Patricia Valian Reser Faculty Scholar in Education

The College of Education’s first endowed faculty position fund was established by one of its alumni, Patricia Valian Reser, in 2021 to support teaching excellence in the college.

One of OSU’s most dedicated volunteers and impactful philanthropists, Reser has served on OSU Foundation Board of Trustees, its Executive Committee, the College of Science Board of Visitors and was the inaugural chair of the university’s Board of Trustees.

She graduated from OSU in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education; she later earned a master’s in special education at Portland State. She taught in Forest Grove and Hillsboro, Oregon, before retiring from the Beaverton School District in 1995. Together she and her late husband, Al, grew Reser’s Fine Foods — a family-owned fresh refrigerated food company based in Beaverton — into an international business with facilities in the U.S. and Mexico. She now serves as the company’s board chair.