Dear university colleague:

As we close out the calendar year and the second quarter of the fiscal year, I am reflecting on the OSU Foundation’s work with you – our university leaders, including our coaches and endowed faculty position holders. I’m pleased to share a snapshot of our progress since I last wrote to you and am grateful for your collaboration in advancing Oregon State University’s mission.

Thank you to all who attended the 2024 Black and Orange Awards Celebration Sept. 19 and 20, where we honored alumni and friends who make Beaver Nation proud. Read about the awardees.

OSUF’s mission by the numbers

I. Inspire investment – Closing out the calendar year strong (plus year-end giving info)

The first quarter of the fiscal year (July 1 – September 30) ended strong, with donors giving nearly $48 million toward our baseline goal of $147 million for the year (stretch goal = $180M). This eclipses giving at this time last year ($37 million) and is well above our five-year average of about $33 million.

As we close out the second quarter, we expect this success to continue; December is a productive month in the OSU Foundation as many donors give prior to the end of the tax year. For information about 2024 year-end giving and important deadlines, please visit this page on our website and share it with your network. All gifts must be received by Dec. 31 in order to count toward this tax year.

II. Engage our community – Jam packed events calendar, and a successful membership challenge

See below for a recap of the OSU Foundation’s (including the Alumni Association) recent events, which is an important way that we continue to engage the OSU community.

Last month, we kicked off our Alumni Association annual membership appeal. The team, led by Lesa Banks, ’02, exceeded their stretch goal of 600. Lesa worked closely with our automation partner, Fundmetric, to deploy new marketing strategies. Alumni memberships are a great way for Beavers to demonstrate their support of OSU, and dues are often the first in a lifetime of philanthropic gifts to the university.

III. Steward resources – Endowment closed Q1 at a historic high

When the first quarter of the year closed on September 30, our endowment market value was at its highest point in the history of the OSU Foundation, at $951.45 million. This puts us closer than ever to our goal of $1 billion.

This fall, the OSU Foundation distributed the 2024 endowment report to the 2,000+ endowed fund donors and their families. This report, published annually, provides our donors with an update on fund performance, including a personalized report on the funds each donor supports, and inspiring stories about student, faculty and program beneficiaries.

The “spiderharp,” pictured here, and part of the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees' fall tour of the Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Robotics Lab, has at least two applications. Ross Hatton, professor of mechanical engineering and robotics, and his graduate student, Andrew Otto, collaborated with biologists at the University of California, Berkeley (who study real-life spiders), to construct this large-scale model and robot spider in hopes of revealing the mechanisms that the real-life counterparts in nature use to detect activity on their web through vibrations. Chet Udell, assistant professor of biological and ecological engineering, electronic instrument builder and musician, has since turned this web into a highly expressive musical instrument. Read more.

Recapping the joint OSU Foundation & Alumni Association’s fall board meetings and the Black and Orange Awards

The fall meeting for the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees, occurred on the Corvallis campus at the CH2M HILL Alumni Center from September 19-20. We were joined by the OSU Alumni Association Board of Directors, which made for a very full, and fun, couple of days. The goals of the meeting were met, and included:

• Learning more about OSU’s robotics program (one of the four research priorities in the university’s strategic plan, Prosperity Widely Shared);
• Learning more about the Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex and what it will make possible for OSU; and,
• Continuing our discussion about the university’s and OSU Athletics’ marketing and branding efforts.

Additionally, at the business meeting, the board took action and:

• Accepted the annual audit;
• Approved a three-year recognition and support agreement between the university and the Foundation; and,
• Approved the selection of three Lifetime Trustee recipients; the recipients will be celebrated on Thursday, February 20, 2025, during our winter board meeting in Portland.

A highlight of the meeting was the opportunity to celebrate exceptional OSU alumni and volunteers at the Black and Orange Celebration Dinner at the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts (PRAx) and the Alumni Fellows Lunch.

This annual joint meeting with the OSU Alumni Association Board is important because it acknowledges the integration of our functions and provides us an opportunity to build community among our most engaged volunteer leaders. 

Meghna Babbar-Sebens (right), the Evans Family Professor in Clean Water in the College of Engineering, and her students develop innovative technologies for sustainable planning and management of water-based systems, such as watersheds and stormwater infrastructure. Read more about her work.

Implementing our strategic plans

I am pleased to share a few of the many ways the OSU Foundation supports the university’s goals in Prosperity Widely Shared: The Oregon State Plan:

1. Oregon State will be a university focused on big discoveries that drive big solutions - “Doubling research expenditures”

We look forward to the opening of the Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex in 2026. In addition to two lead gifts of $50 million each, from the Huangs and the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation, we have worked with donors to secure an additional $70 million in program and faculty support funds.

We are partnering with the Office of the Provost on a fourth Provost’s Faculty Match program, designed to incentivize the creation of endowed faculty positions. This match will help advance the university’s four priority research areas (climate science, clean energy technology, robotics and integrated health and biotechnology). About half of the available funds have been claimed, with 11 gifts to date, totaling $6,126,175. There are eight additional conversations in process. Please contact marlys.amundson@osufoundation.org, senior director of development, for more information on the program.

2. Oregon State will be a university where every student graduates: “Increasing six-year graduation rates to 80%”

In support of President Jayathi Murthy’s aspirational goal for all OSU students to graduate in four years, without debt and with a job, we increased our student success goal in the Believe It campaign to $500 million and launched a new Student Success Cabinet to help guide our efforts.

