David B. Frohnmayer
Encyclopedia
Dave Frohnmayer was the 15th President of the University of Oregon
. He was appointed president on July 1, 1994. His last day as president was June 30, 2009. His tenure as president is the second-longest after John Wesley Johnson
. He is the first native of the U.S. state
of Oregon
to run the University of Oregon. Frohnmayer previously served as the state of Oregon’s Attorney General
from 1981 to 1991, and subsequently served as dean at the University of Oregon School of Law
before serving as president of the entire university.
in 1962. He then attended Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship
, and received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1967.
from 1975 to 1981, representing southern Eugene
.
Frohnmayer was elected as Oregon Attorney General
in November 1980, and was sworn into office on January 5, 1981. Re-elected in 1984 and then again in 1988, when he was nominated by both the Democratic and Republican parties. Frohnmayer served as Attorney General until his resignation on December 31, 1991, when he became Dean of the University of Oregon School of Law
. As Attorney General, one of his most notable cases involved leading the prosecution of members of the Rajneesh movement
(followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.) Frohnmayer prevailed in six out of the seven cases that he took to the United States Supreme Court.
Frohnmayer was the Republican
nominee for Governor of Oregon
in 1990. Popular Democratic
incumbent Neil Goldschmidt
withdrew after Frohnmayer's campaign manager, Donna Zajonc, said "...you've got to believe that the best family will win" at a news conference, which was then reported by Jeff Mapes in The Oregonian
. Zajonc's statement was interpreted at the time as threat to use Goldschmidt's collapsing marriage as a political issue. Goldschmidt quickly withdrew from the race, an event that was considered one of the "great mysteries in Oregon politics" until 2004, when Goldschmidt admitted to having a sexual relationship with a minor in the 1970s. He and Goldschmidt had been classmates at University of California, Berkeley
law school. Frohnmayer subsequently lost the election to Barbara Roberts
, the Democrat who was nominated after Goldschmidt's withdrawal, in a three-way race that included independent
, Oregon Citizens Alliance
-backed candidate Al Mobley.
School of Law from January 1, 1992 until he was appointed President of the University in 1994. Frohnmeyer announced his retirement as President on April 29, 2008, and was succeeded on July 31, 2009 by Richard Lariviere. Frohnmeyer's tenure was widely acclaimed; The (Eugene) Register-Guard
's editorial titled "Retiring from the a University he Remade" opined that "Dave Frohnmayer has steered the University of Oregon through grim and changing times and he's leaving a different and stronger institution."
The Oregonian
called Frohnmayer's presidency "one of the most remarkable higher education performances in Oregon history."
. Two of his daughters died from complications arising from this disease. He was a founding Director of the National Marrow Donor Program
and served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, Inc. Lynn and Dave Frohnmayer established the FA Family Support Group in 1985, which they helped incorporate in the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund in 1989.
Frohnmayer's father, Otto Frohnmayer, was a noted southern Oregon
lawyer. His brother, John Frohnmayer, served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts
under the administration of President George H.W. Bush and briefly challenged incumbent senator Gordon Smith in the 2008 election as an independent. His other brother, Phillip Frohnmayer, who resides in New Orleans, Louisiana is a professor of music at Loyola University. His son is Mark Frohnmayer, lead programmer of Starsiege: Tribes
and Tribes 2
at Dynamix
before leaving to co-found GarageGames
with Jeff Tunnell
, Rick Overman and Tim Gift. Mark has since started Arcimoto
, designing a three-wheeled electric vehicle
.
In 2005 the University of Oregon MarAbel B. Frohnmayer Music Building
was named in honor of his mother.
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. He was appointed president on July 1, 1994. His last day as president was June 30, 2009. His tenure as president is the second-longest after John Wesley Johnson
John Wesley Johnson
John Wesley Johnson was the first President of the University of Oregon, serving from 1876 to 1893.-Early years:...
