The University has received a RISE Campaign donation of $85,533 from Don Romanaggi, M.D., an alumnus and longtime supporter of the University. His gift benefits student scholarships at the University, upgrades to Don V. Romanaggi M.D. Hall, and enhancements of Joe Etzel Field. Romanaggi graduated from UP in 1956 and then earned his medical degree in 1960 from Loyola University’s Stritch School of Medicine. His medical practice in Portland specialized in treatment of allergy, asthma, and immunology. In 1997, he retired from active practice after 31 years. While practicing medicine, he also was an associate professor of the volunteer teaching faculty at Oregon Health Sciences University.
Romanaggi and his late wife Agnes, a 1959 UP graduate, have been generous to the University over the years. They were the major donors to the Old Science Hall that in November 2010 was renamed Romanaggi Hall. The gift helped fund new windows throughout, renovation of the third floor, roof improvements, and the first thorough cleaning of its masonry in seventy years. The Romanaggis, who were married for almost 50 years, also made an estate planning gift to provide continued maintenance of the building. They are the originators and major contributors to the Rev. John Molter, C.S.C. Endowed Chair in Science. The gift honored the professor from whom he once earned a dollar. Molter had promised a dollar to any student who got an A in his science class, and those were rare dollars indeed. They also established and funded the Romanaggi Endowed Scholarship in Pre-Med and the Rev. Gregory Lombardo, C.S.C. Scholarship in Religion. After Agnes’ passing in 2008, Romanaggi funded the Agnes M. Romanaggi Environmental Lab in Donald Shiley Hall.
Romanaggi’s gift is part of the RISE Campaign, which was announced in December 2010 and seeks to raise $175 million by 2014. The campaign has raised more than $168 million to date and is one of the largest development campaigns ever for a Pacific Northwest private college or university. For more information contact development at 7395 or hanna@up.edu.