This queen-sized quilt is being raffled off by the College of Forestry as part of the OSU Food Drive (contributed photo)

In the 15 years that she’s been quilting, Terralyn Vandetta has yet to make a quilt for herself. All of the intricate, beautiful pieces of fabric art she’s made have gone out the door for a higher cause, to raise funds for things she’s passionate about. And this month, OSU staff and faculty have a chance to win one of two quilts Vandetta made to raise funds for the annual OSU Food Drive.

Anyone familiar with the annual food drive might recognize Vandetta’s name, as she is usually at the front of the room during the award ceremony each year, receiving multiple awards for the College of Forestry, which has dominated the food drive for the last dozen years. In 2001 they took the “Top Banana” award away from the College of Agricultural Sciences and they haven’t looked back, raising the equivalent of 56,962 pounds of food last year. The annual quilt raffle is just one of the ways in which departments within the college raise money each February for the drive.

“There’s always a friendly competition within the college,” between departments, but the ultimate goal, Vandetta said, is to raise as much money and food as possible for the Linn-Benton Food Share. The weekly soup drives are one way in which departments try to out-do each other, but faculty and staff also make sizeable donations through direct deposit contributions ($5,508 last year), which Linn-Benton Food Share administrators say is the best way to make a difference.

The quilt drive began five years ago, as an effort to raise money in a new way. The first two years, about five quilters within the college worked on quilts made from donated fabric, which Vandetta termed ‘potluck quilts’ because of their eclectic appearance. But since then, quilts have been made by one or two individuals, and this year, Vandetta made both quilts, which took her on average 40 hours per quilt.

Terralyn Vandetta in 2009, receiving the Top Banana award for the College of Forestry, which has consistently outpaced all other colleges during the OSU Food Drive since 2001. (photo: Theresa Hogue)

“The raffle motivated me to do something with fabric I’d bought five or six years ago,” she said. “I had a cause to focus on. The food drive and the thought of making money for it definitely is what motivated me to finish the quilts.”

The two quilts she donated are a lap quilt made with batik fabric, and a Queen-sized quilt with a bear paw pattern. She used the help of some mathematically inclined co-workers in the College of Forestry Computing Resources to help her lay out the larger quilt.

Eventually, Vandetta will make a quilt for herself, maybe by next winter. But for now, she’s happy to know that her 80 hours of effort was well spent, and she’s sure she’ll be making more quilts in the future.

“Not everyone in the college who wants one has won yet!”

To see photos of the quilts and find out more about buying raffle tickets: http://deansoffice.forestry.oregonstate.edu/2013-quilt-raffle

For a full list of all events happening around campus in support of the food drive, go to: http://oregonstate.edu/ua/events/food-drive/calendar-events and check out OSU Today each morning for new events.

~ Theresa Hogue

Thomas Maness has been named Cheryl Ramberg and Allyn C. Ford Dean of Forestry for Oregon State University

Thomas Maness, a forest economist who specializes in developing innovative forest policies and practices to balance traditional production with ecosystem services, has been named dean of the College of Forestry at Oregon State University.

Maness has been a professor and head of the Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management at OSU since 2009. He succeeds Hal Salwasser, who earlier this year announced his decision to step down as dean. Maness will begin his new duties as dean on Aug. 1.

As the Cheryl Ramberg and Allyn C. Ford Dean of Forestry – and director of the Oregon Forest Research Laboratory – Maness will assume leadership of one of the world’s leading forestry programs. With nearly a thousand undergraduate and graduate students, an annual budget of some $25 million, and a robust research program, the OSU College of Forestry is a vital resource for managers of forests in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

“Dr. Maness is passionate about the College of Forestry and he has extensive industry and academic experience,” said Sabah Randhawa, OSU provost and executive vice president. “He is a broad thinker and understands sustainable, long-term management of forests and the resulting implications for forestry education, research and outreach.

“His vision and experience will help us further advance the college and its contributions to the university’s signature area of advancing the science of sustainable earth ecosystems,” Randhawa added.

Maness has worked for Weyerhaeuser Company as a forest engineer in the Klamath Falls region, where he developed strategic forest planning models and manufacturing optimization systems for West Coast sawmills. He returned to school and earned his Ph.D. in forest economics from the University of Washington in 1989, and joined the faculty of the University of British Columbia. Maness earned a B.S. in forest management from Western Virginia University and an M.S. in forest operations from Virginia Tech.

In 1994, Maness founded the Canadian National Centre of Excellence in Advanced Wood Processing, and directed the program for five years, then led a $25 million fund-raising campaign for the center. In 2002, the new undergraduate program he helped develop there won the Yves Landry Foundation Award for most innovative Canadian university-level manufacturing technology program.

Maness founded the BC Forum on Forest Economics and Policy in 2004 – a research and outreach center to engage stakeholders in building a strategic vision for the future of British Columbia’s forest sector. During a 2008 sabbatical, he worked as a senior policy analyst with the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C., where he conducted research on climate mitigation and wood energy policy.

