The centerpiece of the Campaign for OSU is a new Linus Pauling Science Center, for which the university has received $77 million in private and public donations.

The center n which would house university chemists, the Linus Pauling Institute, classroom and lab space n is aimed at advancing teaching and research in preventative health care, chemistry and the life sci-ences.

A new $62.5 million, 120,000 square-foot building for the center, the most expensive academic facility ever for OSU, would be constructed in a parking lot west of Nash Hall.

"Hopefully, the building would be completed and ready to move into in 2010," said Stephen Lawson, the institute's administrative officer.

The Linus Pauling Institute studies the role of vitamins and minerals in promoting health. Pauling was a pioneer in the field, called orthomolecular medicine, and encouraged people to greatly increase their intake of vitamin C.

Institute studies include research on aging, heart disease and cancer.

"Being able to get that program its own facility will enable us to draw additional support for it," said Mike Goodwin, president and CEO of the OSU Foundation.

Currently, Pauling Institute scientists are scattered through departments on campus. Being next door to each other will foster collaboration and innovation, Lawson said.

Private donors, including some of OSU's most prominent contributors, provided half the cost of the Pauling Center, while the Oregon Legislature allocated matching bonds, Goodwin said.

The donations include $20 million from the Valley Foundation of Oakland, Calif., which was created by OSU alumni Wayne and Gladys Valley. Al and Pat Reser contributed $10.65 million.

"A facility like this will attract top researchers and students and help find answers to some of our biggest challenges," said Tammy Valley, president of the Valley Foundation, in an OSU news release.

The Pauling Institute, founded in 1973 in California, has been at OSU since 1996.

Linus Pauling was a 1922 graduate of Oregon Agricultural College, who went on to become one of the world's most prominent scientists. He won two unshared Nobel Prizes. In 1954, Pauling won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on chemical bonding. Pauling won the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize for years of activism against nuclear tests.

Though he wasn't a year-round presence in Corvallis after he graduated, the university's Special Collections in the Valley Library contain 500,000 items that belonged to him and his wife, peace activist Ava Helen Pauling.

A two-day conference on Pauling starts Monday at OSU, and the annual Pauling peace lecture is Thurs-day night.

Kyle Odegard covers Oregon State University. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.