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5-29-08

Media Release

UDR CEO Honors Former Professor with $1 Million Gift

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Thomas W. Toomey of Evergreen, Colo., has committed $1 million to Oregon State University to establish an endowed professorship and expand an endowed scholarship in honor of his former accounting professor, the late Mary Ellen Phillips.

On May 21, OSU’s College of Business selected Jared Moore as the first holder of the Mary Ellen Phillips Professorship in Financial Accounting.

Phillips, who died in February, taught at OSU for more than 20 years and mentored many students who went on to become business leaders, including Toomey, the president and chief executive officer of UDR, Inc., an S&P 400 company that owns and manages more than 43,000 apartment homes in targeted markets in the United States. Toomey credited Phillips with giving him the educational foundation that helped him succeed in his career.

“Since graduating from OSU, I often reflect upon the insight and professionalism that Mary Ellen bestowed upon all her students,” said Toomey, who also serves on the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees. “It is my family’s hope that this gift will assure that OSU accounting scholars continue to find the same quality education that Mary Ellen gave me.”

Phillips was a pioneer in the public accounting field. She entered the profession in 1956 when the ratio of men to women was 65 to 1, and she was one of the first 1,000 women in the country to become a CPA. As an OSU business faculty member from 1973 to 1994, Phillips had a substantial impact on many students and helped shape the university’s accounting department.

In 1997, several accounting alumni created the Mary Ellen Phillips Scholarship in Accounting in her honor. The endowed professorship established by Toomey is designed to support an OSU accounting faculty member who will build on Phillips’ legacy of education and research.

“Mary Ellen Phillips was a trailblazer,” said Moore. “It is humbling to have my name associated with hers. It is just an amazing honor.”

An award-winning educator, Moore teaches junior and senior level courses taken by all accounting majors. In one class, he even uses a teaching method – originally called the “Never Lose Company” – that Phillips developed more than 20 years ago in which students act as the accounting department for a fictional company for an entire accounting cycle. Moore is also one of three faculty advisers who helped a team of OSU accounting students take first place in the Berntson Porter-University of Washington MPAcc Tax Competition this year.

Moore’s research focuses on corporate taxation and financial accounting. He worked in the private sector as a CPA for seven years and holds a master’s degree in taxation and a doctorate in business administration from Arizona State University.

“The students are impressed with Jared Moore and his ability to help them understand complex accounting topics,” said Ilene Kleinsorge, the Sara Hart Kimball dean of the College of Business. “They know he cares about their success. I think Mary Ellen Phillips would be very pleased that he was selected for this position.”

Toomey’s gift is part of The Campaign for OSU The Campaign for OSU, the university’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign. Guided by OSU's strategic plan, the campaign seeks $625 million to provide opportunities for students, strengthen the Oregon economy, and conduct research that changes the world. Approximately $420 million has been committed to date, and more than 20 new endowed faculty positions have been established since the start of the campaign.

About the OSU Foundation: 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 the university and the people it serves.
About UDR, Inc.: UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR), an S&P 400 company, is a leading multifamily real estate investment trust with a demonstrated performance history of delivering superior and dependable returns by successfully managing, buying, selling, developing and redeveloping attractive real estate properties in targeted U.S. markets. As of March 31, 2008, UDR owned 43,559 apartment homes and had 5,496 homes under development and another 738 homes under contract for development in its pre-sale program. Additional information can be found on the company’s website at http://www.udr.com/.