College of Business donor Jackie Swint of Tigard toured Austin Hall for the first time on Feb. 28, taking enthusiastic notice of the project room she sponsors, the gleaming and mesmerizing Abacus sculpture that hangs from the ceiling, and … the students’ backpacks.
“Why are all of those people wearing backpacks?” she asked.
Another member of the tour group explained to Swint, a 1951 College of Business graduate, that backpacks were simply the tool of choice these days for hauling around textbooks, laptop, etc.
“Well, I guess it’s better than just carrying a pile of books,” she said.
Swint knows a bit about both books and luggage, having traveled the globe as a secretary for the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State. Equipped with her degree in secretarial science, she worked in eight countries and eventually published “Who Was That Man?” (Inkwater Press, 2008, $22.95), a collection of stories about her adventures.
The title refers to an on-train encounter in the old Soviet Union with a person Swint imagines as possibly being USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
“She saw the world,” said Foy Renfro, formerly of the Oregon State University Foundation, who worked with Swint to set up the scholarships she funds and also accompanied her on her trip to Austin Hall. “Without OSU, she would not have been able to do all of those things, and she’s very appreciative of that.”
Among the ways Swint shows that appreciation is $10,000 in annual scholarship money distributed to four female students in the College of Business, one in each year in school; $1,000 goes to a freshman, $2,000 to a sophomore, $3,000 to a junior, and $4,000 a senior.
Financial need and academic excellence are the criteria used by the College of Business Scholarship Committee in determining the winners.
This year’s recipients are Ilwaad Aman, Jamie Martin, Annemarie Lewandowski and Allyssa Taylor.
Each year, Ilene Kleinsorge, dean of the college, brings her scholarship recipients to Portland to have dinner with Swint “so she can share her stories with her students.”
In addition to sponsoring the project room and funding the scholarships, Swint has donated to the Memorial Union a collection of 11 rubbings she made at the sites of various bas-relief carvings at temples and other ancient building sites in places such as Cambodia, Thailand, Peru and Greece.
“She thought if international students saw something of beauty from their own country it would help them to feel proud of where they came from and less homesick,” Kleinsorge said.
Lewandowski, who helped show Swint around during her visit, was impressed by her concern for other people, among other parts of her personality and life.
“She wanted to ensure that women within the College of Business have a chance to do what she did,” said Lewandowski, a junior majoring in management. “She wanted to show us that we could do it, too.
“She’s so sculpted by her travels and has such a good world perspective,” Lewandowski said. “Every aspect of her life is so intriguing. I was just completely inspired by this lady. She was so great. I wish I could have sat with her all day and just listened.”
