Dodd and Nancy Fischer Family College of Forestry Faculty Fellow

August 1, 2022

 

In 2021, Nancy Ward Fischer established an endowed fund to support faculty working in the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest, a 16,000-acre ecological research site in the Cascade Mountains. One of the five founders of ARCS Foundation Oregon, Nancy and her late husband Dodd Fischer – creators and owners of Storables, Inc. – previously made many gifts for the College of Forestry, including an endowment supporting an ARCS scholar award for doctoral students. Nancy also created endowments supporting Andrews Forest and research experiences for undergraduate students.

 

Nancy and Dodd Fischer smiling for the camera.

 

The family story has roots in forestry. Dodd grew up in Eugene, a fifth-generation Oregonian and proud descendant of Western pioneers; his family owned a lumber operation in nearby Marcola. Before his death in 2017 he enjoyed managing a family forest in Columbia County and caring for the ponderosa pine and Douglas fir at the family cabin on the Metolius River. Today Nancy and her children continue to steward these forest properties. She is a member of the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees.