Ethnic Student Services Leader Mourned

Ray Warren ’65, MAT ’71, associate dean of students and director of ethnic student services, died December 19, 2004, after a seven-year battle with cancer. He was 62.

Warren, the eldest of seven children, grew up in Pleasant Hill, Texas. He and his family moved to Portland in the late 1950s. After graduating from Jefferson High School, Warren briefly attended a junior college and then transferred to Lewis & Clark, where he was a standout baseball player. He earned his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education in 1965.

Following graduation, he served for two years in the Army, including a tour of Vietnam. In 1971, he earned his master of arts in teaching and accepted a position as associate dean of admissions at Whitman College. He also worked at Reed College. Warren came to Lewis & Clark in 1987 as associate dean of admissions. In 1992, he was named associate dean of students and director of the Office of Ethnic Student Services. In 2002, the College’s Sports Hall of Fame inducted Warren for his skills on the baseball diamond.

Warren once wrote, “My vision is to do something positive with my life to improve race relations in the Portland community, to leave this a better world.” He succeeded on both counts.

Warren’s legacy will live on at the College in many ways. For example, last fall, the College instituted the Warren Multicultural Symposium, which will be an annual event. Students on the planning committee named the symposium in Warren’s honor due to his dedication to students, his devotion to his work, and his love for the College. Plans for next year’s event are already under way.

Warren is survived by his wife, Sheryl; daughter, Mindy, and son, Derek; mother, Elizabeth; three sisters, Ann, Regena, and Sandra; and three brothers, Gary ’73, Jerry ’75, and Will. The family suggests remembrances to the College’s H. Adunni Warren Scholarship Fund.