About OICF

The Oregon Independent College Foundation (OICF), founded in 1950 serves as a fundraising and programmatic consortium of Oregon’s ten foremost independent colleges and universities.

OICF’s Mission Statement

The mission of the Oregon Independent College Foundation (OICF) is to strengthen the capacity of Oregon’s leading independent colleges and universities; to provide access, opportunity, and choice for students enrolled at its member institutions; to enhance the state’s economic, intellectual, educational and cultural resources; and to promote an understanding and appreciation among the business and civic communities and the general public of the role of Oregon’s independent colleges and universities.

The OICF Seeks to achieve this Mission by:

Partnering with leading corporations, foundations, and individuals to support the economic, intellectual, civic and educational contributions of its member schools to the broader community.  OICF’s partnerships emphasize collaboration and are structured around four initiatives that support scholarship and student aid, campus diversity, ethics & leadership, and professional workforce development.  While each initiative has a distinct focus, their synergy mirrors the member schools’ common grounding in the core values of liberal arts education.

History of OICF

In 1950, eight Oregon private college presidents convinced three corporate executives to form an Oregon foundation (OICF) to collectively and efficiently seek support from the private sector to benefit their operating budgets. Since it’s founding, the OICF has served as a highly effective method for leading citizens, corporations, and foundations to support the member colleges by raising nearly $56 million.

A partnership has developed over the years from the mutual interest in promoting the excellence, choice and diversity of independent higher education in Oregon, now enrolling approximately 25% of the state’s undergraduate students.

College membership in OICF has changed only slightly over the past 60 years. The requirement for undergraduate liberal arts programs and accreditation has kept the membership low; even though a number of more specialized colleges have emerged in the state. The newest member, Concordia University, was granted admission in 2000.

Nationally, OICF is a member of the Foundation for Independent Higher Education (FIHE). FIHE is the national partner in a network of member state and regional fundraising associations (31 members), linking nearly 600 private colleges and universities.  The Foundation secures financial resources in support of America’s independent colleges and universities and their students, develops collaborative programs within its network and with other organizations; and, together with its members, is a primary voice of independent higher education to corporate and philanthropic communities.

The FIHE network is used to form collaborations to address challenges facing higher education. FIHE believes collaboration provides the means by which private colleges can pool their expertise and learn from one another to efficiently improve services to students. Over the past decade, FIHE and its partners have formed over a hundred collaborations involving hundreds of private colleges — within states, in regions, among groups of colleges, among association partners — all across the nation.

OICF’s journey of discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship has been profound. A common feature, learned through both successes and disappointments, has emerged as the fundamental ingredient that any programmatic, fundraising, or administrative formula must incorporate if it is to hold the promise of sustainability:  the leveraging of existing resources and incorporation of new resources within truly collaborative structures that embody and express the shared core and mission values of constituents and stakeholders.

OICF is most fortunate to have a core group of longstanding donors. In the midst of turmoil, cutbacks, uncertainty, and the quest to forge creative solutions, a palpable phenomenon appears. Campus leaders, corporate partners, students, and community partners alike tender articulate and impassioned restatements of OICF’s historical purposes and values, grounded in shared commitment to independent post-secondary education’s place in the continuum of K-12, higher education, employment and citizenship. All parties understand that the health, hope and future of the state and region’s economic, intellectual and cultural resources depend upon that continuum.

In 2005, the OICF Board of Trustees (including the presidents of the ten OICF colleges and approximately 20 business trustees based throughout the region) endorsed an ambitious package of collaborative projects and priorities that includes:

While each initiative has a distinct focus, their synergy mirrors the member schools’ common grounding in the core values of liberal arts education.

OICF’s current programs serve the economic, social and cultural health of Oregon by connecting students, businesses and educators. The student sponsored today seeks a pathway to civic engagement, employment, and success. The business and civic leader seeks continuity and longevity (and a pool of prospective employees and future leaders) for their enterprises and for the marketplace. The OICF college presidents have asked us to bring resources to the campuses that have the potential to provide opportunities for employment, internships, and community involvement. OICF’s programs provide an opportunity for investors to interact with students on topics of mutual interest such as community service projects, volunteerism, internships, and employment.

The student sponsored today is the citizen and employee of tomorrow. OICF colleges pride themselves on producing graduates with the requisite skills to immediately transition into the workforce; in fact, graduation statistics from the OICF colleges reveal some important facts about the impact of these colleges in the state. OICF member colleges and universities represent nearly 25% of the total number of bachelor and graduate degrees earned in Oregon.  Individually and collectively, Oregon’s private colleges are significant. We are producing an impressive number of high caliber graduates who will serve as the next generation of business and community leaders.

To the extent that OICF’s efforts and programs serve core mission values in ways that are apposite, effective and flexible in contemporary contexts, it will continue to draw the support and participation of its stakeholders and constituents. OICF sees resources coming to our students and campuses in new and unfamiliar ways. OICF sees that the networks and communities that it has helped to facilitate and nurture over the past decade have become functioning entities that create approaches, craft solutions, and attract participation.

At the annual meeting of the Trustees in October 2009, Board Chair Mohan Nair initiated a plenary discussion inspired by the responses of a panel of three OICF College Presidents to the question “What are the three major issues currently facing independent higher education in Oregon?” Many of their responses and much of the ensuing discussion were evocative of the comments of the Collaborative Projects Committee of six years ago:

  • “How do we contribute to the good of the state, the region, and the nation?”
  • “How do we increase visibility for the private sector?”
  • “How do we meet the growing demand for workforce development, and do so without abandoning our liberal education identity?”
  • “OICF can remind the public of our ability to meet these demands and do so in the context of a broader, richer experience.”

And so, some core values and needs remain essentially unchanged, though historical circumstances and cultural contexts are irrevocably altered. OICF’s ability to build capacity for its member institutions, students and community has grown, as have the confidence of our constituents and stakeholders as vested participants and collaborators.