play. The day closed with a forum for adults and students to discuss how adults can positively influence children.

Revvin’ on the Quad

This year’s Campus Picnic for faculty and staff gave a nod to the past as employees showed off classic cars. The picnic included games, ’50s music and automobiles on display, with the oldest car — a 1932 Batam Altered — belonging to Dave Berg, energy management systems coordinator (above). The self-proclaimed speed junkie feeds his car alcohol — “not the kind you drink” — and chose not to start the engine at the picnic, explaining, “It would set off every car alarm on campus.”

University’s First Archivist Preserves Past

The University’s first archivist was hired this year to care for Willamette’s history. Mary McKay collects, organizes and preserves historical records and memorabilia from across campus. “The community here values its history and recognizes the importance of preserving it,” McKay says. “People also have a sense of the importance of contemporary documents, that what you have now becomes tomorrow’s history.” Archival items have been largely unorganized since the school’s founding, and a distinct historical gap was created when fires in Waller Hall — in 1891 and 1919 — destroyed many documents, but from this year forward, the Glee lyrics, sepia photographs and dusty Wallulah yearbooks will receive proper care. The Class of 1957 has created an endowed scholarship for a student to work with McKay, and they continue raising funds for other archive initiatives.

MBA Students Help Local Nonprofits through PACE

Now in its ninth year, the PACE program at the Atkinson Graduate School of Management pairs teams of MBA students with local nonprofits to undertake collaborative projects.

Projects in 2007 included a feasibility study to expand business development operations for Mercy Corps Northwest, an assessment of the Job Connections Program for Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette, an assessment of the Salem Art Association to create a strategic development plan, and an enhancement of the “kettle drive” for the Salvation Army.

The program concluded with a new event, the Delivering Value for Society presentation and reception (above), held April 20 at the Salem Conference Center. The students who worked with Goodwill Industries were selected as the team who delivered the greatest value for the nonprofit partner.

Willamette Benefactor Passes Away

The Scene sadly reports the passing on June 4 of Hallie Ford, a Willamette University Life Trustee and a beloved benefactor. Hallie joined the board in 1975 and became a life member in 1996, the same year the WU presented her with an honorary degree. She celebrated her 102nd birthday in March.

Hallie has left a significant legacy at Willamette. Since 1974 she has given the University more than $14 million. Her most recent gift of $8 million provides half the funding for the new 46,000-square-foot academic building, Ford Hall, scheduled to open in fall 2010.

Hallie gave generously to numerous scholarships, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, facilities, library acquisitions, art and music endowments, the Hallie Ford Endowed Chair in Literature of the English Language and many other significant academic endeavors.

Condolences can be sent to the family in care of the Ford Family Foundation Scholarship Office, 440 E. Broadway, Suite 200, Eugene, OR 97401.

Read more and hear an interview with Museum Director John Olbrantz

Students Shine on Scholarship Recognition Day

Professors stepped aside and students stepped up on Student Scholarship Recognition Day, April 18. They offered papers, presentations and panels, theatre and music performances, original films and computer animation, music compositions, art exhibitions, a guided nature walk and a poetry reading in the Bistro. The annual event, modeled after professional conferences, celebrates the exemplary scholarship and artistic talent of Willamette students and demonstrates the depth of mentoring by professors. “We measure our success by theirs,” says Humanities and Fine Arts Librarian Doreen Simonsen, who served as this year’s coordinator.

Pulitzer Prize Winner Highlights Biology Centennial

Much has changed since Morton Peck was the biology department in 1908, laying the cornerstone of science education that would guide his beloved department for the next 100 years. The academic accomplishments, the caliber of biology faculty and students, and the diverse contributions of biology alumni are truly something to celebrate.

Edward O. Wilson will deliver the Biology Centennial Lecture, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. Wilson, the Pellegrino University Research Professor Emeritus at Harvard University and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is hailed as “the new Darwin” by Thomas Wolfe and as one of “America’s 25 Most Influential People” by Time magazine.

This event will open Reunion Weekend, Sept. 13–16, sponsored by the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations. A variety of fun events are planned to reunite former classmates and professors. As the date draws near, visit the biology centennial website for more information.

Campaign Update

By all measures, the Campaign for Willamette enjoyed a stunningly successful year. The endowment stands at $262 million, an increase of $87 million over the past five years and an increase of $20 million in just the last year.

Through the generosity of alumni and friends, the campaign has raised more than $96 million toward its $125 million goal, including $23 million raised this fiscal year — the largest amount raised in a single year in the history of the University.

Highlights include nearly $4 million in scholarship support, nearly $7 million for academic excellence initiatives, more than $11 million for facilities, and a record $1.3 million in giving through the Willamette Fund.

