In 2017, Patricia Valian Reser, ’60, ’19 (Hon. Ph.D.), gave $25 million to build an arts center, fulfilling the dreams of generations of Oregon Staters. This visionary gift through the OSU Foundation inspired over $5 million in other gifts and helped OSU secure $38 million in state bonds.

Reser’s response to the university’s—and community’s—desire for the arts galvanized supporters. Her initial $5 million gift for the arts in 2012 was followed by additional gifts for arts students, programs and four endowed faculty position funds. Reser and her late husband Al, ’60, and their family have also generously contributed to many other areas at Oregon State.

A College of Education graduate, Reser served as the inaugural chair of the OSU Board of Trustees. She has served as a Trustee of the OSU Foundation board, as co-chair of OSU’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign, and as the first chair of the PRAx Advisory Board.