Graduation weekend wrapped up on June 14 at University of Oregon.  As the Class of 2009 takes flight, joining the 155,000 living alumni around the world, they can move on knowing they can look forward to having a place of their own when they return to campus.  

Ground has been broken for the Ford Alumni Center. The center will be conveniently located on Franklin Boulevard, adjacent to the new basketball arena. Construction is scheduled to begin this winter, and the alumni center is tentatively scheduled to open March 2011. The Ford Alumni Center will help prove the saying “Once you’re a Duck, you’re always a Duck” by serving the needs of alumni, current and future students, faculty, staff, friends and donors.
The new center will serve as the “front door” of the University, welcoming alumni, students, prospective students, and friends. The current UOAA Board President, Corey duBrowa ’88 explained the building’s role by saying, "It will form a gateway between the campus, our alumni and the broader community at large, establishing a lifelong connection between the student experiences we've all had during our time in Eugene and how alumni can extend that into the world beyond the borders of the campus." Although initial construction has commenced, the alumni center still needs to raise around $7 million before the center can be completed.

The UO has currently raised $17.5 million of its $25 million goal to complete the Ford Alumni Center. An additional $3 million in gifts helped push the project along in March. The families of Ehrman ’42 and Lee Barlow Giustina ’45 and G.H. Giustina, who are long time supporters of UO, donated an additional $1 million gift on top of an earlier $2.5 million gift. The center’s ballroom will be named in honor of Lee Barlow Giustina Ballroom in honor of the family’s support and vision. The Alumni Associated also donated $2 million to the project.

Dan Giustina ’72 and M.B.A. ’74 explained to The Register-Guard in March the long-term importance of a functioning alumni center to the University’s success.“As the state continues to disinvest in higher education in Oregon, this alumni center is going to be more important,” he said. “It’s a gift to the future.”  The alumni center will be important to higher education fundraising because of its role in Campaign Oregon’s continuing success as it plans to raise $90 to $100 million each year to help the University reach its goal of being one of the top 25 research universities in the nation.

The Ford Alumni Center is an ongoing initiative of Campaign Oregon and will serve as headquarters and play a major role in building on the campaign’s extraordinary fundraising effort. Outgoing President Frohnmayer supports the alumni center’s future role on campus. “The Ford Alumni Center will be a centerpiece for our ability to build upon Campaign Oregon’s remarkable success and the investment and involvement of so many,” said Frohnmayer in The Register-Guard. “ Its beauty and welcoming presence will complete the new gateway to the University and serve the entire University family for generations.”

There are a few other reasons that University alumni, students and friends will benefit from a completed alumni center. Surprisingly, University of Oregon is the only school in the Pacific-10 Conference without an alumni center, and University supporters have acknowledged the importance of the building’s role on campus. “The University of Oregon’s continued success depends upon our ability to make and sustain a strong connection with our students, alumni, donors, and visitors. The alumni center will go a long way toward serving that need,” said President Frohnmayer. The new center, by Opsis Architecture in Portland, was designed with this goal of developing community in mind and to be a source of pride for its daily users, returning alumni, current and future students and the entire UO community.

The 60,000 square-foot, four story building will provide much needed meeting and event space for alumni and supporters as well as a place for prospective students and their parents to meet before touring campus. The building will have a large ballroom, offices for 150 staff members, lounges, a library, six conference rooms, two outdoor courtyards and a four-story atrium with a fireplace. The Cheryl Ramberg Ford and Allyn Ford Alumni Center is named in honor of Cheryl Ramberg Ford ‘66 and Allyn Ford, who gave an initial $5 million lead gift in 2006. 

How University of Oregon’s Ford Alumni Will Benefit You:

1. You’ll finally have a place to meet and greet friends and family before and after your favorite UO sport teams’ games.
2. You’ll be able to spend a quiet Eugene afternoon in a library where you can look up alumni reference material.
3. You can take your children or grandchildren to one of the outdoor courtyards for a picnic so they can start to learn what it means to be a Duck.
4. When you attend a UO sponsored event, you can enjoy the comforts of the new banquet and conference rooms.
5. You can feel confident knowing that when potential students visit the University for the first time, they are impressed by the treatment alumni receive and the lifelong connection that comes with choosing University of Oregon.

The alumni center will benefit from gifts of all sizes and if you’re interested in getting involved and joining the 150 other donors or learning more about the alumni center contact Kathie Bedbury, Associate Director for Alumni Center Development,  by phone (541) 346-6279 or e-mail, kbedbury@uoregon.edu.