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Building the future of Business

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Inspiration. Community. Impact.

Beavers Care.

There’s no question: Your support helps make us who we are and creates a culture of giving from one generation of Beavers in Business to the next.

When Beavers help Beavers, anything is possible. Will you join us?

Highlighted Program

Business Leaders Scholars Program

The Business Leaders Scholars Program addresses the recruitment, retention and graduation gap historically underrepresented students experience and supports their journey to obtain a business degree.

In the program, underrepresented prospective students are offered scholarships each year as well as guaranteed on-campus experiential learning opportunities. That’s not all: They receive mentorship alongside a cohort of other scholars, so they can make the most of their college experience and develop lifelong relationships with fellow changemakers.

By breaking down financial barriers to a world-class education, we are sending a signal to all prospective students that we roll up our sleeves in the OSU College of Business, put in the work and develop the business leaders of tomorrow.

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College of Business students working together
Highlighted Program

Emergency Scholarships

Emergency Scholarships are available for students facing immediate financial hardship due to an emergency, accident, or unanticipated incident that keeps them from completing their studies.

By supporting emergency scholarships in the College of Business, you give students the encouragement and resources they need and show that Beavers care.

Emergency scholarships are available to Corvallis, Portland, or E-Campus-based College of Business students. When students request emergency support, our Center for Advancing Financial Education (CAFE) is notified and offers one-on-one advising to create a personalized plan for how to balance the costs and responsibilities of earning a degree.

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What your gift can do

1500

Number of K–12 students in Oregon who learned financial literacy from our faculty and staff

$12.46M

Amount of endowed funds supporting excellent teachers and researchers in the College of Business

$1.11M

Amount of scholarship support given to students during the 2022–2023 academic year

Laura B. Smith
Oregon State University Faculty 1947–68

Why I give

Laura B. Smith Faculty Scholar Fund

Murray Smith’s mother, Laura, had a master’s in fine art and – because of student debt and employment restrictions during the Great Depression – worked in academic positions across the country (with Murray and away from her husband, who taught history) until both academics reunited in Corvallis at OSU in 1945.

During this era of economic hardship, it was common practice to only hire one qualified full-time faculty per household – in order to spare a job for another family. Laura frequently had just part-time assignments in Corvallis, teaching interior design, mechanical drawing and other subjects.

To honor his mother, Murray Smith and his wife, Linda Smith, created an endowed faculty scholar fund in remembrance of his mother’s career as design faculty at OSU. It is designated to support College of Business professors in the area of interior and apparel design.

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Patty Bedient
Class of '75

Why I give

Business Leaders Scholars Program

As the ninth of 11 children growing up in Tillamook, Oregon, Patty (White) Bedient ’75 didn’t have many opportunities to be philanthropic.

“Money was tight in a family of 11 children,” she said. “It was never certain I was going to attend college, and I really appreciated the opportunity.”

The valedictorian of her high school class, Bedient made it to OSU because of scholarship support and her own hard work.

Her college experience — as well as her involvement — left an indelible impression on her, and gave her a foundation for the leadership positions she held throughout her career.

Bedient wants everyone to have that chance, especially people for whom college seems out of reach. That’s why she and her husband, Ron, are helping fund the new Business Leaders Scholars Program in the College of Business.

The program provides students with support beyond scholarships, including an upper-class peer mentor, a professional mentor, academic and personal check-ins by the college’s support teams, and career guidance starting in the first year.

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R. Stevens Gilley
Class of '56

Why I give

Student Success Scholarship Fund

R. Stevens Gilley, ’56, first came to Oregon State University as a 17-year-old with the notion to be a veterinarian, but freely admits that he was “not equipped or prepared.”

Gilley instead graduated from the College of Business and built a career in commercial real estate and the hotel business that spanned five decades and included leading his own business, The Gilley Company.

Now, the Gilley Family Excellence in Student Experience Fund provides annual awards to faculty and programs that are essential to student success in the College of Business.

“Oregon State has meant so much to me. I was treated so well when I was a student,” Gilley said. Gilley watched his granddaughter, Emma, complete a successful year, and agreed that he’d like to support more students from the beginning.

In 2017, Gilley, who was one of the first donors to the Austin Hall building fund with a classroom in Austin Hall named for his family, became one of the early contributors to Dean Mitzi Montoya’s “$20 million by 2020” student success and scholarship fund.

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Student Profile

Griselda Genaro

“As a family we’ve always wanted to open our own family business. My brothers and my parents have worked in construction for twenty-plus years, so they have a lot of experience. I want to be able to be the one who opens up this construction business so we can all have something for us as a family. It’s the American dream.”

Watch how receiving the Marshall and Melissa M. Dawes Scholarship helped Griselda pursue her dream of opening a family business.

Student Profile - Caleb Connor

Student Profile - Tiffany Robinson