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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Duane and Barbara McDougall have pledged $1 million to endow a scholarship fund that will allow students in their home area south of Portland to attend Oregon State University. The McDougall Family Scholarship Fund will provide full OSU tuition and fees for selected high-achieving students with financial need from high schools in Tigard and Tualatin.

"OSU gave me the education I needed to succeed in my career," said Duane McDougall, a 1974 alumnus who rose through the ranks to become president and CEO of Willamette Industries. "This is our opportunity to give something back to Oregon State and the community where we grew up and raised our children."

After graduating from Tigard High School, Barbara McDougall also attended OSU for two years before completing her degree at Portland State University.

Undergraduate scholarships are a priority for the institution, according to OSU President Ed Ray.

"Giving Oregon's youth access to the life-changing possibilities of a college education is at the heart of OSU's land grant mission to educate future leaders," Ray said. "We are deeply grateful to Duane and Barbara McDougall for creating wonderful opportunities for young men and women in their home area."

As a youth, McDougall picked berries, delivered newspapers, and helped at his parents' luncheonette before heading to OSU to earn a degree in accounting. He needed to work full time during the summers - and then some - in order to afford a college education.

Now, however, the costs are much higher and a summer job often cannot cover school bills, he observed. This prompted the idea of creating a scholarship fund.

After graduation, McDougall worked for Arthur Anderson & Co. for five years before becoming assistant controller at Willamette Industries. Nineteen years and several positions later, he was named chief executive officer. As one of Oregon's two Fortune 500 companies, Willamette Industries operated more than 103 plants in 23 states, Europe and Mexico and employed almost 15,000 people.

McDougall has been an active volunteer with OSU and the OSU Foundation. He chaired the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees from 2002-03 and still serves on its executive committee. In May of 2006 McDougall was inducted into the OSU College of Business Hall of Fame for his many significant contributions to his profession and the community.