Roseburg couple endows UO museum's art programs for children

EUGENE, Ore. -- (March 6, 2008) – Local area children have more opportunities to show their creativity as the result of a southern Oregon couple's gift for outreach programs offered by the University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.

Cheryl Ramberg Ford, a 1966 UO graduate, and her husband, Allyn, president of Roseburg Forest Products, have given $500,000 to help expand the museum's programs for children and youth.

Announcement of the endowment gift coincides with release of the schedule for the museum's Second Annual NewArt Northwest Kids exhibition, which is supported by the Ford endowment and showcases the creativity of K-12 students. The exhibition will open Nov. 18, 2008, in the Cheryl Ramberg Ford Lecture Hall on the museum's main floor. To be considered for the exhibit, artworks must be submitted to the museum by a teacher or educator.

Cheryl Ford praised the UO's art museum for its "integral role" in supporting K-12 arts education through its school tour program, professional development opportunities for in-service and pre-service teachers and classroom curriculum resources.

"Usually it is necessary to live in or travel to one of the nation's major metropolitan centers in order to experience a museum of the quality of the UO's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art," said Ford. "We are fortunate to have a museum of this caliber in western Oregon. I hope every child in our region will be able to take advantage of the museum's wonderful integrated arts education programs."

Ford, a member of the museum's board of directors, said she loved attending art camps while growing up in Roseburg. That's why the endowment also allows more children the opportunity to take the museum's art classes or attend its summer camps.

"This important gift already has helped more than 700 children participate free of charge," said Lisa Abia-Smith, the museum's director of educational outreach. "The endowment also provides funding for bus subsidies, making it possible for schools from small rural communities such as Mapleton to send classes up for field trips and special activities."

Abia-Smith said the endowment also helps fund the museum's ArtsBridge Program, which places UO students majoring in fine arts, theater, music and dance in K-12 classrooms and at the Serbu Center, where they teach art lessons inspired by collections owned by the museum.

"Our ArtsBridge scholars provide professional development opportunities for classroom teachers by showing them how to integrate art into the daily classroom curriculum," Abia-Smith explained. What we're finding is that some of these students now plan to become teachers as the result of their experiences in this program."

Cheryl Ford, a long-time community and university advocate, is past president of the UO Alumni Association. Cheryl and Allyn jointly received the UO's 2005 Pioneer Award in recognition of what UO President Dave Frohnmayer described as their "legendary passion and energy for building a better Oregon."

The Fords also serve on the leadership committee for the UO's Campaign Oregon: Transforming Lives. " As of the end of January the campaign had raised $754 million for student and faculty support, programs and facilities. The campaign is scheduled to wrap up in December 2008. The UO's planned alumni center will be named for the Fords in recognition of their leadership for that project.

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, located on the UO campus at 1430 Johnson Lane, is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Free admission is given to visitors ages 13 and under, museum members, university/college students, and University of Oregon faculty and staff members with ID. Regular admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens and high school students. For information, contact the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 541-346-3027.

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.

Contact: Julie Brown, director, media relations; 541-346-3185; julbrown@uoregon.edu

Source: Erick Hoffman, JSMA director of communications, 541-346-3162, erickh@uoregon.edu

Link: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, http://jsma.uoregon.edu

###