Oregon daily emerald., May 26, 2005, Page 3, Image 3

Leavitt: Students recollect fond memories
Continued from page 1
members,” Leavitt wrote in an
Emerald guest commentary on Feb.
11 in response to the Commentator
hearing. “It is important at the same
time to speak out, forcefully and di
rectly, when members of our com
munity feel targeted by speech that
is racist, sexist, homophobic or oth
erwise biased, whether in words or
in images.”
Leavitt said there have been times
when she became discouraged with
the University.
“I get discouraged when we have
what I would call rancorous, divi
sive dialogue about critically impor
tant issues because I want people to
maintain the capacity to listen to
each other and learn from each oth
er,” she said. “I want people to real
ly learn from their differences and
to listen up and to respect and find
the essential nature of each of us.
When we get too heated, too parti
san, and we think we have to win
by yelling, we stop learning.”
Leavitt said her favorite part
of the job is the contact she has
with students.
“I get my contact not by sitting
in (my) office,” she said. “But by
being in the student union in
the evenings, attending programs
and meetings, then by being
available to student leaders. I al
ways say to students, ‘just come
and see me if you want to talk about
how you’re doing.’”
She sits in on Student Senate
meetings every Wednesday, attends
incidental fee hearings and goes to
cultural events, she said. Leavitt
added that she compliments stu
dents on the service they’ve provid
ed for the community and Universi
ty by writing letters of reference.
Former ASUO President Adam
Petkun said that he has worked
closely with Leavitt, corresponding
with her about once each week.
“We talk with her about a bit of
everything,” Petkun said. “We give
each other advice; she helps us with
things. We help her.”
Petkun said Leavitt was instru
mental in the ASUO’s negotiations
with the administration to eliminate
the 15 percent tuition fee for drop
ping classes during the first week of
each term.
“It was really helpful to have
such an important administrator
willing to listen to us,” he added.
“She’s very capable of having a con
versation with you where you do a
lot of the talking, but she asks you
the questions that you need to come
to a conclusion on your own.”
Leavitt also spoke annually at
Freshman IntroDUCKtion.
“One of the things I enjoy most is
inviting the next generation of
students and their parents to col
lege, so I speak at IntroDUCKtion,”
Leavitt said. “I give parent sessions
... about how to support your
students and help your students
stay in school.”
Her own experiences with her
children are incorporated into her
talk, she added.
“I talk about my children and
how it was to be their parent when
they went to college and how there
were days when I didn’t know if we
were going to make it or not,” Leav
itt said. “It’s a lot of fun to talk to
parents about the challenges of
keeping your student enrolled.”
Mike Eyster, assistant vice presi
dent for student affairs and director
of University Housing, said Leavitt
is an excellent advisor.
“I’ve always been impressed with
her ability to analyze difficult, com
plicated situations and to weigh
things very carefully and to try to be
fair and realistic also,” Eyster said.
“I think she’s seen her job as a call
ing. I’ve never sensed that Anne is
in her job as a vice president to ...
move to a more prestigious place.”
After spending much of her life
involved with education, Leavitt
is convinced of its value, she said.
She’s alarmed by the rising cost
of education.
“It means the world to me that
everybody have an education be
cause they can make choices about
where they live, what their work is
and who they are,” Leavitt said.
“It’s just imperative for this state
that we get higher education to the
next generation that’s coming in,
and it’s so expensive now. While
I’ve worked here at the U of O, I’ve
watched the cost of an education go
up and our financial aid and schol
arships not match that.”
While it’s difficult for Leavitt to
leave the University, she said she
feels that the work the Ford Family
Foundation does is too important to
pass up. She added that her talents
are well suited for the new job.
“I love working with students and
I like working with the families of
students,” Leavitt said. “I have a
real appreciation for small-town and
rural Oregon. I grew up in small
towns myself. ”
“(The Ford Family Foundation)
looks at students who have finan
cial need and who are good stu
dents and leaders,” Leavitt said. “It
underwrites, very generously, un
dergraduate education.”
“The world is yours if you
get this degree. I really do
believe that a bachelor’s degree
transforms students.”
adamcherry@ daily emerald, com
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