We have launched a fundraising effort for the university’s new Finish in Four initiative, which is specifically designed to help Oregon students with high financial need. Finish in Four is but one of many strategies the university will pursue to reach the 80% graduation rate goal. Finish in Four is the university’s number one priority for philanthropy for scholarships and student support. We have already received 479 gifts to the program, totaling $5.5 million across eight units.

3. Oregon State will be a university that fuels a thriving world in every dimension

We are working closely with Associate Vice President Rebecca Robinson and partners across the university to further develop our economic development and industry relations (EDIR) strategy that includes preparing students to meet the workforce needs in our region and conducting research that can help fuel prosperity and solve problems. We will feature Robinson and her work with the university’s four priority sectors (semiconductors/tech, clean tech/clean energy, food and beverages, and forest products/mass timber/natural resources) at the Foundation’s February board meeting

And, just this week, our Beaver Caucus, which is comprised of alumni and donors, held its University Day at the capitol in Salem, facilitating conversations between student advocates and elected officials to encourage transformational investments in higher education and students.

The "Believe It: An evening with OSU faculty” reception in Seattle is part of an event series meant to engage new donors in the university’s $1.75 billion Believe It fundraising and engagement campaign. These events will take place in key markets in California, Oregon and Washington, where 70% of our alumni and donors live.

Looking back on our fall events

One of the many ways that we engage our community – and steward and inspire our donors, alumni, parents and friends – is through events. With the excitement of a new academic year, the fall is often our most productive time for gatherings. While I can't recap every event in this newsletter, here are a few highlights:

• The OSU Foundation & Alumni Association hosted a variety of events to celebrate Beaver football and support our student-athletes this fall, including home and away tailgates, pre-game receptions with President Jayathi Murthy, game watching in Valley Endzone Skybox in Reser Stadium, donor dinners in San Diego and the Bay Area and a pre-game bash at the home of OSU Foundation Trustee DeMonty Price, College of Health, ’90, in Southern California.
• On November 6, we celebrated Oregon State University’s philanthropic leaders at the 2024 President’s Dinner at the Portland Art Museum in downtown Portland. In a program inspired by the university’s strategic plan, we honored our newest members of the Harris Society, whose cumulative gift commitments equal $1 million or more. We also recognized donors who have crossed the $5 million, $25 million and $50+ million thresholds. We now have 527 households and organizations in the Harris Society, including 39 who have given $5 million or more! View photos and watch videos from the event.
• On November 20, OSU friends old and new joined President Murthy and me in Seattle at the award-winning Anthony’s Pier 66. View the photos. (Shout out to OSU’s own Amy Burns, College of Business ’89, who serves as president and CEO of Anthony’s Restaurants.) While enjoying Northwest seafood and stunning views of Elliott Bay and the city's skyline, we listened to “lightning talks” from Oregon State faculty highlighting the impact of their research:
  • From understanding the surprising (and underreported) ways we may be exposed to lead in our everyday environments with Alyssa Shiel (College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences),
  • To learning about metabolic health and how small lifestyle changes could have big results with Sean Newsom (College of Health).

Congratulations to Director of Student Success and Belonging and OSU Alumni Association board member Dorian Smith, College of Liberal Arts ’09, Graduate School M.A. ’17, who was recognized by the OSU Loyal Committee with the 2024 OSU Loyal Philanthropic Partner Award at a reception this fall. Read more about OSU Loyal and his recognition.

Launching the Mighty Beavers alumni employee group

The OSU Foundation is excited to announce the formation of Mighty Beavers, OSU’s network of alumni employees. More than 2,000 alumni employees have demonstrated their deep commitment to the university community by choosing to work and learn at OSU. The Mighty Beavers community aims to celebrate their achievements and provide opportunities to build connections amongst this special group of Beavers. Visit our website to learn more.

The community’s first Mighty Beavers Mixer will take place in January. If you’re a Mighty Beaver, watch for the invitation, and thank you for your commitment to OSU!

We are grateful to OSU volunteer leader Joth Ricci, College of Business ’90, and the Ricci family for creating endowments for men’s and women’s basketball programs.

News

» Gift adds momentum to a vision of physical activity for all: College of Health receives $2 million gift to advance equity and inclusion for people with disabilities

» Oregon State’s new dairy center nears completion, a project in the College of Agricultural Sciences made possible by state funding and support from industry partners

» Oregon State’s Catalyst Scholars Program is empowering first-generation college students in the College of Engineering

» Honors College 2024-25 PRAx Fellows gain experience at the intersection of art and science

» Chrissy Eaton: Leading the way for her future and family (story of a recipient of the JD Power Fellowship – created by OSU Foundation Trustee Mary Power, College of Liberal Arts ’90, – in the College of Business)

» Mariah Liberty receives Laslett Scholarship in the College of Education

» The human side of business AI, featuring Gomo Family Professor Inara Scott in the College of Business

» Where in the world is College of Health professor Sunil Khanna, the Robert and Sara Rothschild Endowed Chair in Global Health? Botswana

» Thanks to the legacy of Eleanor Ford, College of Science, ’62, more than 25 microbiology students have received scholarships to continue their education

OSU’s flagship publication for storytelling, the Oregon Stater, has been bringing Beaver Nation’s stories to life for more than 100 years. Now, it’s more accessible than ever to our global community. Visit the all-new website to connect with the content in new ways, including six language options for audio stories, exciting videos, ways to easily share content with your network and more.

Thank you

In this season of giving and thanks, I want to close with my gratitude for all the ways you strengthen Oregon State University.

You have my very best wishes for the holidays and the year ahead. And, by all means, Go Beavs!

Sincerely, 

Shawn L. Scoville
President & CEO