Linfield Board of Trustees Chairman Dave Haugeberg poses in front Northup Hall, which was built in a partnership between the college and the city of McMinnville.
Marcus Larson
News-Register

Dave Haugeberg is widely known for his persistence in working for the Newberg-Dundee Bypass. It’s an important issue, one he says may someday ease traffic congestion and improve travel all the way from the Portland area to the coast.

But ultimately, he would like to be remembered for even more important work — making higher education available to more young people, thus putting them in a position to make their own contributions, and helping improve the lives of Mid-Valley Rehabilitation clients.

“My passion is for education and people with disabilities,” said Haugeberg, a local attorney who is both a long-time Linfield College trustee and long-time president of Mid-Valley.

His role with Linfield has just expanded. Haugeberg was elected chairman of the Board of Trustees this spring, becoming the first McMinnville resident at the helm since banker Herbert Tony led the board in 1931.

“It’s an opportunity for me to continue to support the special relationship between Linfield and the community,” he said.

“McMinnville is extremely fortunate to have a treasure like Linfield,” he said. “It’s a natural for me to promote the college — for the school, for McMinnville and for young people.”

Haugeberg became involved with both Linfield and Mid-Valley back in the 1970s. “First you’re interested with an institution that’s part of the community, then you fall in love with it,” he said.

Mid-Valley’s founder, Margaret Reavis Larson, recruited him for the board at the outset. He became the board president in 1976.

“It’s very special to me to be involved in helping someone who can be a success with a little help,” he said.

His work with Mid-Valley reminds him of the Jaycee creed, said Haugeberg, who was active in the McMinnville Jaycees in the late 1960s and the 1970s. “Service to humanity is the best of work of life,” he quoted.

He could apply the same words to his work with Linfield, which began when his law partner, Linfield trustee Eugene Marsh, asked him to become the college’s legal counsel. In 1984, he became one of the 36 trustees himself.

Linfield trustees act as a board of directors, working with faculty, staff and administrators to set policy, provide direction and foster fundraising.

Over the years, Haugeberg has served as board secretary and worked on various task forces, including one charged with overhauling the bylaws and another with developing a college master plan. He also chaired the presidential search committee that resulted in the hiring of Thomas Hellie.

In 2008, he was elected vice chairman. He gave up his role as Linfield’s legal adviser that year in favor of John McKeegan, one of his colleagues at Haugeberg, Rueter, Gowell, Fredricks & Higgins.

This May, when five-year chair Glenna Krueger decided to retire, Haugeberg was tapped for the top spot.

“I was more than surprised and humbled,” he said. “There are an extraordinary number of talented people on the board. One has to be honored to be selected.”

During his term as board president, Haugeberg hopes to see trustees continue to support the college’s financial needs. In particular, he said, it must seek opportunities to grow the endowment and raise money for endowed scholarships.

In addition, he said, the board needs to continue fundraising for the remodeling of Northup Hall, the former library, which is earkmarked to house four academic departments. “Northup could be an extraordinary facility,” he said.

Northup Hall is a prime example of the symbiotic relationship that’s always existed between Linfield and the community of McMinnville. City support made it possible for the college to build the library in the 1930s.

In turn, McMinnville residents will always have the right to borrow books from the college. Residents of other college towns don’t have that privilege.

From the first, he said, Linfield and McMinnville have grown together and supported each other, Haugeberg said. Early McMinnville settlers donated land for the school, which they felt would be an important part of their town.

Town and gown grew up together, with a natural give-and-take through the decades. The relationship continues.

Local residents attend lectures, plays and sporting events at the college, or play in the Linfield band, in addition to giving money and time to the school. They give money for local scholarships and other college projects through an annual fundraising campaign, Partners In Progress.
Linfield students volunteer in the community, putting in 20,000 hours last year alone. They do student teaching in McMinnville schools, shop in local stores and bring their parents to town to eat in local restaurants and stay in local motels.

What’s more, many Linfield students turn into McMinnville or Yamhill County residents, either right after they graduate or years later, when they’re seeking a nice place to retire.

“The relationship between McMinnville and Linfield ... they’re both the better for it,” Haugeberg said.

Haugeberg earned his undergraduate degree in political science at Willamette University and his law degree at the University of Oregon. But he describes himself as “a Linfield fan all the way.”

The life-long Oregonian believes firmly in the importance of higher education.

“Someone thought education was important enough to see that I had the opportunity to go to college,” he said. “If not for that, my life would have been totally different.

“Now it’s my responsibility to see that others have those opportunities.”

As chairman, Haugeberg will help set agendas for the board’s quarterly meetings, meet regularly with the college president and coordinate the board’s interaction with the faculty, administration, staff and student body.

He’s looking forward to working with other trustees and constituents of the college to make Linfield an even better institution — and to make sure people everywhere know how great it is.

For his part, Haugeberg does all he can to spread the word.

On a recent vacation to remote Southeast Oregon, for instance, he stopped for lunch in the tiny town of Fields. While there, he encouraged a young woman to choose Linfield for her advanced nursing studies.

“I try to seize every opportunity to make Linfield available to students,” he said. “Both the students and Linfield will be better if they attend.”

Starla Pointer, who is convinced everyone has an interesting story to tell, has been writing the weekly “Stopping By” column since 1996. She’s always looking for suggestions. Contact her at 503-883-6263 or spointer@newsregister.com.