Posted: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 12:00 am
Money will endow scholarship-intern fund
By KYLE ODEGARD
Gazette-Times reporter
An internship at Shell Oil changed Pete Johnson's life and landed him his first job. He wants to make sure that plenty of other students have similar opportunities.
The Oregon State University alumnus and his wife, Rosalie Johnson, recently gave OSU $2.4 million to endow the scholarship-internship fund they created a decade ago.
"I wanted to be sure it continued in the future," said Johnson, a 1955 chemical engineering graduate.
The gift will allow the fund to provide annual support for 16 students in the school of chemical, biological and environmental engineering.
Each year, six incoming students are named Johnson scholars. They receive $11,000 in scholarship support, including $4,000 in the form of a paid summer internship at an Oregon company or university lab.
Ten additional students are named Johnson interns each year and receive funding to undertake summer internships.
The first internships typically lead to future summer stints that companies or institutions pay for, Johnson said.
"In many cases, you get a job offer from your senior internship. It's often higher than the standard offer because they are familiar with your work," Johnson said.
At a dinner at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center on Monday, the Johnsons met new students whom they will be aiding this year.
"It's a great opportunity," said Lars Bowlin, a freshman from Medford. He said the scholarship-internship program was one of the reasons why he chose OSU over other colleges. Other students said they recognized the value of the internships, not just the help with tuition.
The gift is part of The Campaign for OSU, the university's first comprehensive fundraiser, which seeks to raise $625 million.
The Johnsons said that goal seemed shocking when it was announced. But OSU has now gathered more than $450 million through the campaign, including nearly $72 million for scholarships.
The Johnsons started their fund in 1998, and up to now, they had committed more than $700,000, which has benefited more than 100 students.
Pete Johnson said OSU is doing a better job making donors feel connected to students. At his home on Monday, he showed a packet with information on scholarship winners and why they attended OSU.
Rosalie Johnson said the face-to-face interaction at the dinner was important, and that some students send letters of thanks several years after they graduate.
"It's just so rewarding that you can have a small part in changing their lives," she said.
In the late 1990s, Pete and Rosalie Johnson also gave OSU $1.2 million to endow the Linus Pauling chair in chemical engineering.
The couple, who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, has given both large and small donations to several other local organizations.
The Johnsons have pledged $1 million to the Benton County Historical Society and Museum - Pete Johnson is a board member - to help create a college care facility and an upcoming Corvallis museum. In the late 1990s, they gave the Greenbelt Land Trust $500,000 to buy a farm near Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center.
In 1980, Johnson founded Tekmax Inc., a Tangent-based company that manufactures battery plate enveloping and automated transfer equipment. Tekmax was acquired in 2004 by a company affiliated with Warren Buffett.
Kyle Odegard covers Oregon State University. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.