She is one of hundreds of UO faculty members who have capped decades of service to the university with financial gifts after retirement.

Consider Ewart Baldwin who taught geology here for 33 years. He came to be known as "Mr. Geology of Oregon" because of his definitive textbook on the subject, extensive geological mapping and frequent student field trips he led around the state. His wife Margaret organized and managed nursery schools for 25 years in Eugene. After retiring, they gave the UO their home plus more than $75,000 for student scholarships, the Museum of Natural History and the Vivian Olum Child Development Center.

Ted Stern, who taught anthropology here for 34 years, was active in the Asian Studies Program. He became an authority on the culture of several Native American peoples and tribal groups in Southeast Asia. His wife Mary taught in the Eugene public schools for 20 years. After their retirement, they donated their home, much of Ted's library and more than $60,000 to support the Knight Library, School of Music and Museum of Natural History.

The loyalty and generosity of these faculty members have helped boost The Oregon Campaign past $180 million on its way toward attracting $200 million to invest in the university's future.

Since the campaign started counting gifts in 1992, a total of 426 emeritus faculty members have given more than $1.2 million to the university. Those figures don't even include the gifts of current faculty members or retired faculty members without the emeritus designation.

"I find it really moving that faculty members who have given their entire professional lives to the university are willing to give their monetary assets too after they retire," says Nadine Faith, the UO Foundation's director of gift planning who works with many faculty on bequests, trusts and annuities.

"These people aren't millionaires," adds Faith. "Many live very modestly. Their whole lives they've given all their energy to the university. Then, when they retire, they continue to demonstrate loyalty and service by giving money."

Why do they do it?

The most common reasons are an abiding love for the institution and a deep understanding of how badly the financial support is needed. Emeritus faculty donors also want to help future generations of young people. Others want to take advantage of the tax benefits offered by trusts and annuities.

Honoring a colleague or family member was one of the goals of contributions from William Mitchell, Glenn Starlin and Norman Sundberg.

Mitchell taught political science for 27 years before his 1995 retirement. He pledged $100,000 to the Museum of Art to establish a gallery of Northwest art in memory of his wife, Joyce, also a longtime political science professor, who died in 1996.

"The museum of art was always a favorite place of ours," says Mitchell. "We used to go on noon walks in different parts of the campus, and we would stop at the museum once or twice a week. Art for my wife and me was an integral part of life."

Starlin, professor emeritus in theater and telecommunications, surprised his wife Miriam on her 80th birthday with the news that he had made a gift to establish the Miriam McFall Starlin Poetry Award, The award will go to a female UO graduate student in poetry every other year.

"She has been concerned through the years that women poets didn't get enough recognition," says Starlin. "We were interested in helping someone who might be struggling a bit."

Sundberg, Psychology emeritus, and his wife Donna, wanted to honor the memory of friend and colleague Leona Tyler by joining with others to contribute to a visiting professorship in Tyler's memory. The Sundbergs also have made gifts to support the Museum of Natural History and the Southeast Asian Studies program.

The source of their uncertainty is how much lawmakers, in the waning hours of this session, will add back to cover several significant, unfunded shortfalls in the base budget.

"Although the base budget is an improvement over the one for the 1995-97 biennium, we still have to reserve final judgment on its sufficiency pending lawmaker decisions on our critical add-back list," says Bailey.

The add-backs, Bailey says, total at least $14 million for faculty salaries, classified salary adjustments, engineering and technology programs, and regional access.

While final higher education budget totals are in limbo, the UO Legislative Relations director points to other positive news from Salem.

Kirsten died June 19 of respiratory complications after a 14-year battle with Fanconi anemia, a rare and deadly genetic disorder that also killed her sister, Katie, at age 12 in 1991.

Kirsten was a June 1995 honors graduate in human biology from Stanford University. In January 1995, she had developed leukemia, a complication often associated with the blood disorder, and underwent a bone marrow transplant and other therapies.

"It is a tragedy that a young person so vital, so bright and with so much to offer has been struck down by the deadly disease which she has battled for so long," Provost John Moseley said on behalf of the campus community. "But it is a testament to her character that she fought her illness with such strength and dignity. She is a model for us all.

"Our hearts go out to Dave and Lynn Frohnmayer in their grief and sorrow, as well as to Kirsten's brothers and sister and her entire family. She will be missed by all who knew her, and we will cherish her memory."

At 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 12, the current AUDIX system will go away. In its place will be Intuity, the next generation of voicemail technology from Lucent Technologies. Voicemail will be inoperative that day as the old system is removed and the new one goes on line.