In addition to his expertise on Northwest forests, Maness has worked extensively in South America.

Erin Hooten, left, and Stephanie Yelenik will embark on a 100-mile bike ride at the end of the month to raise awareness and money for the MS Foundation. (photo: Theresa Hogue)

Two Oregon State women will be participating in the longest bike ride they’ve ever made at the end of the month, and raising money and awareness for a good cause at the same time.

Stephanie Yelenik, a faculty research associate in forest ecosystems and society, and Erin Hooten, a graduate student in the same department, are participating in the 2010 Bike MS century ride in Portland on July 31. The 100-mile ride takes participants through the Willamette Valley and the Columbia River Gorge.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system. Its cause is unknown, and its effects range from mild mobility loss to severe neurological dysfunction.

Yelenik was invited by a friend to be a part of the “Fish for a cure” team in this year’s event. She accepted because she liked the idea of pushing herself to new limits, and because she has a personal interest in finding a cure for MS.

“I have family members who have passed away from MS,” Yelenik said.

Because Yelenik does not do many long-distance bike rides, she asked her friend, Hooten, to join her.

“I roped Erin in, because she’s done a lot more cycling,” Yelenik said. “She was all gung ho for it.”

“I’ve never done a century ride before but I wanted to,” Hooten said. The event helps her meet that personal goal and participate in a good cause, she said.

More than 7,000 people in Oregon and southwest Washington have been diagnosed with MS. The disease affects a disproportionate number of people in the Pacific Northwest, Hooten said, which makes it all the more important to raise awareness in Oregon about the disease.

Each participant must raise at least $250 in donations in order to participate. The goal of the event is to support those diagnosed with MS and work toward finding a cure for the disease.

Because the 100-mile ride is farther than either woman has ever biked before, they’re planning on pacing themselves.

Both women plan on doing some 30-50 mile bike rides before the event, but figure that hydration, pit stops and plenty of protein and electrolytes will keep them going during the century ride, as well as the support of family and friends. The event is fully supported, meaning there will be volunteers providing them water, snacks and places to break for food when they need it.

~ Theresa Hogue

As a 50-year-old nontraditional student at Oregon State University, she has learned that balance can be achieved between the goals of environmentalists and the needs of the forest industry, due in large part to the faculty, staff and students she’s come to know as an undergraduate in the College of Forestry.

Forestry student Val Goodness, right, juggles raising her son and pursuing her degree. (photo: Theresa Hogue)

Goodness is happy to have found a place that feels like home in the Department of Natural Resources. Her life has been a series of challenges, including escape from domestic violence, and the strain of raising an autistic son, Caleb, who is almost 14. Now, as a single parent struggling to find the money to survive and to attend school, Goodness has faith that she’ll not only thrive, but that her education at OSU will give her the chance to help change the world.

“We can be the sustainability leaders of the country and the world, if only we can be given the chance,” she said.

Although challenged by lack of money, and tied down by her son’s need for constant support and supervision, Goodness has been finding ways to give back. She’s volunteered with the OSU Women’s Center, ASOSU’s Get Out the Vote and the OSU Student Sustainability Coalition, and more recently, has found ways to volunteer for the College of Forestry.

Recent statewide budget concerns have meant some potentially serious cuts to the college, and Goodness pitched in to help. As a student at Lane Community College she worked on fundraising efforts, and she wanted to put those skills to use for OSU.

“This is our future, for our state and our country,” she said of the College of Forestry. “We’ve fallen behind in this country in technology, academics and education. This is the prime opportunity to take advantage of the great minds at OSU. These are great students who want to give back. Why cut funding to the college when the potential is so great?”

With that in mind, Goodness wrote heartfelt letters to key legislators, and pledged to help in any other way she could.

“I can do phone banking, make cookies,” she said. “This is something really valuable and important. My school deserves it. They believe in me and support me. We need to help in any way we can.”

Salwasser was so impressed with her letter that he forwarded it onto other OSU officials, and made a point to meet with Goodness personally, to thank her for her dedication to the college.

Goodness believes that ideas will come out of the work forestry students are doing that will revitalize Oregon’s economy and provide a smarter, more cost-effective approach to using forest resources. Cutting back funding for such work would negatively impact Oregon at time when the state needs its most creative minds.

Part of Goodness’ dedication to sustainability is her grounding in Native American tradition. Her heritage includes Blackfoot and Tsalagi, and she has volunteered with the OSU Longhouse, and will be the activities director for the Longhouse beginning in September.

“I believe we can learn about sustainability from indigenous people,” Goodness said. “We’ve not been hearing their voices for a long time. We should implement some of their ideas and make them more available as stakeholders. They have valuable input.”

Goodness received a Ford Foundation scholarship for full tuition during her first two years of undergraduate work. If she goes onto graduate school, which she hopes to do, and maintains a high GPA, the scholarship will also pay 80 percent of her graduate school tuition. Meanwhile, she will continue to balance her school workload with her dedication to Caleb, who can only attend school part time because of his autism. But the struggle, she believes, will be worth it.

~ Theresa Hogue