Fall 2001
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The most direct way a corporation can learn about getting involved with the University of Oregon is to call Susan Plass, director of the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations.
"This office exists in part to make working with the university as efficient and successful as possible for corporations interested in reaching out and forming mutually beneficial partnerships," Plass says.
Corporations are rewarded in these relationships in many forms, she explains, among them excellent public relations; access to the UO's world-class faculty, research and equipment; the skills of top-notch students; and an opportunity to benefit the state of Oregon as good corporate citizens.
"My interactions with corporations are really a two-way street," she explains. "Sometimes they are interested in offering surplus equipment or have an idea for an internship, or other such exchanges. Other times I think a UO program or a certain professor's work could be a good fit with the company's interests, and I'll talk with them about the opportunities that exist."
The support companies provide usually falls into five categories: equipment donations, cash donations, in-kind services, internships, and special recruiting programs for UO graduates.
"These generous companies and foundations need to get something in return for their work with the UO‹and they most certainly do," she affirms.
Plass stresses that when working with corporations flexibility is extremely important. She cites the UO's relationship with Sony Disc Manufacturing in Springfield as an example. In the past, UO requests for Sony support were "scattershot," she notes, coming from various parts of the university in no organized fashion and on no predictable schedule.
"Sony wanted to reorganize how they interacted with us. We agreed and have developed an annual partnership plan," she says.
The plan focuses interactions with the UO on three areas of Sony's core industry interests: music (support for the Oregon Bach Festival, and UO School of Music); multimedia (as applied in both art and journalism); and computer science and technology training (involving the Department of Computer and Information Science, Campus Computing and the UO Library). The plan brings these units' requests together into one coherent document. Sony's management and philanthropy committee can then assess the various requests and decide which ones they would like to support and at what level.
"It works very well for all concerned," Plass says. "In the past two years they supported various UO programs in a variety of ways with a total value of about $170,000. Each request spells out explicitly not only what the UO hopes to receive, but also what Sony will get‹for example, public recognition and access to top students for internships."
Sony is also pleased with the relationship.
"Sony Disc Manufacturing is proud to partner with the University of Oregon on so many levels. Working together, we can provide opportunities for students, teachers, and graduates to apply their knowledge and talents and ensure a healthy local economy for the long term," says Thomas Costabile, Sony's senior vice president for operations in Springfield.
"The flexibility goes in many directions," Plass says. "Some companies have formal giving programs; others operate in a more ad hoc fashion. I'm happy to work with them in whatever way they find best fits their corporate culture."
Corporate and foundation support for university activities has grown ever more crucial in the wake of Oregon's property tax limitation measures.
"It is an exciting and rewarding challenge to help build bridges between the university and Oregon's business community,"says Plass, who was hired to establish the program in 1997. "Our program is young, and I see the possibility of many new mutually beneficial partnerships developing in the future between UO and Oregon companies."