"The point everyone needs to realize is that any incoming or outgoing voicemail messages remaining in your AUDIX mailbox at 6:00 a.m. July 12 will be gone, and you will not be able to retrieve them again," Tarlton says. "Thus, before we install Intuity, you should review and write down any messages, personal greetings and personal directory information that you wish to retain or to record on the new system."

The new Intuity system will be available to users after 8:00 a.m. Sunday, July 13. Access numbers--6-1111 or 6-6123--and voicemail codes will be unchanged from AUDIX, and all mailbox extensions will remain the same.

"You will need to record your name, install a new password of four digits or more, re-record your personal greeting, and reprogram and activate any outcalling numbers or personal directory," he says. "Directions for logging in the first time after the change to Intuity are included with the mid-June memo, but if you have questions, consult your departmental telecommunications coordinator or call 6-3198."

Manager Dave Barta, Telecommunication Services, says the university is switching to the Intuity voicemail system because it offers lots of new features and capabilities.

"Intuity will begin the integration of voicemail, e-mail and fax through its Message Manager and Fax Manager modules," he says. "The basic premise assumes that some people prefer e-mail and would prefer to manipulate voicemail messages on their computer, while others would like to have the option of having their e-mail read to them over the phone."

Barta says Intuity supports both approaches. It has been certified to work with ccMail and is projected to work soon with such popmailers as Eudora and Netscape Mail.

"Perimeter fencing for the construction site went up before groundbreaking for the $25.6 million facility on June 18," says project manager Janet Lobue, Facilities Services. "Signs are on the fencing to direct pedestrians around the construction area."

The sidewalk along the east side of Agate is closed from LERC to 15th. Lobue says pedestrians should cross Agate at 17th and use the sidewalk on the Hayward Field side of the street.

Also blocked is the sidewalk along the south side of 15th from the natural history museum to Agate. Lobue advises pedestrians from the Bean Lot to use the crosswalk at mid-block to cross 15th and walk along the north side of the street.

The new law center will displace approximately 170 parking spaces in the Bean Lot. Around 60 of those spaces will be restored when the construction is done, and the remaining 110 spaces will be created in newly developed head-in parking areas on Moss and Columbia streets north of 15th.

Lots 34A and 34D, the two parking areas immediately adjacent to the building site and the museum, closed June 25, according to Rand Stamm, Public Safety parking coordinator. Throughout construction, he says entry to the remaining 580 spaces in Lots 34B, 34C and 34E will move from 15th Avenue to 17th Avenue at Columbia.

"During the summer months, sufficient parking to absorb the displaced spaces will be available in the remainder of the Bean Lot," he says. "By fall, we expect the replacement parking on Moss and Columbia will be completed."

During construction, the 13 parking spaces immediately south of the Museum of Natural History designated for museum use have been relocated temporarily along the north edge of the Bean Lot, east of the museum. The replacement spaces are metered and posted, and a sign on 15th directs motorists to the site.

Erika Remmy, the museum's program assistant, says visitors now may reach the museum's main entrance only from the walkway connecting to the East 15th sidewalk. Access from the south is no longer possible.

"We're open our normal hours this summer, but we're spending a lot of time directing visitors to our doors from the temporary parking in the Bean Lot," she says. "We do plan to close for the month of September, as we do each year for staff vacations and maintenance, but we'll be open again in October, with a special retrospective exhibit about our first decade in this building."

Howard Carmichael, Physics, is the recipient of an Alexander von Humboldt Research Award for Senior U.S. Scientists in honor of his internationally recognized research record. A UO faculty member since 1989, he heads the quantum optics theory group and is an Oregon Center for Optics member.

Documentary filmmaker Julia Lesage, English, is the 1997 recipient of the Charles E. Johnson Memorial Award. An advocate for inclusiveness, free expression and fair treatment for all, Lesage received the award during June 14 commencement ceremonies. First given by the UO faculty in 1980, the Johnson Award honors one faculty member each year who has demonstrated exceptional service to the university and its community, and who has exemplified the principles affirmed by former UO President Charles E. Johnson.

To support her doctoral dissertation work, Carla Damiano, Germanic Languages and Literatures GTF, received the Peter Suhrkamp Fellowship in a national competition and the International Trade and Development Graduate Fellowship in a state contest.

John Reynolds, Architecture, received this year's Passive Pioneer Award from the American Solar Energy Society on April 29 at an annual awards banquet in Washington, D.C.

Anita Weiss, International Studies, was an invited speaker on "Pakistani Society in Transition" at the Woodrow Wilson Center's June 4 conference in Washington, D.C., marking 50 years of independence for India and Pakistan.

Cris Cullinan, Human Resources, taught six sessions--four of them part of a new Institute for Diversity Trainers--at the 10th annual Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education, May 29-June 2 in Orlando, Fla.