EUGENE–A University of Oregon graduate who helped establish the state’s historic preservation program will receive the Ellis F. Lawrence Medal from the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts (AAA) at commencement ceremonies June 16.

Elisabeth Walton Potter, who earned a bachelor of arts degree in art history in 1960, will receive the medal, the highest honor awarded by the school. Following the main UO commencement, the AAA commencement ceremonies begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 16, on the East Lawn of the Erb Memorial Union, 1222 E. 13th Ave. (Rain Site: McArthur Court, 1601 University St.)

Potter, who became a park historian for the Oregon Department of Transportation in 1966, initiated the state’s response to that year’s National Historic Preservation Act. She served as the state’s coordinator of National Register Nominations from 1977 until her retirement in 1998.

She helped develop Oregon’s first three National Historic Register sites, the Episcopal Church of Good Samaritan in Corvallis, the Fort Dalles Surgeon’s Quarters and the Pete French Round Barn. She also orchestrated the first federal listing of an Oregon Historic District–the Aurora Colony.

During her 30-year career in historic preservation, Potter helped document the importance of more than 1,300 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

At the University of Oregon, two structures–Deady Hall, completed in 1876, and Villard Hall, completed in 1886–are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Potter served on the AAA board of visitors from 1989 to 1993. She received the Historic Preservation League of Oregon’s Distinguished Preservationist Award in 1987 and the David C. Duniway Historic Preservation Award in 1993 from the Marion County Historical Society.

She established the Walton Endowment Fund to support graduate students in arts management and historic preservation. The fund, created in 1996, honors her parents James J. and Kathryn B. Walton.

The Lawrence Medal is awarded by the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts to an alumnus or alumna whose professional and personal achievements embody the integrity, educational philosophy and commitment to his or her chosen field as exemplified by Ellis F. Lawrence. A Portland architect, Lawrence was founder of the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts. He served as dean of the school from 1914 until his death in 1946.

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