. He is the first native of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
to run the University of Oregon. Frohnmayer previously served as the state of Oregon’s Attorney General
Oregon Attorney General
The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The Attorney General is chosen by statewide partisan election to serve a term...
from 1981 to 1991, and subsequently served as dean at the University of Oregon School of Law
University of Oregon School of Law
The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, on the corner of 15th and Agate streets,...
before serving as president of the entire university.
Education
Frohnmayer graduated magna cum laude from HarvardHarvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1962. He then attended Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
, and received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1967.
Political career
Frohnmayer, a Republican, served three terms in the Oregon House of RepresentativesOregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....
from 1975 to 1981, representing southern Eugene
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
.
Frohnmayer was elected as Oregon Attorney General
Oregon Attorney General
The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The Attorney General is chosen by statewide partisan election to serve a term...
in November 1980, and was sworn into office on January 5, 1981. Re-elected in 1984 and then again in 1988, when he was nominated by both the Democratic and Republican parties. Frohnmayer served as Attorney General until his resignation on December 31, 1991, when he became Dean of the University of Oregon School of Law
University of Oregon School of Law
The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, on the corner of 15th and Agate streets,...
. As Attorney General, one of his most notable cases involved leading the prosecution of members of the Rajneesh movement
Rajneesh movement
The Rajneesh movement is a term used by Hugh B. Urban and other commentators to refer collectively to persons inspired by the Indian mystic Osho , particularly initiated disciples who are referred to as "neo-sannyasins" or simply "sannyasins", also formerly known as Rajneeshees or "Orange People",...
(followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.) Frohnmayer prevailed in six out of the seven cases that he took to the United States Supreme Court.
Frohnmayer was the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee for Governor of Oregon
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
in 1990. Popular Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
incumbent Neil Goldschmidt
Neil Goldschmidt
Neil Edward Goldschmidt is an American businessman and former Democratic politician from Oregon who held local, state, and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the governor of Oregon, Goldschmidt is widely considered the most influential figure in the state's politics, both as an...
withdrew after Frohnmayer's campaign manager, Donna Zajonc, said "...you've got to believe that the best family will win" at a news conference, which was then reported by Jeff Mapes in The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
. Zajonc's statement was interpreted at the time as threat to use Goldschmidt's collapsing marriage as a political issue. Goldschmidt quickly withdrew from the race, an event that was considered one of the "great mysteries in Oregon politics" until 2004, when Goldschmidt admitted to having a sexual relationship with a minor in the 1970s. He and Goldschmidt had been classmates at University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
law school. Frohnmayer subsequently lost the election to Barbara Roberts
Barbara Roberts
Barbara Kay Roberts is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A native of the state, she served as the 34th Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995. She is the first and, to date, only woman to be elected to that office. A Democrat, Roberts was also the first woman to serve as majority...
, the Democrat who was nominated after Goldschmidt's withdrawal, in a three-way race that included independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
, Oregon Citizens Alliance
Oregon Citizens Alliance
The Oregon Citizens Alliance was a conservative Christian political activist organization, founded by Lon Mabon in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was founded in 1986 as a vehicle to challenge then–U.S...
-backed candidate Al Mobley.
Academic career
He served as Dean of the University of OregonUniversity of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
School of Law from January 1, 1992 until he was appointed President of the University in 1994. Frohnmeyer announced his retirement as President on April 29, 2008, and was succeeded on July 31, 2009 by Richard Lariviere. Frohnmeyer's tenure was widely acclaimed; The (Eugene) Register-Guard
The Register-Guard
The Register-Guard is a daily newspaper published in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the Eugene Daily Guard and the Morning Register. The paper serves the Eugene-Springfield area, as well as the Oregon Coast, Umpqua River Valley, and surrounding...
's editorial titled "Retiring from the a University he Remade" opined that "Dave Frohnmayer has steered the University of Oregon through grim and changing times and he's leaving a different and stronger institution."
The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
called Frohnmayer's presidency "one of the most remarkable higher education performances in Oregon history."
Family
Dave Frohnmayer is active in support of research into treatment of the disease Fanconi anemiaFanconi anemia
Fanconi anemia is a genetic disease with an incidence of 1 per 350,000 births, with a higher frequency in Ashkenazi Jews and Afrikaners in South Africa.FA is the result of a genetic defect in a cluster of proteins responsible for DNA repair...
