Special Moments in the Foundation's History

October 15, 1947

Oregon State College (OSC) Foundation incorporated.

March 22, 1948

First meeting of incorporators; 11 trustees elected; first meeting of trustees; officers elected; by-laws approved; assets of $10,500.

June 2, 1949

First gift of real property — Tunison Park in Corvallis.

July 1, 1949

Funds accepted to build Azalea House, a women's housing cooperative and the Foundation's first major construction project.

August 4, 1949

Gifts accepted to begin construction of Parker Stadium, the predecessor to Reser Stadium.

June 30, 1954

The Foundation's total annual receipts exceed $100,000 for the first time.

June 4, 1960

The first bequest received from the estate of Kenneth Miller in the amount of $25,138.

November 14, 1962

The Oregon State College Foundation officially becomes the Oregon State University Foundation.

March 31, 1963

Total receipts since incorporation in 1947 top $1 million.

May 22, 1963

Executive secretary authorized to buy and sell stocks for Foundation investment.

May 27, 1964

First life income agreement established with Elizabeth P. Ritchie for $118,000.

June 6, 1964

Finance Committee of the Foundation charged with handling investments and the endowment funds.

1967

The Board of Trustees establishes the Presidents Club, the Foundation's first donor recognition group.

March 31, 1969

Total assets exceed $1 million for the first time.

April 26, 1969

First President’s Dinner held to honor OSU’s philanthropic leaders.

May 27, 1969

The Board of Trustees creates the new position of Chairman of the Board. The first chairman was H. Frank Ramsey, 1969-1972.

February 22, 1973

OSU Student Foundation created.

June 30, 1977

Total annual receipts exceed $5 million for the first time; assets exceed $10 million.

April 10, 1981

OSU Foundation Center (LaSells Stewart Center) is dedicated.

July 13, 1982

The OSU Fund receives a national award for sustained performance in annual giving.

June 30, 1983

The Presidential Scholarship program awards its first $1,000 scholarships to 20 Oregon students.

1984

OSU's first endowed chair established: The Milton Harris Professor of Materials Science.

1985-86

The OSU Fund (annual giving) receives $1 million during a one-year period for the first time; total contributions to the Foundation for the year exceed $10 million for the first time.

October 23, 1987

The OSU Foundation mission is revised; fundraising becomes the responsibility of the OSU Office of Development and constitutent-based fundraisers.

1988

Successful conclusion of the four-year, $13 million FourSight! initiative in support of four interdisciplinary areas at OSU: gene research and biotechnology, advanced materials research, marine studies, and humanities.

June 2, 1988

Dedication of Trysting Tree Golf Course.

June 30, 1991

Total receipts since 1947 exceed $200 million just five years after reaching the first $100 million.

June 30, 1992

Total assets exceed $100 million for the first time.

1993

Harris Society created to honor donors whose cumulative giving totals $1 million-plus; the society honors OSU's first $1 million donor, Dr. Milton Harris.

OSU Foundation's first Portland office opens at 837 SW First Avenue.

October 1993

The College of Forestry receives $23.7 million, the largest gift in university history, from the estate of Kaye Richardson.

1996

Oregon State University is ranked number one of Oregon's colleges and universities in terms of gifts and donations.

September 27, 1997

The CH2M HILL Alumni Center grand opening.

June 12, 1998

The OSU Foundation Board of Trustees adopts a proposal for a new organization and operation of the Foundation that would add fundraising to the Foundation's current responsibilities for asset management and investment.

October 29, 1999

The OSU Foundation adopts a proposal to restructure the Board of Trustees and create a new Board of Governors.

December 2000

OSU Portland Center opens in present space at 707 SW Washington, Suite 500.

Spring 2003

Creation of the OSU Women's Giving Circle.

October 2004

OSU Foundation Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees merge.

September 3, 2005

The OSU football team takes the field against Portland State for the first game following the 8,000-seat expansion of Reser Stadium, an $80 million project funded through ticket sales and private gifts. (The Beavers win 41 to 14.)

October 29, 2005

The $45 million Kelley Engineering Center opens as the new home of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

March 7, 2006

The OSU Foundation awards its first Lifetime Trustee Awards to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to OSU through their volunteer service and philanthropy. The first recipients are Joan Austin and Robert Lundeen.

July 1, 2006

New donor recognition programs launched: 1868 Society and President’s Circle.

October 26, 2007

Public launch of The Campaign for OSU, the university's first campus-wide fundraising campaign. (The campaign's "quiet phase" began on July 1, 2004.).

June 30, 2008

FY08 ends with $126.8 million in commitments, topping the previous one-year fundraising record by more than $50 million.

October 2010

Campaign for OSU passes original $625 million goal nearly a year ahead of schedule; campaign is extended to 2013 with a new goal of $850 million.