Class of ’58 Gift Supports Alumni Center with the largest reunion gift ever

Most 50th reunion classes make a gift of some kind to the university—such as a scholarship, a bench, or a fountain. But the UO Class of ’58 wanted to do something bigger.

On April 25, about 90 class members presented President Dave Frohnmayer with a check for $141,105 for the Ford Alumni Center. It was the largest class reunion gift in UO history.

“It just seemed like the perfect thing to do for our class project,” said Dr. Richard Allen, a Portland physician and chair of the reunion steering committee. “The alumni center is long overdue. It will be good for alumni, for students, for the university.”

“It’s wonderful that they decided to do this as a class,” said Frohnmayer. “The class of  ‘58’s strong connections to each other and to the university provide a good example of the future benefits of an alumni center. I hope other reunion classes will follow their lead.”

“What I appreciate is the leadership they took in bringing a class together to do this,” said UO Alumni Association President Ron Farmer of the steering committee. “I think they see a great value in having a center that will connect them not just to their own past but also will connect their children and grandchildren to the university.”

The university has raised about half the $25 million in private gifts needed to fund the center, which will be built on the current site of the Oregon Hall parking lot along Franklin Boulevard between Agate Street and 13th Avenue. The facility will be called the Cheryl Ramberg Ford and Allyn Ford Alumni Center after the Roseburg couple who made a $5 million lead gift for the project.

The center will provide meeting and event space for alumni, faculty, students, and guests and offices for the Alumni Association, the UO Foundation, and the Office of Development.