Robert B. Pamplin, Jr.

Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr.
Born (1941-09-03) September 3, 1941
Augusta, Georgia
Nationality United States
Occupation Businessman, philanthropist, minister, educator, historical preservationist, author

Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. (born September 3, 1941) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and minister. He is also noted as an educator, historical preservationist and author.[1][2][3]

A longtime Oregonian, Pamplin is chairman, president and CEO of R.B. Pamplin Corporation, a family-owned company headquartered in Portland. It is one of the largest private corporations in Oregon.[4] He has appeared on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans.[5] In 2001, he was reported to be the third-wealthiest person in Oregon.[6]

Pamplin's holdings include textile company Mount Vernon Mills,[6] the Pamplin Media Group, and Ross Island Sand and Gravel, a concrete and asphalt company.[7]

Personal life and education

Pamplin was born in Augusta, Georgia to Robert B. and Katherine Reese Pamplin.[8]

In 1953, Pamplin moved with his family to Oregon. As a 10-year-old recovering from a year-long bout with hepatitis that made him bedridden, Pamplin began training in the Charles Atlas weightlifting method to regain his strength. In high school, he became an AAU Olympic Lifts weightlifting champion which led to a lifelong commitment to fitness.[9]

After graduating from Lincoln High School in Portland, Pamplin studied at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, ultimately transferring to Lewis & Clark College in 1962 to complete his undergraduate training. Pamplin has received eight degrees, including two doctorates:[1]

In 1965, while in college, Pamplin became a licensed stockbroker and transformed a modest inheritance into his first million dollars through careful investing.[9]

Pamplin and his wife Marilyn live in Lake Oswego, a wealthy suburb of Portland.

Business

In 1976, at age 35, Pamplin started his own business and managed the R.B. Pamplin Corporation. As Chairman, President and CEO of the R.B. Pamplin Corporation, Pamplin oversees several subsidiaries across three industries, including textile manufacturing, construction and media.[13]

Holdings include:

Pamplin's ownership of both media and major business interests in the Portland area has had some controversy, as his media holdings have been said to be engaged in a "newspaper war" over local circulation with The Oregonian and its affiliated papers.[6][16] When the Tribune was launched in 2001,[17] and again as of fall 2012,[18][19] his planned donation to the city of Portland of part of Ross Island, where his concrete and asphalt company is located, became controversial when industrial contamination was discovered on parts of the island.[20][21]

Educator

After receiving his masters degrees, Pamplin began teaching as a lecturer at Lewis & Clark College and went on to become a tenured business professor at the University of Portland.

Pamplin has also served on several state and presidential appointed commissions, and college boards of directors. He is a past trustee of five college boards,[1] and past chairman of three, including Lewis & Clark College,[9] Western Seminary and the University of Portland. He served on President Gerald Ford's National Advisory Council on Vocational Education from 1975 to 1980.[22] He was appointed by two governors to the Oregon State Scholarship Commission, serving from 1974 to 1980.[23][24]

Pamplin is an active donor to numerous colleges, universities and scholarship programs.[25] The business school at University of Portland is now named for him and the college of business at Virginia Tech is named for him and his father. Scholarship programs created by Pamplin include The Pamplin Scholars Program at Virginia Tech and The Pamplin Society of Fellows at Lewis & Clark College.

Preservation and philanthropy

Pamplin established Pamplin Historical Park in 1993. The park contains the NRHP-listed Petersburg Breakthrough Battlefield;[26] and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier (established 1999),[27] and has preserved critical aspects of the Civil War.[28]

In 2007, Pamplin donated 45 acres (18 ha) of the 400-acre (160 ha) Ross Island to the city of Portland, which plans to manage the property as a natural area.[29] The island contains considerable natural habitat, but also contains industrial waste and toxic fill dirt and is listed for cleanup by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.[30] The portions donated to the city, however, are thought to be pristine and contain habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, including bald eagles.[21]

The Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. International Collection of Art and History encompasses 5,000 years of antiquities and art.[31]

Pamplin was one of the backers of the effort to preserve Shaniko, Oregon, a former central Oregon sheep's wool transportation terminus of the Columbia River Southern Railway Company (1900 c. 1911) boomtown that is now considered a ghost town.[32]

Through personal and corporate giving, Pamplin has donated more than $150 million to numerous charities and has been instrumental in raising $500 million more for various causes. Pamplin also ran a food ministry for many years through Christ Community Church, where he was founder and senior pastor.[7] The program fed between 500 - 1,000 daily in Portland.[9]

Recognition

In recognition of his business leadership, he has received the Woodrow Wilson Center Corporate Citizenship Award,[33] the national Herman W. Lay Award for entrepreneurship,[34] and the Businessman of the Year Award from Beta Gamma Sigma International.[35]

