The Edwin L. Artzt Administrative Offices look down the hall to a bright future for Allen Hall. Included in the renovation are three administrative offices, a new faculty office and the Willis L. Winter Presentation Room. Photo by Jack Liu

Noting these latest changes, Dean Tim Gleason says, "Private donations are truly the engine driving the renovation of Allen Hall. Without the support of our alumni and friends, SOJC students and faculty would be using facilities and technology that inhibit the development of solid professional skills rather than enhance it."

The elegant Winter Presentation Room exemplifies the value of donor support. In addition to regularly scheduled classes, the room honoring former faculty member Bill Winter will be used for student presentations and guest lectures. Advertising professor Charles Frazer noted that the change from archaic equipment and sterile classrooms to the state-of-the- art "boardroom" offers students a chance to shine in a real world setting. "Presentations are a very important part of advertising and PR," he says. "It's hard to present without the right tools."

Donors who contributed to the Winter Presentation Room include Tim Boyle, '71, Bruce Cappelli, '76, Ann Maxwell, Steve O'Leary, '69, and Patty O'Leary, UO '69, and Joanne Hasegawa Sjoholm, '67.

Wally Jo Tharp is honored by UO Foundation Trustees with a scholarship in her name. Photo by Jennifer King

These most recent changes to Allen Hall are yet another step in the ongoing Allen Hall renovation project, which began with Printing Services' move from the first floor of Allen Hall to its current location in the old Register-Guard building in downtown Eugene. The first floor transformation created the Carolyn S. Chambers Electronic Media Center, the Marcia Leonard Aaron Student Lounge, the Edwin L. Artzt Administrative Offices of the dean, the John S. Hulteng Student Services Center, the Willis S. Duniway Journalism Resource Center, the George Turnbull Reading Room and the Ted M. Natt First Amendment Plaza.

Further improvements to the SOJC's home will be possible thanks to a gift of $25,000 from the Lora and Carl Webb estate. During his 28 years as an associate professor at the School, Carl Webb, '32, taught hundreds of SOJC students the fundamentals of newspaper publishing and management. He and his wife, Lora, continued to support the School well after his retirement in 1971. The improvements taking place in Allen Hall are not limited to the building itself. As part of the University's 125th Anniversary celebration this year, alumni and friends are helping the SOJC initiate a number of new projects.

The Winter Presentation Room's comprehensive sound and projection system was provided through a gift from Richard Ward, UO '77. The Richard Ward Presentation Fund will ensure that the equipment is upgraded regularly. Ward's gift also included funding for multimedia tools and the establishment of an executive-in-residence program for the advertising sequence.

A new technology fund was established with a lead gift of $20,000 from Jim Pensiero, UO '75, assistant managing editor of The Wall Street Journal. As the technology fund builds, the School will upgrade existing computers and equip classrooms with the appropriate technology, including Internet access, digital workstations and audio-visual equipment.

Technology alone will not assure excellence. Young journalists also need the opportunity to put their skills to the test. Since its inception in 1992, the SOJC's award-winning student magazine, Flux, has given students intense professional experience in magazine editing, layout, photography and design. This year, L.W. "Bill" Lane provided the lead gift for an endowment that will guarantee students the Flux experience for years to come. Lane, who was publisher of Sunset and co-chair of Lane Publishing Co. until its sale last year to Time Warner, chose to support Flux because, he says, "It's a way students can get practical experience under the supervision of faculty, while bringing in their own talent and ideas." A Stanford graduate, Lane says he has always admired the SOJC's commitment to teaching solid writing and good principles of journalism.

Lake Oswego Rotary Club president Charles Oldham presents the Bob Bigelow memorial scholarship to Rachel Wright, '05, center. Jennifer King, UO assistant dean at SOJC spoke about the UO journalism program. Photo by J. Brian Monihan

The School was also pleased to introduce two new scholarships this year. The first honors Wally Jo Tharp, the UO Foundation's director of board relations. Three years ago, Tharp was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. This year, the Trustees raised $50,000 in her honor to create an endowment that will fund scholarships for SOJC students. Tharp decided the scholarship should be for public relations students because it would reflect the work she's done at the University. "I want it to go to someone who loves PR, who loves to work with people," she says, "so they can get the same enjoyment out of their job that I've gotten out of mine."

The Lake Oswego Rotary Club established the Bob Bigelow Memorial Scholarship in honor of its former president. Bigelow, '80, worked as an editor of sister newspapers in Tigard, Tualatin and Beaverton and later served as general manager of their parent company, Community Newspapers. He was publisher of the Lake Oswego Review and the West Linn Tidings until his death in August 2000. His Rotary club colleagues remember him as a Little League coach and a supporter of local schools and businesses and a leader in the community. The $2,000 scholarship in his name will fund students from the Lake Oswego and West Linn area who want to study journalism at the University of Oregon.

Freshman Rachel Wright, '05, is the first recipient of the scholarship. Wright says the award influenced her decision to study at the School and has made a difference in the way she views her education. "It makes me really appreciate the fact that I'm here," she says. "Knowing that people are investing in me makes me want to do well."