Fred Fields’ Generous Bequest

In February, President Barry Glassner announced a $10 million bequest to Lewis & Clark from the late Fred Fields. The gift is the second largest in the college’s history.

“Fred Fields stands among the college’s all-time greatest supporters and advocates. We will forever be indebted to him,” says Glassner. “Personally, I feel honored to have had a chance to get to know Fred and spend time with him. His commitment to this college, and ambitions for us, are inspiring.”

A renowned business and community leader, Fields became one of Lewis & Clark’s most devoted board members. He joined the board in 1985 and served for 21 years, including as chair from 2001 to 2004. As a life trustee, he and his wife, Sue, regularly attended college events on campus as well as in Portland and in Indian Wells, California, where they lived part of the year. Even in the final months of his life, with his health deteriorating, Fields frequently came to campus for lunches and meetings.

In 1990, Fields completed a match for a challenge grant that established the Morgan S. Odell Professorship in the Humanities. In 1993, he pledged the lead gift for the Fred W. Fields Center for the Visual Arts, which has made an enormous difference for Lewis & Clark students and the artistic life of the campus in the years since.

For his many years of leadership and service to the college and community, Lewis & Clark awarded Fred Fields an honorary doctorate in 2005. The campus and local community remembered Fields at a special service held on January 21 in a packed Agnes Flanagan Chapel, which he had requested as the site for his memorial.