P R E S S R E L E A S E
For immediate release (#08-059)
Miller Foundation Makes Historic $25 Million Challenge Grant to Portland State University
The grant will raise $50 million over the next 10 years to strengthen
Portland State’s role as a leading urban research university.
(Portland, Ore.) September 10, 2008 –The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation (www.millerfound.org) announced a $25 million grant today to Portland State University. The $25 million grant is the largest grant in the history of the Foundation and the largest grant in Portland State University history.
“Our goal is to raise even more funds for Portland State University programs and to raise even greater local, national and international awareness and support for this outstanding University,” said Charles “Chuck” Putney, a Miller Foundation director and alumnus of Portland State. “We feel this grant can have a great impact at Portland State.”
This announcement was at Portland State by Miller Foundation directors and Portland State University President Wim Wiewel (pronounced vee-VELL). The grant is a unique, one-time event for the Miller Foundation and is a challenge grant, requiring Portland State to raise at least an additional $25 million over the next 10 years.
“Portland State University is thankful for this incredible vote of confidence in our vision for a university working in partnership with its community, and a university dedicated to global leadership in sustainability research and education,” said University President Wim Wiewel. “And as far as we know, this is the largest grant to support sustainability in higher education.”
Portland State University is a leader in sustainability research and education, providing practical solutions to some of the world’s most pressing environmental, social and economic problems. Today, Portland State’s sustainability research and education is focused on four primary areas of inquiry: creating sustainable urban communities, the integration of human societies and the natural environment, implementing sustainability and mechanisms of change and measuring sustainability.
Both the $25 million Miller grant and the funds raised to match it must be used exclusively for sustainability programs. Since 1998, the Miller Foundation has also contributed more than $5.3 million to Portland State.
Representing the Miller Foundation at the announcement were: Directors Charles “Chuck” H. Putney, William K. Blount, Alice P. McCartor, Charles “Charlie” U. Walker, and Interim Executive Director Charles S. Rooks.
James F. “Jimmy” Miller was born in a small community outside of Portland, Oregon in 1905. Miller began his career as an errand runner at Blyth and Co. (predecessor to both Paine Webber and UBS Financial Services) at age 14. Without much formal education, he rose to become the president of Blyth & Co. in New York in the early 1960s. Miller lived and prospered in New York with his wife of nearly 68 years, Marion. He returned to Portland in 1998 where he continued to invest in the markets and advise others until his passing in 2004 at age 99. Marion L. Miller passed in 1998.
Miller was passionate about learning and researched languages, history, mythology, literature, ballet, music, the arts, and other cultures. Throughout their lives, he and his wife Marion gave generously to many cultural and educational institutions in both Oregon and New York. It was his hope that his legacy would serve as an example of what is possible given commitment, hard work, and the grant of time.
The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation is committed to fulfilling Miller’s legacy by supporting the arts and education throughout the state of Oregon.
For more information go to www.investinportland.org.
About Portland State University
Portland State University (PSU) serves as a center of opportunity for over 27,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Located in Portland, Oregon, one of the nation’s most livable cities, the University’s innovative approach to education combines academic rigor in the classroom with field-based experiences through internships and classroom projects with community partners. The University’s 49-acre downtown campus exhibits Portland State’s commitment to sustainability with green buildings, while many of the 125 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees incorporate sustainability into the curriculum. PSU’s motto, “Let Knowledge Serve the City,” inspires the teaching and research of an accomplished faculty whose work and students span the globe.
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