Dear friends of OSU:

I’m grateful that many of you — more than 500 guests in total! — were able to join us for last night’s launch of our second university-wide campaign. In case you missed it, I want to ensure you – as OSU donors, alumni, parents and friends – are among the first to hear the announcements made at the event.

Believe It: The Campaign for Oregon State University was publicly announced at a dinner on the historic MU Quad, having already raised over $1 billion in five years (or $1,004,524,319 to be exact) toward our $1.75 billion goal. Donor support in this campaign will advance student access and success across all OSU campuses and Ecampus, and support faculty excellence, research and discovery that serve Oregon and the world.

In addition to fundraising, the Believe It campaign also focuses on inspiring our community of alumni, parents and friends to connect and engage with OSU. This matters because the university can’t achieve its goals alone. Volunteers recruited through the campaign, for example, will serve as career mentors for students, provide advice to university leaders on various committees and boards; serve as advocates for the university in Salem and Washington, D.C.; and help the university advance inclusive excellence and a sense of belonging by proactively engaging alumni from diverse backgrounds in the life of the university. In short, your work in helping us advance all the amazing things happening at the university, and tell the world about it, makes an enormous difference. Thank you.

The Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex positions OSU to solve global challenges 

We were delighted to share the news that OSU’s new 150,000-square-foot advanced research and education facility will be named the Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex in recognition of the alumni couple’s $50 million gift in support of the new center on the Corvallis campus. A total of $100 million in private gifts has been committed to the $200 million project.

The Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex will change the trajectory of OSU and the state of Oregon forever because it will position the university to solve global challenges in fields where we are already internationally recognized, including climate science, oceanography, sustainability and water resources. To help accomplish this, the center will harness one of the nation’s fastest university supercomputers and team-based research in artificial intelligence, materials science and robotics.

As founder and CEO of NVIDIA, Jensen is one of the world’s most respected innovators and CEOs, and Lori drives their family’s vision through their foundation. Their $50 million gift sends a powerful message that OSU is a place we can all believe in.

The Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts will be a statewide portal to the arts

The university also announced that the 49,000-square-foot arts and education complex, currently under construction on the Corvallis campus, will be named the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts in recognition of Pat’s previously anonymous $25 million gift for the facility. Her giving to the arts at OSU now totals $36 million.

Scheduled to open in spring 2024, the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts will serve as a statewide portal to the arts and support the university’s historically unique STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) education opportunities.

Of course, this remarkable generosity is only part of the Reser family’s incredible impact on the university. We are grateful to Pat, her late husband, Al, and the entire Reser family for their continued dedication to Oregon State.

Thank you

These exciting announcements give us reason to celebrate and to believe in OSU’s power to positively change our students’ lives and solve critical problems. We wouldn’t have reached this moment without you, our wonderful community of Beavers. Thank you.

I’m delighted to thank our Campaign Steering Committee, a group of 12 prominent alumni, donors and volunteers, for helping to guide our campaign planning: Ken Austin, College of Business, ’76; Ruth Beyer, College of Liberal Arts, ’77; Rebecca Camden, ’17 (Hon.); Kim Casale, College of Agricultural Sciences, ’83; Jon DeVaan, College of Science & College of Engineering, ’85, ’11 (Hon. Ph.D.); Lee Kearney, College of Engineering, ’63; Patricia Valian Reser, College of Education, ’60, ’19 (Hon. Ph.D.); Jim Rudd, ’06 (Hon.); Bond Starker, College of Forestry, ’69; John Stirek, College of Business, ’82; Patrick Stone, College of Liberal Arts, ’74; and Tom Toomey, College of Business, ’82. Special thanks to alumni Beyer, DeVaan and Stirek for chairing the committee.

As OSU President Jayathi Y. Murthy said at last night’s event, “At OSU, we believe fervently that we are better together. With all of you, we truly will achieve the unbelievable.”

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions. Additionally, over the next few days, images and video from the event will be added to our website, so check back soon!

Sincerely, 

Shawn L. Scoville
President & CEO