Pamplin has been awarded many honorary degrees and national awards, including the Freedom Leadership Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge,[8] the National Caring Award from the Caring Institute, Philanthropist of the Year by the National Association of Fundraising Executives and national Volunteer of the Year from Volunteers of America.[36]

In Oregon, he has been honored with the Governor's Gold Award,[37] the Oregon Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Oregon Entrepreneur Forum,[37] the Governor's Arts Award, and Portland's First Citizen.[13]

Works authored

Pamplin is the author of 24 books and comic books, including two book-of-the-month club selections, including:

References

  1. 1 2 3 Carlson, Scott (January 21, 2000). "An Oregon Philanthropist Spreads a Philosophy of Learning by Doing". Chronicle of Higher Education. Vol. 46 (Issue 20). pp. A33–35.
  2. ↑ Dworkin, Andy (April 2, 2000). "An old-economy evangelist". The Oregonian.
  3. ↑ Griffin, Anna (July 8, 2007). "Robert Pamplin Jr ., 'as is'". The Oregonian.
  4. 1 2 Siemers, Erik (July 27, 2012). "Price of cotton influences R.B. Pamplin's gross sales". Portland Business Journal.
  5. ↑ (no author) (October 12, 1998). "The Forbes 400". Forbes. Vol. 162 (Issue 8).
  6. 1 2 3 4 Jaquiss, Nigel (January 30, 2002). "The incredible shrinking empire of Bob Pamplin: The struggling Portland Tribune is the least of his problems". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  7. 1 2 Fost, Dan (August 1, 2001). "Twice-weekly Tribune making a run at Portland news market - Wealthy owner may be guarantee of staying power". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  8. 1 2 McDermott, Judy (November 13, 1989). "A Feast of Spirit". The Oregonian.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, John H. (October 19, 1992). "Creative philanthropy". Forbes. Vol. 150 (Issue 9). pp. 64–66.
  10. ↑ http://www.detc.org/school_details.php?id=178
  11. ↑ http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04771t.pdf
  12. ↑ http://quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/dm4.html
  13. 1 2 Dworkin, Andy (April 2, 2000). "An Old-Economy Evangelist". The Oregonian.
  14. ↑ "Communications". Pamplin.org. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Winery History". Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  16. ↑ Sherman, Christopher (September 2001). "Oregon Controversy: Owning It All". American Journalism Review.
  17. ↑ Davis, Joel (March 27, 2001). "New Paper Challenges Mighty 'Oregonian'". Editor & Publisher.
  18. ↑ Culverwell, Wendy (October 12, 2012). "Oregonian, Trib scuffle in suburbs". Portland Business Journal.
  19. ↑ Frost, Allison (November 8, 2012). "Looking at Community Newspapers".
  20. ↑ Jaquiss, Nigel (July 12, 2006). "The Island of Dr. Pamplin". Willamette Week. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  21. 1 2 Manning, Robb (July 17, 2012). "Council Finally Accepts 45 Acres Of Ross Island From Pamplin". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Pamplin Son Named to Post". The Oregonian. March 25, 1975. p. 20.
  23. ↑ "Rose Named to Board". The Oregonian. July 9, 1976. p. 35.
  24. ↑ "Atiyeh Fills State Posts". The Oregonian. July 8, 1980. p. 62.
  25. ↑ Griffin, Anna (July 8, 2007). "Robert Pamplin Jr., 'as is'". The Oregonian.
  26. ↑ pamplinpark.org
  27. ↑ http://www.pamplinpark.org/national_museum.html
  28. ↑ Hogan, Dave (May 30, 1999). "War Remembered". The Oregonian.
  29. ↑ Killen, John (July 5, 2008). "The hole at Portland's heart". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Ross Island". Land Quality: Cleanup Sites with Individual Web Pages. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  31. ↑ Gragg, Randy (March 14, 1999). "To Have and to Hold: Maverick Businessman Robert Pamplin Jr. has Built One of the Northwest's Most Extraordinary Art Collections - And He's Keeping it in the Family". The Oregonian.
  32. ↑ Sachs, Peter (July 29, 2007). "Portland millionaire's money is on Shaniko - But not all residents in the tiny town are happy". Bend Bulletin.
  33. ↑ (no author) (September 15, 2012). "Pamplin, Hatfield receiving national award". Portland Business Journal.
  34. ↑ http://www.apee.org/award-lay.html
  35. ↑ (no author) (April 27, 2012). "Awards and announcements". Portland Business Journal.
  36. ↑ Butterworth, Beverly (December 7, 1991). "Caring Award Recognizes Oregonian's Good Works". The Oregonian.
  37. 1 2 "Oregon Entrepreneurs Forum honors Scott Gibson for lifetime achievement". Portland Business Journal. September 6, 2001.

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