Marcia Aaron, '86, first left her mark on the School as a student participating on the Ad Team in 1985, when the team won the regional competition and placed third nationally with its Burger King campaign.

Today, she has left an even more lasting mark, with a $100,000 gift to the Ad Team Endowment Fund that ensures future Ad Teams can compete for similar successes. Aaron, who since graduating has made a successful career in investment banking, says that being a former member of the Ad Team was not her only motive for choosing it as the recipient. “I have been a huge believer in giving back to the University,” Aaron says. “I believe that we all have a responsibility to help support the University given the continued lack of funding at the state level.”

Dave Koranda, J-school instructor and Ad Team adviser for the past six years, says the gift will be used primarily to offset the costs involved in taking the 15-member team to various competitions around the country. “We have to incur a number of expenses, not the least of which is the travel expense for, at least, the regional competition,” Koranda says, adding that this April the team will be traveling to Great Falls, Mont.

Marcia Aaron remembers those long—and expensive—trips during her time with the Ad Team and considers them, at least in part, another reason for her gift. “When I was on the Ad Team we had to pay for everything ourselves. It was a rather big burden for me as I was financing my own education,” she says. “In order for our team to effectively compete at the national level they need the support of the alumni for materials.” The 1985 Ad Team campaign for Burger King won at regionals and placed third nationally. She remembers it as a “great experience and one of the most rewarding while at the U of O, despite the fact that it cost me lots of lost sleep.”

The Ad Team has proven itself to be not only a rewarding and memorable experience for its members but a valuable asset to the SOJC. According to Dean Tim Gleason, Marcia’s gift is an excellent example of the impact of the Ad Team experience on students. “While she made her career in investment banking,” he notes, “I know that Marcia credits her Ad Team experience with helping prepare her for success in the world of business.”

Koranda is aware of that impact as well. “This is a fantastic experience for students. It is difficult, as it entails a great deal of work. But it closely approximates working on an agency pitch,” he says. “Students usually surprise the companies and agencies that interview them with the skills they have learned.” He attributes the students’ high skill levels to both their participation in the Ad Team and the overall quality of the School’s advertising classes.

“We are grateful to Marcia not only for this generous gift, but for all she does for the School and the University as a member of the Journalism Advancement Council and as a UO Foundation Trustee,” says Gleason. For Marcia, the gift is an expression of her deep commitment to the School and the University, and her belief that it is in the alumni’s best interest to remain actively involved with both. “The University of Oregon will not be able to maintain its position as one of the top universities in the country without the support of Oregonians and alums,” she says.