3-5-08

Media Release

Martin Kelley Honored with Lifetime Trustee Award

CORVALLIS — The Oregon State University Foundation has presented its Lifetime Trustee Award to Martin N. Kelley of Lake Oswego, who was honored at an awards banquet in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Tuesday, March 4.

The Lifetime Trustee Award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding service to the university and to the OSU Foundation.

Kelley, the retired president of Kiewit Engineering, has served on the College of Engineering Advisory Board, the Construction Education Foundation Board, and the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees, where he served as president (1994-95) and chairman (1995-96). He has also been active in OSU’s fundraising efforts as a member of the College of Engineering Technology Campaign Cabinet, the Leadership Advisory Group for the OSU Library Campaign, and Thundering Seas Steering Committee.

In August 2000, Kelley donated $20 million for construction of the Kelley Engineering Center, launching the college’s drive to become one of the best engineering programs in the nation.

“OSU has had an outstanding friend in Martin Kelley,” said Darald W. Callahan, chair of the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees. “When I think of him, five things stand out: his dedicated leadership, incredible generosity, humility, great stories and sense of humor, and, of course, that trademark bow tie.”

Kelley received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from OSU in 1950 and went on to a distinguished career in construction engineering. Over nearly four decades, he worked on major projects throughout the world including large dams such as Oregon’s Detroit Lake Dam, powerhouses, bridge projects, and tunnels including those in the San Francisco BART system.

Inducted into the OSU Engineering Hall of Fame in 1998, Kelley also was honored with the E.B. Lemon Distinguished Alumni Award in 2002.

Kelley and his wife, Judy Carlson Kelley, M.A. ’78, live in Lake Oswego. He and his late wife, Lora Laslett Kelley, ’49, had six children: Stephen Kelley, ’79; Bruce Kelley, ’93; Mark Kelley; Kent Kelley; Karen Kelley; and Craig Kelley. Other family members include stepchildren Lars Carlson, Peter Carlson, Sarah Carlson Gregorio, and Gabriella Carlson Patterson.

Only four other persons in addition to Kelley are Lifetime Trustees: Joan D. Austin, Newberg; Robert W. Lundeen, Deer Harbor, Wash.; Milosh Popovich, Corvallis; and Norbert J. Wellman, Portland.

The OSU Foundation is the nonprofit organization chartered to raise and administer private funds in support of Oregon State University education, research and outreach. The foundation retains assets of more than $570 million and manages the majority of OSU’s composite endowment, valued at more than $430 million, which supports Oregon State University and the people it serves.

The university officially launched “The Campaign for OSU,” its first comprehensive fundraising campaign, on Oct. 26. Guided by OSU’s strategic plan, the campaign seeks $625 million to provide opportunities for students, strengthen Oregon, and conduct research that changes the world. Approximately $392 million has been committed to date, including more than $61 million toward a $100 million goal for scholarship and fellowship support for students.