Lorry I. Lokey, the founder of San Francisco-based Business Wire and one of the top philanthropists in the country, received the 2007 University of Oregon Pioneer Award.

Lokey was honored during a gala event May 4 at the Governor Hotel in Portland.

"Lorry Lokey doesn't just talk about the value of education," said University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer. "He demonstrates it again and again with his remarkable support of schools and universities. Lorry exercises his extraordinary philanthropy with a joyous spirit and delightful sense of humor that endear him to all the people whose lives he touches."

Lokey's gifts are immeasurable, said Governor Ted Kulongoski.

"We all benefit from Mr. Lokey's generosity," Kulongoski said. "His incredible gifts to the University of Oregon are strategic investments not only in our students but also in Oregon’s future."

The Pioneer Award Gala on May 4 attracted several hundred people. It included a reception, dinner, program and dancing. Net proceeds went to the Pioneer Award Presidential Scholarship. For more information about the scholarship fund, call the Special Events Office in the UO Office of Development, 541-346-2017.

Inaugurated in 1979, the UO Pioneer Award is presented to alumni and others who have become leaders and risk-takers in their fields. Last year's award went to Cheryl Ramberg Ford, president of the UO Alumni Association, and her husband, Allyn, president of Roseburg Forest Products. Other past winners include James Rippey, co-founder of Oregon's first mutual fund; Ann Curry, a news anchor on NBC's "Today Show"; and Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

Although Lokey didn't attend the UO, he grew up in Portland and credits longtime former UO journalism dean George Turnbull with finding him his first job as a night wire editor at United Press in Portland. Turnbull was Lokey's professor for a year at Stanford University, where Lokey earned a degree in journalism in 1949.

Since 2005, Lokey has given a total of $58.4 million to the University of Oregon, including gifts for new music, education, and science buildings and for a new journalism program in Portland named after Turnbull. His most recent gift was $20 million for phase 2 of a new Integrative Science Complex, which the Oregon Legislature is considering matching with state bonds.

Now the UO's largest academic donor, Lokey has also given generously to other educational institutions including Stanford; Mills College; Santa Clara University; Alameda Elementary School and Grant High School, both in Portland; and the Leo Baeck School and Technion University, both in Haifa, Israel.

Lokey was ranked no. 10 on The Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of top U.S. donors during fiscal year 2006, with contributions in that year alone totaling $163 million.

Before founding the international media relations company Business Wire in 1961, Lokey worked in news and public relations in Oregon, Washington and California. He launched his company with one part-time employee in an office the size of a broom closet, seven business clients and 16 media outlets. The firm now has 500 employees, more than 25,000 clients, and 25 domestic and six foreign offices. It was sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2006.

Lokey is a trustee of the University of Oregon Foundation; Santa Clara University; Mills College; and Leo Baeck School.