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CORVALLIS - Twelve Oregon State University College of Business alumni and business partners are being honored this year for their contributions to the college and the community.

Honorees include Irva Kay Neyhart, Don Waggoner, Ken and Joan Austin, James Williams, James Schupp, Dennis Powell, Patty Bedient, James Winters, Sally Smedal, Bernie Newcomb and Ron Parker, said Ilene Kleinsorge, the Sara Hart Kimball dean of OSU's College of Business.

Neyhart, a partner in the Corvallis-based accounting firm of Stover Neyhart & Co., has earned recognition as a College of Business Distinguished Business Partner. She has taught accounting classes in the college, provided annual scholarships and has served on the Accounting Advisory Council for eight years. She's also a member of the OSU President's Club and was honored for her fundraising efforts for the Beaver Athletic Scholarship Fund last year.

Waggoner, also honored as a Distinguished Business Partner, is the college's outgoing Business Advisory Council chair. Chief financial officer for Portland's Center of Design for an Aging Society, Waggoner works to improve surroundings to maximize the abilities of older adults. He has been a member of the council since 1995 and has chaired the group since 1997. Under Waggoner's leadership, the council played an instrumental role in the college's re-accreditation efforts, Kleinsorge said. He also served three years on the college's dean search committee.

Ken Austin, Joan Austin and Bernie Newcomb have been inducted into the college's Hall of Fame for their ongoing contributions to the College of Business, OSU and the community at large, Kleinsorge said.

The Austins are founders of Newberg-based A-dec, one of the largest dental equipment manufacturers in the world. The couple has a long history of service and financial support to the college. The College of Business' Austin Family Business Program and the Austin Entrepreneurship Program are just two of the couple's contributions. Joan Austin serves on the OSU Foundation Board of Governors.

Newcomb, a 1965 OSU College of Business graduate, is the co-founder of E-Trade Group, Inc. of Palo Alto. In 1997, Newcomb gave OSU the largest stock gift in its history - $6.1 million in stock from the company he helped found - and created four new endowments to directly benefit students and academic programs in the College of Business. Now retired, Newcomb travels and visits OSU regularly, Kleinsorge said. Each year he meets with the winners of the scholarship that bears his

Parker, Smedal and Winters were honored as Distinguished Early Career Business Professionals with 20 years or less of career experience since graduation.

Parker, a 1986 OSU management option graduate, is general manager of Cardinal Glass Industries and manages the firm's coating operations in Galt, Calif. At the time of his graduation, he was named OSU Senior of the Year. Since 1998, he has been responsible for the construction and all aspects of operation of the $40 million plant. Previously, he worked for Oregon Glass in Wilsonville, where his leadership resulted in an increase of Oregon Glass' market value from $360,000 to $3 million during a two-year period, Kleinsorge said.

Smedal, a 1982 accounting option graduate, is treasurer and director of corporate accounting for Walnut, Calif.-based Basic American Foods. She served on the college's Business Advisory Council for 10 years and was the winner of the Beta Alpha Psi Outstanding Alumni Award in 1991. She is now serving as vice chairman of the board and chair of the Finance Committee for the Association of Financial Professionals. Prior to her work at Basic American, she held a variety of positions at ChevronTexaco Corp., including development and design of the corporation's financial information systems.

Winters is a 1986 accounting option graduate. He is president and chief executive officer of United Energy, Inc., a company he founded in 1990. United Energy is the largest minority-owned corporation in Oregon and Washington, and the 41st largest African-American owned corporation in the country. The company's commitment to growth through profitable business ventures has allowed United Energy to provide opportunities for inner-city residents to learn valuable job skills, Kleinsorge said.

Bedient, Powell, Schupp and Williams, were recognized as Distinguished Business Professionals with 20 or more years of career experience since graduation. Bedient, a 1975 accounting and finance options graduate, is vice president of strategic planning for Weyerhaeuser. She aids management in working with the company's board of directors to establish long-range strategy as well as assisting senior management in improving the corporation's financial performance. Prior to her work at Weyerhaeuser, she worked for 27 years at Arthur Andersen, where she was a named a partner in 1987. In addition, she has served on the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees, and the college's Business Advisory Council.

Powell, a 1970 accounting option graduate, is senior vice president of corporate finance at Cisco Systems, an Internet infrastructure provider. He provides financial planning and analysis, and is responsible for business unit and corporate controllers, as well as mergers and acquisitions analysis. He is a member of the Committee on Corporate Reporting of Financial Executives International, having served as chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board Liaison Subcommittee. He is also a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Advisory Committee on Banking Policy.

Schupp, a 1979 master of business administration graduate, is senior vice president of investments at Smith Barney, managing more than $150 million in client assets.

For the 20 years Schupp has been the firm's financial consultant, Schupp has ranked in the top 10 percent of financial consultants nationwide, Kleinsorge said. He serves on the college's MBA Advisory Board and the School of Business Finance Club Advisory Board. He also sponsors a three-day off-site OSU leadership seminar for students each year. He serves as a board member of the Linn Benton Community College Foundation.

Williams is a 1966 master of business administration graduate, which was the first MBA graduating class at the university. He serves as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Encore Senior Living, one of the nation's largest privately owned providers of senior living services. He is a co-founder of Brim Senior Living, serving as chief operating officer, vice chairman of the board of directors and president of several subsidiaries before Brim merged with Encore. He serves on the executive committee of the American Senior Housing Association, board of directors for Trillium Family Services and Parry Center for Children, as well as several other health care corporations. His skills have helped make Trillium the largest not-for-profit children's mental health agency in Oregon.