Dempsey Foundation Funds New Endowed Chair

The Dempsey Foundation has given $1.5 million to endow the Dempsey Chair in Environmental Policy and Politics, an endowed chair in the Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences in Willamette’s College of Liberal Arts. The chair strengthens the University’s commitment to interdisciplinary and collaborative teaching and research in environmental science. The chair holder will coordinate the nationally recognized Dempsey Environmental Lecture Series, which focuses on concerns such as forest management, sustainability and conservation.

Heather K. Dempsey ’97 graduated from the environmental and earth sciences department and has been a University trustee since 2004. She presented a gift of $500,000 on behalf of the Dempsey Foundation at the May 12 Board of Trustees meeting. The gift will be added to an earlier donation of $1 million, which established the Dempsey Environmental Science Fund in 2004.

The first holder of the Dempsey Chair is Professor Joe Bowersox, who has taught politics at Willamette since 1993 and served as chair of the University’s Sustainability Council since 2004.

“The timing of this gift is particularly meaningful,” says President M. Lee Pelton. “Willamette is now part of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, a pledge to broaden our pedagogy to involve students and faculty in the challenges of climate change and its influence on global ecological and social systems. Additionally, Willamette was recently recognized for our commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility in the construction and design of Kaneko Commons…. With these efforts in mind, we believe the Dempsey Chair in Environmental Policy and Politics is the perfect match for Willamette University.”

The University has 17 endowed chairs: 10 in CLA, two in the College of Law, four in the Atkinson Graduate School of Management and one that rotates among the three schools. Endowed chairs, awarded to faculty members who exemplify the highest standards of scholarship, offer financial assistance with publication, collaborative research and programmatic enhancements.

New Loan Program for Public Interest Lawyers

The College of Law has rolled out a new loan program for law graduates interested in pursuing careers in public interest law. The Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) helps College of Law graduates working in public interest law by reducing their law school student loan debt. The program is made possible by a generous contribution from WUCL graduate W. Parker Lee JD’01.

Under the program, the College of Law will lend eligible candidates money to help them repay their student loans. If a loan recipient works in a qualifying public interest position for at least one year after receipt of the LRAP, the loan may be forgiven. Eligible graduates may apply annually for a total of three years of LRAP funding and loan forgiveness.

Willamette’s LRAP is open to all WUCL alumni who graduated after April 2005 and are working in public interest law. Graduates may apply within three calendar years, beginning the November following their graduation.

For more information, visit the College of Law website, call 503-370-6057 or email law-LRAP@willamette.edu.

Summer at the Museum Focuses on Music

Music dominates two vastly different exhibitions showing this summer at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

On display until Aug. 26 in the Melvin-Henderson Rubio Gallery will be Ken Butler: Hybrid Visions, a collection of about 60 found objects that have been transformed into working musical instruments. Butler is a mixed-media artist who creates humorous and inventive hybrid instruments, including film-reel guitars, cowboy-boot violins, axe cellos and Styrofoam-packaging pianos.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the “Summer of Love” — when thousands flocked to San Francisco for free love, drugs and rock ’n’ roll — the museum will host an exhibition that chronicles the history of rock posters in the Bay Area during the late 1960s and early 1970s. When 6 Was 9: Rock Posters from San Francisco, 1966–71 will be on display until Aug. 26 in the Studio Gallery and Print Study Center. The exhibition features 56 posters that promoted the concerts of legendary performers like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead.

The museum will be closed Aug. 27 to Sept. 30 for renovations and will re-open Oct. 1.

New Vice President Named

Madeleine Eagon Rhyneer is the new vice president for admission and financial aid at Willamette effective July 1.

“We are pleased to welcome Madeleine to our community,” says President Lee Pelton. “She fills a critical position within the senior administration. Her 29 years of experience in this highly competitive field will serve us well as Willamette continues to attract the very best students to our campus.”

Rhyneer is vice president for Strategic Communications at DePauw University. During her 11 years there, she held the position of vice president for Admission and Financial Aid for nine years. Before DePauw, she was director of admission at Whitman College from 1985–95, having served as assistant director and then associate director from 1978–85. She is a Whitman alumna.

“Having grown up in the Seattle area, I always had a very high opinion of Willamette University, and my respect for the outstanding educational experience provided by the University has deepened over the years,” Rhyneer says. “Colleges are really all about people, and I am tremendously impressed by the energy and commitment of the students, faculty members and administrators at Willamette.”

Rhyneer will be responsible for all admissions activities for the College of Liberal Arts and the Master of Arts in Teaching Program in the School of Education. Her staff reviews approximately 3,100 student applications a year and oversees an annual combined operating budget for the Offices of Admission and Financial Aid of $1.6 million, with total financial aid awards of $27 million.

