|
Foley named director of
OSU Alumni Association Foley has been senior vice president for NW Natural since 1990, overseeing the company's technical operations, including engineering and construction. He also has served as chairman and president of KB Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of NW Natural, since 1991. He has held a variety of management positions with the company since joining its staff in 1967, following his graduation from OSU. He has a degree from Oregon State in mechanical engineering. "We have a lot of ties to the university," Foley said. "One of our sons (Eric Lee Foley, '95) graduated from here as did my wife (Jan Petterson Foley, '66), two of her three siblings and her parents. There are a lot of exciting things going on at Oregon State, and we're thrilled to be a part of it." Though Foley won't officially retire from NW Natural until September, he's received "the go-ahead from the CEO to take on this new venture." Foley said the OSU Alumni Association will embrace three main concepts in the 21st century - awareness, value and cultivation. "We need to continue to build awareness of Oregon State University and its achievements among alumni," he said, "and we also need to deliver value to them. That can be good experiences they have had with the university, it can be educational content, or it may even go to the extent of providing logo merchandise and other goods and services. "The final component is cultivating our alums for the ultimate harvest of that goodwill," Foley added. "And that harvest could be in the form of advocacy, financial gifts, student recruitment, or whatever else the university needs." OSU President Paul Risser said Foley has a clear understanding of the importance to the university of a strong alumni organization. "I am absolutely delighted that we will have Dwayne Foley at the helm of the Alumni Association," Risser said. "He has a tremendous track record of leadership, he's a visionary and he can mobilize people to get things accomplished." As executive director of the OSU Alumni Association, Foley will provide management and supervision for developing and executing the policies, programs and activities of the independent organization. He also will serve as director of the university's Office of Alumni Relations, providing leadership for alumni activities and collaborating with both the university leadership and the Alumni Association board of directors. Foley succeeds Don Wirth, '61, who retired from both positions last year. Stephen Smith, the associate director of the OSU Alumni Association, has served as interim director. -Mark Floyd
Mealoha Husen joins OSUAA staff >Husen comes from a family of Beavers that goes way back. In fact, her father's family homesteaded in Corvallis in the 1800s. OSU graduates in her family include her grandmother, Mary McFadden Goldblatt, '24, her father, Julian R. McFadden, '53, her husband, Jeremy Husen, '97, her brother, two sisters and many other family members. She is very excited to be working for the Alumni Association since she was "born a Beaver." Husen graduated with a bachelor of arts in political science and worked in legislative politics for several years on the state level. She was employed by the OSU athletic department before coming to the Association. As director of membership she will be working to expand the educational and family-oriented benefits that members receive. She also works with alumni programs offered through the Association, especially the Hawaii (where she lived for several years) and international alumni clubs.
Two years added to founding date
of Alumni Association In writing her chapter for the Orange &Black on the founding of the OSU Alumni Association, Eunice Courtright began the opening paragraph in which she described June 1875 as the date of the founding with the word "apparently," which perplexed school historians for decades because it is often used in historical writing to connote uncertainty. In this case, the hunch proved right. A small booklet, published in 1953 by Oregon State alum John E. Smith and titled Corvallis College proved the June 1875 date was incorrect. Shoved between two larger books on a bookshelf in the Stater offices where it remained hidden for years, Smith's booklet was found in January and states the Association was founded on June 18, 1873, citing reference to an article in the June 21, 1873, issue of the Benton County Democrat as proof. A quick trip to the Valley Library and a look at the microfilm confirmed Smith's date. Courtright probably was not aware of the earlier date or the article in the Democrat. According to Smith, here is how the Alumni Assocation at OSU came to be founded. On Monday, Feb. 3, 1873, a meeting was held in Benton Hall in President B.L. Arnold's office to discuss the founding of an association of former students for Oregon's young agricultural college. At this meeting, Arnold was appointed pro-tem chairman of the new group and W.R. Privett, a recent graduate of the school, was appointed pro-tem secretary. Evidence suggests this was little more than an organizational meeting, out of which came an agreement to meet the following Saturday, February 8, at 4 p.m., to begin the work. By June 18, everything was ready, and on that date the following officers were elected: H. M. Finley, president; G.F. Burkhart, vice president, W.F. Herrin, secretary; Oscar L. Ison, treasurer; J.K. Weatherford, orator; and Mrs. George Hinkle, essayist. These officers served again in 1874. In 1875, new officers replaced the old and they were John Bryson, president; Rose Jacobs, vice president; Clara Thayer, secretary; and Emma Thayer, treasurer. At this time, the Association included 25 members, everyone who had graduated up to that time. In the fall of 1999, Katie McCallister enrolled at OSU as a freshman (see Oregon Stater, Dec. '99, p. 9). She is a fifth-generation Oregon Stater and a direct descendent of Hugh Finley, the Association's first president. So what this all gets down to is this. The year 2000 is not the 125th anniversary of the Association but the 127th. -George Edmonston, Jr.
Golden Jubilee 2000 More than 8,000 invitations have been mailed out according to Richelle Hayes, '96, assistant director for alumni programs. She would appreciate help from alumni in locating the more than 300 missing alumni from these class years. "Classmates who did not receive a degree are also very welcome to attend the Jubilee events," she said. Dinners, dances, campus tours and memory books are all included in the weekend activities. Shuttle service from area hotels has been arranged. Alumni can see how their departments or colleges have changed in the last 50 years during an academic reception at the Alumni Center. The class of Nifty-Fifty is also collecting funds for a class gift, French doors of etched crystal glass that will lead into the living room of the CH2M HILL Alumni Center. If you have any information regarding "lost alumni" or would like more information, please contact Hayes at (541)737-7849, toll-free (877)305-3759, by e-mail at Richelle.Hayes@orst.edu. or visit the OSUAA Web page: http://alumni.orst.edu.
OSU Alumni Association events: Come join us! May 18 Portland Caravan |
