January 2004 Stories

Remembering Buzz Yocom

On Nov. 22, 2003, the Willamette community mourned the loss of Richard “Buzz” Yocom ’49, a longtime alumnae, friend, professor and administrator whom many referred to as “Mr. Willamette.” In a fitting tribute to Yocom, friends and family packed into Cone Chapel on Dec. 7 to celebrate his life. Many memories were shared, including those from former Willamette President Jerry E. Hudson and Tokyo International University Vice President Hiroshi Takahashi.

Yocom believed experiencing various world cultures was an important part of a student’s educational experience, so he played a large role in building Willamette’s relationship with TIU and establishing TIU’s American campus, across the street from Willamette. In honor of Yocom’s service to Willamette and his passion for international studies, Melvin Henderson-Rubio ’74 established the Richard A. and Elizabeth A. Yocom International Studies Scholarship Fund in 1991 at Yocom’s retirement. This scholarship is awarded annually to Willamette students who need support to study overseas or foreign students who need assistance while studying at Willamette.

Alumni who wish to remember Yocom through this scholarship fund may send gifts to Willamette University, Development Office, 900 State St., Salem, OR 97301 or may make a donation online at www.willamette.edu/support. Look for a tribute to Richard “Buzz” Yocom ’49 to appear in the upcoming spring issue of The Scene.

Parents Fund Update

The Parents Annual Fund continues to be important to the success and sustainability of Willamette. Last year, this fund had a record-breaking year by raising more than $76,000 in unrestricted support. We thank the many parents who joined this effort and made a gift during the 2002-03 fiscal year.

This year, the Parents Fund is committed to raising $100,000. All support generated over the course of the next three years will go toward technology improvements and the Hatfield Library. Whether it’s a new computer lab in recently renovated Eaton Hall or additional science periodicals, the resources these programs provide greatly enhance each and every student’s academic experience.

The Parents Fund is under the volunteer leadership of sophomore parent Carey Timbrell. Timbrell has generously given of his time to assist with the fund’s fundraising efforts. In a recent letter to current parents, Timbrell announced that the Parents Fund received an anonymous $20,000 growth challenge gift to help meet the $100,000 goal. This gift will match dollar for dollar any new gift or gift increase made to the Parents Fund.

Willamette understands the financial challenge that accompanies sending a child through college. The University is especially appreciative of parents who give or are otherwise involved because it exemplifies their belief in Willamette’s mission and vision. Every gift, regardless of amount, further enriches the life and character of the University.

Parents who are interested in making a gift to the fund can contact the Office of Annual Giving toll free at 1-800-444-2239 or donate online at www.willamette.edu/support.

– Jill Munger

Eisenberg's Journey West

History Professor Ellen Eisenberg, an East Coast native who never studied Western history until she joined Willamette’s faculty in 1990, could not have predicted that one day she would be named the Dwight & Margaret Lear Chair in American History, a chair created to honor a Western historian.

“Back in the 1990s I made a list of Western historians who I thought might fill the chair,” recalled Eisenberg. “At that point, I didn’t consider myself a Western historian and never would have imagined that I would be a candidate for the chair.”

While it is usually professors who motivate students to expand their learning, in Eisenberg’s case, it was her students’ interest in Western history that influenced her to start researching Western immigration. “All the immigration history I studied in graduate school was about European immigrants,” Eisenberg said. “Then I came to Willamette and of course students wanted to study Asian and Hispanic immigrants, which is their experience with immigration, so I started bringing in more course materials on the West in my teaching.”

In 1996-97, Eisenberg’s research started focusing on the West. “Virtually all of my work, everything I published in the last four years, has been Western history,” said Eisenberg. Eisenberg, who has earned the title of Western historian, will share some of her research when she delivers the Dwight & Margaret Lear Chair Inaugural Lecture “Becoming Western: The Immigrant and the Historian” Tuesday, Jan. 27.

Given the Lears’ passion for Willamette and Northwest history, Eisenberg was the ideal choice for the Dwight & Margaret Lear Chair. The honor includes a budget that Eisenberg will use to strengthen her teaching and research. “This semester I was able to bring a speaker to my social history class. She stayed for two days, met with students and gave a public lecture. That certainly enhances my classes. It gives students the opportunity to meet with somebody who wrote one of the books they are reading in class.”

The chair’s resources also free Eisenberg from having to write grants for research expenses, allowing her more time for research. “Obviously it is fantastic to not have to worry about research expenses. I am doing some work right now that will require me to go to Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and it is nice to know that those expenses are covered. I can also travel to conferences beyond what I would normally be funded for – all of which will enhance my teaching.”

Dwight Lear ’29, JD’32 wanted to leave a lasting memory at his alma mater. He fulfilled his dream by making several investments in Willamette, including the Lear chair, several scholarships and even a few rose bushes in the Sesquicentennial Rose Garden. He also established several Willamette gift annuities that supported the Lears later in life and upon their passing turned into scholarship funds.

Lear, who enjoyed sharing the story of how he made $.25 per hour as a student window washer at Willamette, applied his work ethic throughout his life. After building a successful career as an attorney for 10 years, he retired from the law in the 1950s. He developed into a forward-thinking investor who managed his investments fulltime.

Lear was an avid Bearcat sports fan driving his family to many football and men’s basketball away games. In 1995, Lear, a longtime friend of Les Sparks ’19, received the Les Sparks Medallion in honor and recognition of Lear’s many years of loyalty and service to the University.

