CORVALLIS - Pamela Ting, an Oregon State University pharmacy student when she died in a car accident in 1967, has been memorialized by her classmates with a pharmacy scholarship in her name.
The first recipient of the Pamela Ting Memorial Scholarship is Alison Kam, a student from Hawaii who will be entering her final year in the five-year pharmacy program this fall.
Though three decades have passed since the death of Ting, who was also from Hawaii, the College of Pharmacy Class of 1967 was able to quickly raise sufficient funds for an ongoing memorial scholarship in her name. Led by classmate Sue Irving and class steward Jim Henderson, the class of '67 created an endowed scholarship, in which contributions are invested and the scholarship funds come from the investment's earnings.
The timing was perfect to initiate this scholarship campaign because not only was it the 30th anniversary of the Class of '67 when the campaign was initiated in August, 1997, but the College of Pharmacy was also preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary, which took place this year.
Response was immediate and generous, OSU officials say. By May of this year, only nine months after an initial mailing, classmates, friends and family had contributed almost $11,000. Two generous gifts, one for $1,600 and another for $5,000, provided a boost that exceeded initial expectations.
As the first recipient of the award, Alison Kam will receive a $500 scholarship for the 1998-99 school year. Her name will appear on a perpetual memorial plaque that also carries a photo of Pamela Ting, a written tribute to Ting, and the names of charter donors.
Additional contributions are welcome and can be made to the College of Pharmacy. For more information, call Tom Chandler at 541-737-4015.
Tom Chandler, 541-737-4015
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