PORTLAND BUSINESSMAN, EUGENE ATTORNEY

Note to Editors: To obtain photos in tiff or jpeg formats of John Jaqua, Sue Shaffer and Harold Schnitzer, call the UO Office of Communications, (541) 346-3134.

EUGENE–The University of Oregon faculty will honor three Oregon leaders with Distinguished Service Awards at the 2001 commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 16.

This year’s honorees are Umpqua tribal leader Sue Shaffer, recognized for her work in advancing the well being of the Cow Creek tribe and Douglas County; Eugene attorney John Jaqua, recognized for his leadership in the legal profession and in his support of higher education; and Portland businessman Harold Schnitzer, recognized for his outstanding civic leadership.

The Distinguished Service Award, one of the highest honors the UO faculty conveys, will be presented at the university’s spring commencement ceremonies at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 16, at McArthur Court, 1601 University St., on the UO campus. The UO faculty annually selects recipients for this award who, through their knowledge and skills, have made a significant contribution to the cultural development of Oregon or society as a whole.

"These three recipients are widely recognized not only for their long hours of service to the larger community but also for their clear-sighted vision and leadership that has helped transform the quality of education and other opportunities in the lives of the general politic and for special groups who have special needs. This award gives us an opportunity to recognize their commitment and their accomplishments, to let them know we are proud of them and to say thank you on behalf of all those whose lives they have touched ," said UO President Dave Frohnmayer of this year’s honorees.

"For example, Harold Schnitzer’s contributions to the citizens of Oregon–and to the university–have been extraordinary, not only in his generosity but also in his vision of a better, healthier, more accepting and more caring community that inspired them," says Frohnmayer.

A $1.5 million gift from the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation, an independent family foundation, established the UO’s Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies.

"Harold Schnitzer has an inspiring reverence for education, history and culture," said Duncan McDonald, UO vice president for public affairs and development. "His vision for a Judaic Studies program is testament to his belief that we all grow because of our diversity and differences, not in spite of them."

Schnitzer, who is chairman of Harsch Investment Properties, a Portland-based real estate development company, has been active in supporting dozens of civic ventures aimed at improving the quality of life for Oregonians, McDonald noted.

His contributions include serving as chair of the board of trustees of the Portland Art Museum and as a former trustee of Lewis and Clark College. He is an active supporter and volunteer for the Good Samaritan Hospital Diabetes Institute, Portland housing for the elderly and handicapped, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, Portland Livable City Housing Council, Mittleman Jewish Community Center, United Jewish Appeal and many others.

Harold and his wife Arlene received the First Citizen Award from the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors, and in 1994 received the Safeco Art Leadership Award at ArtFair/Seattle.

"For more than half a century John Jaqua has been an exemplar of the best of the legal profession and what the profession can contribute to the community, the state and the nation. John's often quiet and anonymous behind-the-scenes work has been responsible for many of the most important achievements in modern Oregon history," Dean Strickland says. "For the university, John has been a vital link between legal education and the practicing bar. John Jaqua's leadership as chair of the recent law school campaign was a crucial ingredient in making the dream of William Knight Hall into the reality of a state-of-the-art legal education center."

Jaqua, who is senior partner and founding member of the Eugene law firm of Jaqua & Wheatley, is former president of the Oregon State Bar. He has served on and chaired numerous national, state and local bar committees, including the Board of Bar Examiners, the Board of Governors and the American Bar Association House of Delegates. He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a past member of the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel and a past member of the International Association of Insurance Counsel.

Jaqua received his undergraduate degree from the UO in 1948, and his UO law degree in 1950. Since 1973 he has served on several important university committees and boards including the law school’s Board of Visitors, Development Board and scholarship selection committee; the Museum of Natural History’s Board of Directors; the UO Athletic Hall of Fame selection committee; and the UO Foundation Board of Trustees.

For his many significant contributions to the legal profession, Jaqua received the Oregon State Bar’s highest award, the Membership Service Award, and the UO law school’s Meritorious Service Award. In 1997, he received the prestigious Aubrey R. Watzek Award presented to citizens who are pioneers in their professional fields and who have enriched Oregon.

In addition, Jaqua has served the larger community, receiving the Eugene Chamber of Commerce First Citizen Award in 1994. He has been a director of the American Red Cross, Marist Foundation, Springfield Museum, Sacred Heart Medical Center Foundation and YMCA; a member of the Eugene Arts Commission, Eugene School District 4J lay advisory committee and Oregon Historical Society; and past president of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce and the YMCA, and former chair of American and Lane County Heart Fund. In addition, Jaqua has been on the board of directors of Nike since its inception and served as Nike’s secretary.

"Sue Shaffer cares about people. She cares about the world and just wants it to be a better place. She does more than want; she finds a way to make it happen," says Gloria McGinnis, retired mayor of Canyonville. "You couldn’t have found a better person for this award."

One of Sue Shaffer’s major accomplishments was getting the United States Congress to formally recognize her tribe, the Cow Creek band of the Umpqua Indian Nation.

"In itself that was a miraculous feat," McGinnis asserts. "I credit Sue with that. It was her idea. She started working on it by herself and she wasn’t going to stop until it happened."

Federal recognition brought a financial settlement to the tribe almost 20 years ago.

"Sue, along with other tribal members, invested that money wisely–and still are," McGinnis says, adding that was another major accomplishment.

Tribal members recently re-elected Shaffer to another four-year term as chairwoman–a job she has held since 1983–reaffirming the leadership of a woman who has resisted efforts to distribute the tribe’s money directly to its 1,100 members. Instead, the initial settlement and subsequent profits from the successful Seven Feathers Casino Resort and other tribal businesses have been invested in scholarships, housing, health care–and growing other new tribal businesses.

"We want to build people, not dependencies," Shaffer explains. In explaining the Cow Creek tribe’s phenomenal success and its impact on the economic well being of Douglas County, she quotes a biblical verse: "Where this is no vision, the people perish."

Her supporters say the 78-year-old Shaffer’s most important and lasting legacy is her vision–one that gives top priority to education, self sufficiency and community building.

The Cow Creek Tribe and its foundation funds many organizations and people. They give scholarships for community college to every school in Douglas County–not just to tribal members.

Shaffer has a national reputation in Indian affairs. She has testified before Congress several times, and while attending the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, she addressed the Native American caucus.

She has won multiple accolades because of her efforts. One of the latest ones was being chosen by the Oregon Commission for Women as one of three "Women of Achievement" selected for their leadership and advocacy of women and racial equity.

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