Nash-donations
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Transcript of Nash-donations
Written by Laura Nash Published Spring 2010
Two donations totaling three-‐quarters of a million dollars were recently presented to the Lewis & Clark College Undergraduate School of Arts and Sciences. One is from Fred W. Fields, and the other is from the W.M. Keck Foundation.
The five hundred thousand dollars donated by Mr. Fields comes without stipulations; it can be used for anything on the College of Arts and Sciences campus. Julio de Paula, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said that this money will be used for the “2010 calendar year” and will go toward general college operations: “nothing in particular. In these times of financial trouble, this donation will be especially helpful.”
Fred W. Fields is a Life Trustee and a Portland resident. The Fields Dining Hall and the Fred W. Fields Center for the Visual Arts are both named after him. He has been, as Julio de Paula said, “an incredible supporter. Although retired, he is still involved.” His wife is on the University of Portland Board of Trustees. They are both “all about Portland… and supporting higher education.”
The second donation, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, is a grant given by the W. M. Keck Foundation. It is meant to go toward developing a curriculum in the field of nanoscience.
Over a year ago, Thomas Hochstettler, president of Lewis & Clark at the time; Gregory Volk, Vice President for Institutional Advancement; and Julio de Paula, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, pitched the idea for a nanoscience program to the Keck Foundation. After a thorough proposal and evaluation process, the Keck Foundation approved the project and awarded the grant.
The faculty involved in the nanoscience program will be Kellar Autumn, professor of biology; Anne Bentley, assistant professor of chemistry; and Julio de Paula, who will continue to be a member of the chemistry department after he has stepped down from his present position as dean. This lineup may change and/or gain members throughout the process.
The first step in this process will be developing a new course for non-‐majors called “Technology for the Future.” According to de Paula this course will deal with the affects that technology has on society, the pros and cons of technology, and in learning the science that is involved. De Paula said that he finds the idea of multiple professors teaching the course “very intriguing.” “Origins of Life in the Universe,” new this semester, is taught in this way and has been a very popular course with a long waiting list. The new course will probably not be offered until the 2011-‐12 school year, and they are looking toward offering the two courses on alternating years.
Besides the development of this course, the Keck Foundation grant will also be used to integrate nanoscience into the present curriculum of science courses. It is not on the path to becoming a major or a minor at the moment, but if there is enough student interest it could go that way. De Paula said that the College is, “making approaches to other foundations as well.”
De Paula also said that he is “ecstatic. [These donations] are a testament to the quality of what we do at Lewis & Clark. If we weren’t doing things right we wouldn’t be blessed with these donations right now.”