Oregonian
September 3rd, 2015
Dear PSU Faculty and Staff,
You may have seen media stories about a potential significant gift to Portland State that did not materialize. I want to make sure you are up to date on what happened and where things stand.
Earlier this month, the PSU Foundation was approached by a person who offered to give the University $100 million on the condition he remain anonymous, and that the gift be announced quickly and with fanfare. We began preparations for a major announcement - this would have been the largest gift in our history - as we looked into the potential donor's background. After a phone conversation with the potential donor, Foundation Board Chairman Mark Rosenbaum and I became concerned about the viability of his offer and decided not to move forward with an announcement.
Prior to this decision, we had given The Oregonian advance notice and materials relating to the tentative announcement on the condition that the information was embargoed and not to be used if the announcement did not take place. The Oregonian chose not to honor that agreement and published a story about the donor and the gift that didn't happen. Since then, the newspaper has published several related stories.
To be clear, PSU did not announce that we were receiving a gift, nor did we allocate any money that might have come from the gift. It's also important to note that private giving to our Foundation continues to rise.
The Foundation is looking at all policy matters relating to the verification of a donor's capacity. Additionally, Francoise Aylmer stepped down as president and CEO of the PSU Foundation. She said the media attention on her and this issue has become a distraction to the mission of the Foundation, and that it is in the best interest of the Foundation and PSU for her to resign. The Foundation's chief development officer Kristin Coppola, also has resigned for similar reasons.
I am very pleased to announce that Foundation board member Lindsay Stewart, former Vice President and Chief of Staff at Nike, has agreed to serve as interim president until a new president is appointed. I am confident that Lindsay and the Foundation board and staff will continue the expansion of the Foundation's good work.
Now it's time to turn our attention back to preparing for fall term, back to the needs of our incoming students and back to raising funds to help them be successful.