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Gifts provide expression of thanks, and hope for university's future BY D. E. STRANDNESS '50 EDITOR'S NOTE: Dr. Donald and Edith Strandness have set up their estate plans so a deferred gift will be available to provide an endowed chair in biology at PLU. Having spent my entire professional life in a state institution, why did Edith and I decide to make this gift to Pacific Lutheran University? We are both Lutherans and graduates of Pacific Lutheran. Three of our four children also received degrees at PLU. Yet attendance alone does not recommend itself for a gift of the type we are giving. Edith and I have asked on numerous occasions why are we doing this? It is not because we are wealthy and have a lot of money to give away. There are much deeper and important reasons that we would like to pass on to the students and alumni of this fine school. While the goal of all universities is the same - to educate for the future - the soul and purpose behind the institution bears some consideration. Pacific Lutheran was founded and nurtured by thousands of people who cared. The faculty of the late '40s included dedicated individuals who often came from unusual backgrounds as far as college-level teachers were concerned. In those days few PLU faculty held doctoral degrees and the college was largely known as a school to prepare teachers for primary and secondary education. For example, my chemistry professor was a Lutheran minister. My biology teacher practiced dentistry in Parkland. How different it is today! From an academic standpoint, Pacific Lutheran has a faculty that can match that of the major universities in this country. However, the university cannot and should not survive if those who serve it do not believe in its mission. Edith and I strongly believe in its Christian mission and have done so since we first entered its doors many years ago. There is no doubt that the faculty had the greatest impact on our lives and gave us the type of inspiration that is so hard to find today. The professors, coaches and administrators were different than any I have ever encountered in my professional life. I was an athlete and played under such marvelous coaches as Cliff Olson, Marv Tommervik and Marv Harshman, men who profoundly affected my life. I became a student athlete in the truest sense, realizing that my accomplishments as an athlete were just one further step in helping me prepare for my life's work. I think the athletic tradition that has been continued under Frosty Westering is but another example of what the university can and should mean. Given all of the above, what can those of us who have benefited from such an experience at Pacific Lutheran do? First, of course, is to say thank you. For many this will be enough and all that they can afford. For those of us who are more fortunate, we must do more. It is critical that universities such as Pacific Lutheran survive and flourish. I firmly believe that the moral fiber of our nation would suffer badly and irretrievably if institutions such as Pacific Lutheran were to disappear. Every day in my life as a professor of surgery in a great medical school such as the University of Washington has convinced me of how important Pacific Lutheran is to our future. It is our hope that our small gesture will be taken up by others. All we ask is for all of you who read this to sit back and hope that something you do will ensure that Pacific Lutheran will survive and prosper well into the next century. Dr. Donald E. Strandness '50 is a professor of surgery at the University of Washington. Edith (Olund) Strandness '55 is a retired nurse.

Q Club The mission of the Q Club is to provide assistance to deserving students as they prepare for lives of service through a Pacific Lutheran University education. The following individuals, churches and businesses have joined Q Club or upgraded their membership from August through October 21, 1996. SENIOR FELLOW ($2,400-3,599) Lorna Greer * Alan and Helen Kimmel * ASSOCIATE SENIOR FELLOW ($1,800-2,399) Alfred and Esther Aus * Dong Kim FELLOW ($1000-1,799) Steve and Jeanine Barndt * Richard and Lois Bauer Robert and Jean Jensen * Valborg Lowther * ASSOCIATE FELLOW ($480-999) Glen and Christie Graham * Chuck and Christine Harris * Don and Mary Jane Isensee * Ann Kelleher * Dan Lysne * Dona Offner * Leon and Donna Reisberg * Brian and Traci Tipple Don and Wanda Wentworth * MEMBER ($300-479) (allowing current members to remain at $240) Karen Andrade Elizabeth Bekemeier Tom and Holly Buskirk Duane and Susan Hoffmann Greg and Jean Hostetter Lisa Hyatt Tim and Jennifer Irwin * Al Kageler Richard and Beverly Knutzen Sandra Krause Sharon McAllister Mary Miller Amy Mustain * David and Doris Nierman Kevin Olson and Karen Bates-Olson Sunisa Sirikolkarn Daniel and Beatrice Skelley Mark Stevens Rikka and Eric Stewart Marie and Warren Wutzke John and Nancy Zak ASSOCIATE MEMBER ($120-239) Shannon Arnim Tricia Ashby Alexis Johnson Joseph and Deborah Kirby Chris Marien Robin Meyers Lanning Mosher Kimberly Nadon Valerie Overmyer Matt and Kristen Paschall Curt and Sara Strom Liz Tunnell * Increased from previous level

Estate planning is easy, though many have questions BY EDGAR LARSON '57 What assets can be used for a gift that will provide me with an income for life? What is the proper wording for putting PLU in my will? Can I set up an endowed scholarship that will honor my parents or my family? Is there anything that PLU can do to help with this property that has grown in value, that I can't afford to sell and can't afford to keep? Is there any way I can use life insurance in making a charitable gift? More and more of PLU's alumni, parents of alumni and friends of the university are beginning to see the value of making PLU a part of their estate planning. In most cases the reason for people remembering PLU in their will, or through a deferred gift, is because there is a love for Pacific Lutheran University. Countless PLU supporters are making current gifts with part or all of what had originally been slated to be a deferred gift to the university. Such gifts are rewarding donors with lifetime income, tax benefits, and with the joy of seeing how their gifts will eventually benefit PLU. The Make a Lasting Difference campaign has helped to identify many supporters of PLU who have made the university a part of their estate planning. Currently, we are aware of more than $40 million in documented deferred gifts that will someday be coming to PLU. Whether it be through bequests, charitable trusts, life insurance, remainders of retirement plans or whatever planning vehicle that may be used, PLU is grateful for the consideration being given the university by its supporters. The development office at PLU can answer your questions about charitable estate planning. Such planning can prove beneficial for both donors and PLU. For more information call 206-535-7420 or 1-800-826-0035. Edgar Larson '57 is executive director of charitable estate planning for PLU

Monica Hurley '94, assistant director of annual giving helps the corps of student callers who will phone alumni, parents and friends this year to encourage their support in the Make a Lasting Difference campaign.

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