EUGENE–Dan Wieden, co-founder of one of the most successful advertising agencies in the world, will receive the 1999 University of Oregon Pioneer Award at a gala event on May 8 in Portland.

During the black-tie evening at the Portland Hilton, the 54-year-old Wieden, a 1967 UO journalism graduate, will be recognized for his creative leadership, integrity and generosity.

"At its best, advertising goes beyond the sale of products to say something important about a society’s passions, values and dreams," says UO President Dave Frohnmayer. "Through his personal creativity and his mentorship of others, Dan Wieden has set a new standard for the ability to capture and convey the best of America in a 30-second commercial or a one-page magazine ad."

The evening gala, expected to attract more than 300 people, will include a reception, dinner, program and dancing. Speakers will include Oregon’s First Lady Sharon Kitzhaber, former Oregon Gov. Neil Goldschmidt and KATU-TV news anchor Paul Linnman. Emcee will be Portland attorney Brian Booth.

Net proceeds will fund a UO Presidential Scholarship. Those who don’t attend can still contribute to the scholarship if they wish. For more information about tickets and the scholarship fund, call the Special Events Office in the UO Office of Development, (541) 346-0783.

Inaugurated in 1979, the UO Pioneer Award is presented to alumni and others who have become leaders and risk-takers in their fields. Last year’s award went to Emery Barnes, a 1954 UO graduate who was the first black speaker of the legislative assembly in British Columbia. Barnes died several months after receiving the award.

Wieden is president and creative director of Wieden & Kennedy, the ad agency he co-founded in 1982 with David Kennedy. Starting with only one client–a fledgling athletic shoe company called Nike–the agency became the largest in Oregon and one of the most respected in the world. It has more than 500 employees in offices in Portland, New York, Amsterdam and Tokyo serving a client list headed by Nike, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Miller Brewing Co. and ESPN.

The agency has won dozens of awards for its provocative, innovative and often humorous campaigns. In 1996, Adweek magazine named Wieden & Kennedy the ad agency of the year for the second time in four years.

Wieden is known not only for his creative energy, but also for his ability to inspire young people to retain their idealism, integrity and passion in the often cutthroat world of advertising. He returns to the UO campus every year to conduct a creative workshop for advertising students and shares his success with many worthy causes in Oregon. In 1997, he and his wife Bonnie established a nonprofit creativity camp for inner-city kids. Wieden also performed extensive volunteer work for the SMART reading program of the Oregon Children’s Foundation, the Oregon Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Portland public schools.

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