– Michelle Maynard

Eaton Hall's New Digs

This spring faculty and students welcomed the much-anticipated completion of Eaton Hall’s “attic.”

State-of-the-art classrooms. Fresh paint. Lap top computers. New carpet. Unpacked boxes. This spring marks the official opening of Eaton Hall’s fourth floor, a 9,000 square-foot renovation of the historic 1909 building.

The departments of Anthropology and Rhetoric and Media Studies moved into the newly-expanded office space, turning Eaton Hall into the home for Willamette’s humanities-related disciplines. “It is safe to say that we’re excited about the new space,” said Rhetoric and Media Studies Professor Jeanne Clark. She is now within talking distance of colleagues who were once scattered between the basement and first floors of Smullin Hall.
In addition to the office space, Rhetoric and Media Studies Professor Nathaniel Cordova is excited about the technology offered through the renovation. “We have two nice classrooms and a fantastic media lab. This floor is the most technologically advanced Willamette has to offer.”

With new faculty offices, modern classrooms and multi-purpose meeting areas, the new facility will enhance faculty teaching and the student experience. In form and function, Eaton Hall will continue to be a symbol of Willamette’s commitment to academic excellence.

To date, Willamette has raised $1.4 million toward the cost of the renovation and is working to raise an additional $1.1 million. To support this crucial renovation effort, Willamette is offering naming opportunities for each of Eaton’s new classrooms and offices. For more information about the Eaton Hall naming opportunities, contact Ron Korvas, vice president for University Relations, at 503-370-6397 or visit www.willamette.edu/support.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Carey Timbrell Parent of James Timbrell '06

As a parent, why do you think it is important to give to Willamette through the Parents Fund?
Willamette provides a wonderful education and college experience to our children. Yet the operating cost per student is greater than our tuition dollars. The Parents Fund is a means for us, based on our own financial ability, to help the school close this funding gap.

How do you think the Parents Fund can improve your child’s education?
The Parents Fund, by targeting specific needs, can provide material goods and services that directly benefit our children’s education.

How did you choose technology and the library as the two areas to benefit from the Parents Fund?
Technology and the ability to use it are critical components in so much of what we do today and will be doing in the future. It is incumbent on upper echelon schools such as Willamette to stay current with technology and it’s applications. This is an obvious and ongoing need that the Parents Fund can make a material impact on. Conversely, the library is the heart of every educational institution. Today’s library is a true resource center in ways more robust than ever before, but to main-tain it and keep it current requires money.

What do you think is the biggest challenge in raising funds from parents?
The biggest challenge is that this is probably the first time, for many of us, that we have been asked to make a voluntary cash donation to one of our children’s schools. Many of us, like myself, went to public schools, which are largely sup-ported by various government entities. Willamette, as a private university, is entirely dependent on tuition and on gifts from groups such as the parent body.

What is your goal for the Parents Fund?
Our primary goal is to raise more than $100,000 from the parents. But our secondary goal is to raise parental awareness of Willamette’s needs, and create a long-term culture of support and giving for the school.

A "Spirited" Partnership

For many Oregonians and visitors from out of state, the name “Spirit Mountain” denotes a popular destination point for recreational activities and tourism.

But for Willamette University, Spirit Mountain has another meaning, one of philanthropy through the Spirit Mountain Community Fund (SMCF).

Since 1997, the SMCF has provided more than $20 million in grants to more than 250 nonprofit charitable organizations in 11 western Oregon counties. Spirit Mountain dedicates six percent of its profits to the Community Fund, resulting in SMCF giving more grants to nonprofit organizations in Oregon than any other tribal grant program in the state. These grants include a broad spectrum of programs that promote Native American culture, history and values through the support of education, the arts and culture, historic preservation and the environment.

In 1999, the SMCF provided a $250,000 grant to establish an endowment for The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Gallery at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art. A second grant in 2002 provided $37,500 for acquisitions, artists’ demonstrations and exhibitions associated with the gallery. Among the objects displayed in the gallery is a large collection of Native American baskets. Some of Willamette’s earliest collections of art include baskets given to Methodist missionaries by Clatsop Indians on the Oregon Coast and Kalapuyan Indians in the Willamette Valley. In the 1930s, the collection was enlarged with the addition of several hundred baskets from E.C. Cross and M.E. Polleski, two Salem-area collectors in the early 20th century.

Visitors are invited to tour the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, at 700 State Street (across from the State Capitol), where The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Gallery is located on the second floor. Admission to the museum for visitors outside the Willamette community is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students (13 and up), except for Tuesday, when admission is free all day.

A third grant for $86,500 came from the SMCF in 2003 to support the Willamette Academy, a year-round enrichment program focused on underrepresented students from the Salem-Keizer School District. Willamette Academy, now in its second year of operation, provides college preparation to 50 students. The five-year goal of the program is to involve 110 students on a year-round basis. Academy students participate in a five-day immersion program during the summer, which introduces them to technology, language arts and creative projects including photography, drawing and writing.

During the school year, tutorial help is available three times per week. Students also return to the campus on a monthly basis for workshops related to college preparation. The goal of Willamette Academy is to help students realize their individual potential for leadership and their inherent ability to achieve a college education. In its support of these projects, Spirit Mountain Community Fund has been an important partner in helping Willamette to provide a diverse and rich cultural environment for students and the citizens of Oregon, as well as visitors to the state.

– Patricia Alley ’73