Oregon Hispanic Bar Association Honors DeMuniz

Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul J. DeMuniz JD’75 was honored by the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association (OHBA) during the association’s first-ever awards dinner, Feb. 2 in Portland. DeMuniz received the inaugural OHBA Professionalism Award, which was named in his honor.

According to OHBA President Kevin Diaz, the association named the award for DeMuniz, Oregon’s first Latino chief justice, because he exemplifies the true spirit of professionalism and has made significant contributions to Oregon’s Hispanic community.

“DeMuniz has had a long and distinguished career as an advocate in complex criminal and civil trials, helped ensure access to justice for all Oregonians, and worked for international judicial reform,” Diaz says. “The chief justice is widely respected within the legal community.”

Professors Head to Retirement

The University said goodbye this spring to three retiring faculty members: Lane McGaughy in religious studies, Arthur Payton in chemistry and Loren McBride in psychology.

McGaughy has served as the Atkinson Chair of Religious and Ethical Studies since it was created in 1981. He taught courses on the New Testament, ancient Greek, the Bible in the American tradition, religions of late antiquity and applied ethics. “I’m not really retiring,” says McGaughy, who is writing three books and co-authoring a fourth. “I’m just changing my focus from teaching to writing.”

Payton, research professor of chemistry, came to Willamette in 1962 and taught applied group theory, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. His favorite part of being a professor was working with students and staying in touch with them after graduation. “Working is like driving a car,” he says, “but being a professor is like driving a Cadillac.”

University Mourns Loss of Atkinson Graduate

The University community was shocked to learn of the tragic death of Kuon Phou MBA’05 just days before his marriage to Alexandra Ness MBA’05.

Phou drowned Tuesday, May 8, while trying to save his brother and friends caught in a riptide off Polo Beach in Maui, where family and friends had gathered for the couple’s wedding, scheduled for Saturday, May 12.

“That’s the way he was,” Elliot Maltz, associate professor of marketing at AGSM, told The Oregonian. “They were both like that. They just put themselves out for others. They had real purpose … and wanted to make the most of life.”

The four people, including Phou’s brother, were rescued by two local men with surfboards.

According to the couple’s website, which has since been taken down, Phou and Ness met in September 2003 during orientation at the Atkinson Graduate School of Management. While they were in all the same classes that first year, they waited until after final exams to go on their first date. They were engaged during a European vacation in June 2006.

Fraternity Brothers Bike Across U.S.

Four years in college provides countless valuable lessons, but 48 days biking across the country completely changes your life.

That’s what Alex MacKenzie ’06, Kevin Dean ’06 and Wes Randall ’06 discovered after completing a 3,200-mile bicycle journey from San Diego to Miami earlier this year. “This reinforced my belief that I can do anything I want,” MacKenzie says. “There’s no task too big, it’s just a matter of time and determination.”

The three former Willamette football players were honoring their Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity brother Kalan Morinaka, who died last fall from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). When they reached Miami Beach, they spread some of Morinaka’s ashes in the Atlantic Ocean. They also used the trip to raise money for the ALS Association, with help at home from Jon Irizarry ’06. So far, they have raised more than $18,000.

“I feel like I’ve changed a lot, not just in the period of riding, but from the moment we found out Kalan was diagnosed,” Randall says. “I know that I should do anything I can right now, and not worry about tomorrow.”

The riders had numerous unforgettable experiences — from singing karaoke with Elks Lodge members in Arizona, to watching cows run alongside them for miles in West Texas, to viewing Hurricane Katrina’s destruction of the Gulf Coast. “The people we met were selfless,” Dean says. “We saw a vast spectrum of how different people live.”

The three men were featured in May on the cover of The Record, the national SAE magazine. From here, Randall and Irizarry plan to study to become EMTs/paramedics, MacKenzie hopes to find a business management job in the Northwest, and Dean heads to the University of Colorado at Boulder this fall to pursue a PhD in biochemistry.

Read their online trip blog or donate to their cause

First “Buzz” Yocom Award Presented

Though the Class of 2007 never had the opportunity to know Richard “Buzz” Yocom ’49, stories of his legendary commitment to Willamette from alumni, faculty and staff have kept Buzz alive on campus. So when the class was asked to nominate a faculty or staff member who exemplified that extraordinary service, they knew exactly who to look for.

At the first annual Senior Dinner, the Class of 2007 and the WU Alumni Association Board honored Jim Booth ’64, senior director of alumni relations, with the inaugural Richard A. “Buzz” Yocom Award. Booth served on the Alumni Board of Directors, on the Board of Trustees and with Sigma Chi before joining the Alumni Office in 1989. “I’ve always believed that Willamette’s distinction is due in part to its personal relationships,” Booth says. “Having known Buzz as well as I did, to even be mentioned in the same breath is an honor that is hard for me to imagine.”