School of Business receives $300,000

Willamette Industries recently donated $300,000 to PSU’s School of Business Administration. The money will be used to create a professorship and sponsor continuing scholarships for students in the business school.

Of the gift, $250,000 will be used to create a professorship in the supply and logistics management program in the School of Business. Funding for the professorship is a matching pledge, and the School of Business hopes to raise an additional $250,000 from other sources.

The remaining $50,000 will be used to endow a scholarship for business majors.

Students who receive the scholarship will also have the opportunity to intern at Willamette Industries in the summer following their sophomore year.

Students in the supply and logistics management degree program focus on purchasing and supply management, transportation and logistics, warehousing and inventory control, and production planning and control. Students learn how to help reduce material and supply costs and improve customer service, production processes and scheduling.

The scholarship will be available next year for business majors and will provide an annual full-tuition scholarship for a business student. Dean Scott Dawson of the School of Business Administration was greatly pleased with the donation from Willamette.

“This is a tremendous step forward in our commitment to create one of the nation’s best supply and logistic management programs in the country. This professorship and scholarship will allow us to play a more critical role in meeting the vital needs of this field. Willamette is a leader in this field and we are honored to be associated with them,” Dawson stated in a press release.

Dave Morthland, Willamette’s vice president of personnel and industrial relations, stated in a press release that Willamette is making the investment because of the importance of supply and logistics to the company’s day-to-day operations and because of the need for work-ready graduates.

“The efficient management of supplies, transportation and inventories is a multifaceted challenge that directly impacts customer service and profitability,” Morthland said. “Willamette has been successful in this regard and now we are pleased to help strengthen the PSU program. The Supply and Logistics Program has a solid track record in preparing knowledgeable, experienced graduates. We look forward to a long and successful relationship with the program and its graduates.”

Willamette Industries is a forest products company headquartered in Portland.Over the past 10 years, Willamette Industries has made numerous investments in the School of Business Administration, including the Food Industry Leadership Center, the Business Briefing Breakfast series and several scholarships.

The Food Industry Leadership Center was created in the last six years at the request of executives in the food industry, according to Dana Sedlak in the School of Business Administration. It prepares students to work in management positions within the food industry. The Business Briefing Breakfast series allows students to interact with top-level executives and talk about topics related to areas within the School of Business or the College of Engineering and Computer Science.