. Two of his daughters died from complications arising from this disease. He was a founding Director of the National Marrow Donor Program
National Marrow Donor Program
National Marrow Donor Program® Be The Match is the global leader in providing marrow and umbilical cord blood transplants to patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other diseases. The nonprofit organization matches patients with donors, educates health care professionals and conducts research so more...
and served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, Inc. Lynn and Dave Frohnmayer established the FA Family Support Group in 1985, which they helped incorporate in the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund in 1989.
Frohnmayer's father, Otto Frohnmayer, was a noted southern Oregon
Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, and Josephine. It includes the Southern Oregon American Viticultural Area, which consists of the...
lawyer. His brother, John Frohnmayer, served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
under the administration of President George H.W. Bush and briefly challenged incumbent senator Gordon Smith in the 2008 election as an independent. His other brother, Phillip Frohnmayer, who resides in New Orleans, Louisiana is a professor of music at Loyola University. His son is Mark Frohnmayer, lead programmer of Starsiege: Tribes
Starsiege: Tribes
Starsiege: Tribes is a sci-fi first-person shooter video game. It is the first of the Tribes video game series and follows the story from Earthsiege and Starsiege. It was developed by Dynamix and published by the company now known as Sierra Entertainment in 1998.-History:A sequel, Tribes 2, was...
and Tribes 2
Tribes 2
-Legacy:On November 20, 2002, Sierra released an update for Tribes 2. This update contained two new game types, new maps and updates to address several issues. Sierra, which is now part of Vivendi SU, licensed the franchise to Irrational Games for a third installment; Tribes: Vengeance was...
at Dynamix
Dynamix
Dynamix, Inc. was an American developer of computer games from 1984 to 2001, best known for their flight simulator, Red Baron, the Front Page Sports series, Betrayal at Krondor, and their online multiplayer game, Tribes.-History:...
before leaving to co-found GarageGames
GarageGames
GarageGames is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, where it was moved after being acquired by IAC in 2007. As the makers of Torque game development technology, they have provided cross-platform technology and tools since 2000...
with Jeff Tunnell
Jeff Tunnell
Jeffrey Tunnell is a computer game producer, programmer and designer.In 1984 he founded Dynamix with Damon Slye in Eugene, Oregon.In 1990, Tunnell left Dynamix to start Jeff Tunnell Productions. Tunnell would go on to create famous brands such as The Incredible Machine, Trophy Bass, and the 3D...
, Rick Overman and Tim Gift. Mark has since started Arcimoto
Arcimoto
Arcimoto is an electric vehicle company from Eugene, Oregon developing the Pulse, a tandem two-seat, three wheeled electric vehicle.The company's founder, Mark Frohnmayer, is the son of politician and former Dean and President of the University of Oregon, David B. Frohnmayer...
, designing a three-wheeled electric vehicle
Electric vehicle
An electric vehicle , also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion...
.
In 2005 the University of Oregon MarAbel B. Frohnmayer Music Building
MarAbel B. Frohnmayer Music Building
The MarAbel B. Frohnmayer Music Building is the home of the School of Music and Dance at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. The building was originally built in 1924, expanded in 1948, 1955, and 1977, and was renamed after MarAbel B. Frohnmayer in 2005.-History:Construction on the original...
was named in honor of his mother.
Further reading
- UO's Frohnmayer bows out, The Oregonian, 4.30.2008, by Bill Graves and Janie Har.
- Frohnmayer: UO report card, The Oregonian, 4.30.2008, by Betsy Hammond and Jeff Smith.
- [AP] Frohnmayer to retire from University of Oregon, The Oregonian, 4.29.2008, by Julia Silverman.
- [Opinion] Frohnmayer serves University of Oregon well, The Statesman Journal, 4.30.2008.
- UO's Frohnmayer to retire in 2009, The Register-Guard; by Greg Bolt; 4.30.2008.
External links
- Office of the President Emeritus - Office of the President Emeritus at the University of Oregon