Please join Venerable Group, Inc. and the University of Oregon Historic Preservation Program at the luncheon May 6 to honor Elisabeth Walton Potter. Potter is the recipient of the 2011 George McMath Historic Preservation Award.

The luncheon is from 11:30 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. at the White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch Street.

Cost is $50 per person. Proceeds support the University’s Historic Preservation Program.

The lunch program presentation is by Carl Williams, graduate student on “Historic Structure Report: Lew Williams/Joe Romania Showroom, Eugene, Oregon.

For tickets please click here

Today begins a four-day grand opening celebration for the University of Oregon’s new home at the renovated White Stag block, in Old Town at Naito Parkway and Couch Street beside the Burnside Bridge.

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The University of Oregon raises its profile in Portland.

Five years ago, when Terri Warpinski first forayed north from Eugene to expand the University of Oregon’s outpost in Portland, many in this city decided she was in over her head.

When Warpinski resolved to plant her flag in three of the sorriest buildings on one of the saddest blocks in Old Town, many in this city decided she was out of her mind.

Had naysayers peeked behind the portrait of the rookie provost barreling her way into the big city, they might have glimpsed a rather different figure. Warpinski is an artist or rare vision, an acclaimed professor of photography whose work in the Oregon desert hints at her remarkable gift.

Where so many merely look, Warpinski actually sees.

Which just helps explain why Warpinski was able the other day to unveil three stunningly restored historic buildings in what suddenly seems a neighborhood on the brink of the big time.

The White Stag Block, now a single complex at the west end of the Burnside Bridge, will afford UO students access to a wide range of only-in-Portland opportunities, including programs in journalism, architecture, digital arts and project design.

As the first Ducks migrated into Old Town during spring break, their arrival was heralded by a chorus of construction. Mercy Corps is building its expansive new headquarters in the Skidmore Fountain Building right next door. Revitalization also is racing along Northwest First and Second avenues, including the creation of another campus, for the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine.

Already, this is quite a Portland harvest from the University of Oregon’s long-incubated resolved to revamp its presence in the state’s largest city, home of so many of its alumni–and so much of its donor base. And lots more fruit is in the offing. Coming soon: lots more chances to work with other colleges long-established in the city.

The smart schools will move quickly to embrace these opportunities; the slow ones will feel threatened by them.

Portland’s colleges, all of them, continue to face a foreboding array of challenges as they must:

• Build the scientific foundations for a thriving 21st century city
• Produce the work force to fuel a vibrant, sustainable, locally veracious and globally linked economy.
• Compensate for the fact that Portland remains one of the few major American cities without a major research university.

Meanwhile, we look forward to monitoring just how well UO President Dave Frohnmayer lives up to his promise that his school’s enhanced presence in Portland will be “collaborative and complementary, not competitive.”

And to watching Warpinski’s prediction come true: “When good things happen, good things follow.”

White Stag Block helps revitalize Old Town, expands offering for students and community

EUGENE, Ore. — (March 25, 2008) — The University of Oregon in Portland has nearly completed its move into an Old Town Chinatown facility that matches the world-class quality of the university’s Portland programs.

The beautifully refurbished, historic White Stag Block will host its first classes and community events this spring with all the programs planning to move into the new space by fall 2008.

The 103,000 square-foot, green facility merges parts of the White Stag/Hirsch-Weiss, the Skidmore Block
and the Bickel Block buildings into the White Stag Block, a single complex at the west end of the Burnside
Bridge. This marks a 57,000 square-foot increase from the university’s current space in the Willamette
Building in Southwest Portland.

The UO’s White Stag Block gives the state’s students and professionals more hands-on opportunities in subjects such as journalism, architecture, digital arts, product design and law. A master’s degree in strategic communication was recently added to the journalism program, the School of Law is offering a Semester in Portland program with corporate law externships and green business courses, and the School of Architecture and Allied Arts will more than double its capacity and launch a bachelor of fine arts degree in product design and relocate its bachelor in fine arts degree in digital arts to Portland. In addition, continuing education courses in a variety of areas including sustainability
leadership, applied information management, and festival and event management will have more room to accommodate attendees.

The facility will feature state-of-the-art classrooms, labs and studios, space for exhibits, lectures and both private and public events up to 200 people. A nê~ library and learning commons area, state-of-the-art collaborative computing environments and a new university book store and Duck Shop with a café will also be featured. In addition, the new facility will house administrative offices for as many as 100 employees.

The historic facility boasts the latest in sustainable technologies and green building design. In an effort to restore the buildings’ turn-of-the-century appearances, crews replaced windows that had been bricked over for decades with environmentally friendly energy-efficient models. Less visible is a brand-new 10,000-gallon storm water retention tank designed to control the facility’s runoff. On the inside, feats of engineering mastery make the most of natural light, replacing load-bearing walls with steel beams. Where shadows once abounded, light filters through open stairways, giving the interior a fresh, clean look in an energy-efficient manner.

Not only is the UO working toward LEED certification, it is pursuing LEED Gold certification — one of the toughest recognitions granted by the U.S. Green Building Council. To meet the council’s stringent certification guidelines, officials are emphasizing five key areas in the renovation: sustainable site development; water savings; energy efficiency; materials selection; and indoor environmental quality.

“The University of Oregon has a rich history in Portland going back more than 120 years,” said Dave Frohnmayer, University of Oregon president. “This move to a central location in a significant, historic block will enable us to continue the tradition and advance our academic offerings with hand-on experience in Portland, the commerce capital of the state.”

The university isn’t the only one benefiting from the move — the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood is, as well. The UO’s expansion set in motion a veritable domino effect of revitalization. After the UO committed to the neighborhood, Mercy Corps announced the move of its headquarters into the Skidmore Fountain Building, across the street. In addition, the Bill Naito Corporation is planning to partner with Beam Development in new construction and historical renovations that would redevelop up to 500,000 square feet along Northwest Second Avenue.

Also, moving into the Globe Hotel on NW First Avenue and NW Davis Street is the Oregon College of
Oriental Medicine, which will house a graduate school and intern clinic that will bring 275 students and
105 jobs to the building and around 1,750 patient visits each month.

“The university is thrilled to have such a high caliber of neighbors, from the Classical Chinese Garden to Mercy Corps,” said Tern Warpinski, UO vice provost of academic affairs and community engagement. “From our graduate programs, to continuing education, to the art gallery and spaces open to the public for lectures, exhibits and events, we embrace our new home in Portland.”

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon’s flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.