Centennial Campaign

Boyles Give $1M for Scholarship

Tim and Mary Boyle have pledged an additional $1 million to a scholarship they established 12 years ago in honor of Tim’s aunt, the late Hildegard Lamfrom ’43. The scholarship is awarded with preference to students from India, with first preference given to female students from the Ahmedabad area.

“My aunt said, ‘There are very few times in life when you have no responsibilities, and they ought to be utilized for expanding your exposure to different ways to think,’” Tim says. “Any time we can help more students have that experience or make the experience richer, I think it’s good for both the students and the institution.”

A noted biochemist, Hildegard conducted research all over the world, including India, where she lived for 18 years. After graduating from Reed, she earned a master’s at Oregon State University and a doctorate at what is now Case Western Reserve University. During her career she collaborated with such Nobel laureates as Linus Pauling, Richard Feynman, and James Watson. At the time of her death at age 62, she was conducting genetic research at Harvard.

President and CEO of Columbia Sportswear, Tim has been a Reed trustee since 1995. When he was a senior in journalism at the University of Oregon, his father suddenly died of a heart attack. Tim and his mother, Gert Boyle, took over the family business and transformed Columbia Sportswear into a billion-dollar empire.

Tim believes that a good liberal arts education prepares students to make both quick and tough decisions. “Reed is a terrific institution,” he says. “It’s one of the best things that nobody knows about in Portland. It’s really good at channeling very smart students into a rigorous curriculum.”