OSU PRESIDENT'S DINNER

November 16, 2023

The 2023 OSU President’s Dinner began with a bang, as wall-sized projections of the implosion of Reser Stadium kicked off a program highlighting the powerful impact of the university’s philanthropic leaders.

The gathering of more than 325 guests at the Portland Art Museum began a new tradition: in addition to honoring new members of the Harris Society for their cumulative gifts of $1 million or more, donors also were honored for reaching the $5 million and $10 million milestones since the last dinner two years ago. Donors at the new $25 million and $50+ million levels were recognized, too. With this year’s inductees, OSU now has more than 500 donors who have cumulatively given more than $1 million to the university. Watch the video about the impact that OSU's most generous donors have made on the university and the communities we serve.

“This new practice was inspired, quite simply, by the unprecedented generosity of this community,” OSU Foundation Board of Trustees chair Penny Atkins, ’79, told the gathering. “The OSU Foundation has celebrated several record-breaking gifts in recent years, but at the same time, other donors were quietly reaching new heights in their giving – together making an impact like nothing this university has ever experienced. We just have to celebrate!”

In his opening remarks, Shawn L. Scoville, OSU Foundation president and CEO, noted that the academic year is off to an amazing start, including the formal dedication of the completed Reser Stadium and the Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building in Newport plus the announcement of a $20 million gift from Oregon State alumni Judy, ’65, and Mike Gaulke, ’68, to create the Gaulke Center for Marine Innovation and Technology. 

“You have made, and continue to make, the
unbelievable possible for our OSU.”

“Please know how grateful we are for the many ways you, and all of our donors, support the university,” Scoville said. “You have made, and continue to make, the unbelievable possible for our OSU.”

Peter Betjemann, the endowed director of the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts, warmly invited dinner guests to attend events during the center’s first season, which celebrates its grand opening on April 6. The center, known as PRAx, was made possible by gifts from Mrs. Reser and many other donors. During the dinner program, four students – Javier Garcia Ramirez, ’24, College of Engineering; Sophia Morton, ’24, College of Science, Honors College; Jared Kainalu Martin, Ph.D. ’27, College of Agricultural Sciences; Faith Townsend, ’25, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences – also spoke about how donors have made a difference in their OSU experiences.

Homecoming Ambassador and the student representative on the OSU Alumni Association Board of Directors, Maya Sonpatki, ’24, and Temesgen Hailemariam, the N.B. and Jacqueline Giustina Professor in Forest Management, led the recognition of $5 million and $10 million milestone donors. Jon DeVaan, ’85, ’11 (Hon. Ph.D.), and John Stirek, ’82 – co-chairs of the Believe It campaign with Ruth Beyer, ’77 – led the recognition of donors at the $25 million and $50 million plus levels.

This was the first President’s Dinner for Jayathi Murthy, who provided a snapshot of the university’s new strategic plan – a plan formally announced the following day in conjunction with her investiture as OSU’s 16th president. This plan, she said, is “a challenge to all members of the OSU community to think big, to act with confidence and to open ourselves up to different perspectives and new collaborations. And it calls on us to focus on the university’s role in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges, to responsibly and cooperatively advance science and technology, and to ensure the prosperity we create does not benefit some of us, but benefits all of us.” 

She concluded: “What we do now, in this moment, matters to the future of Oregon and to future of our world.”

Meet the donors who support Oregon State University at the highest levels: cumulative gifts of $25 million and $50 million plus in the video below.