EUGENE,
Ore. -- (April 30, 2009) -- Lynn Frohnmayer, an ardent advocate for the welfare
of children, will be honored for her work Friday, May 1, with the University of
Oregon's 2009 Pioneer Award.

The award
will be given at the annual Pioneer Award Gala to be held this year at The
Nines Hotel in Portland. Frohnmayer was chosen for the honor by a committee of
UO alumni and friends who plan the annual Pioneer Award event.

"Lynn
Frohnmayer has devoted her life to children, making a difference in the lives
of thousands while raising five children of her own and courageously facing tremendous
personal tragedy," said John Herman of Portland, chair of the Pioneer Award Gala
steering committee.

The black-tie
event will include a reception, dinner, and program. Net proceeds will go to
the Pioneer Award Presidential Scholarship, and those who wish can contribute
to the scholarship fund even if they don't attend.

Inaugurated
in 1979, the UO Pioneer Award is presented to alumni and others who have become
leaders and risk-takers in their fields. Past winners include Lorry Lokey,
founder of Business Wire media relations company and the university's top
academic donor; Ann Curry, a 1978 UO graduate and news anchor on the NBC "Today
Show," and Nike co-founder Phil Knight, a 1959 UO graduate.

Lynn Frohnmayer
served as a case worker and branch manager for the Oregon Children's Services
Division, was one of the founders of the Lane County Relief Nursery and
continues to work as a volunteer for the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund. She and
her husband, Dave, UO president for the past 15 years, established the fund to
combat a rare genetic disease that claimed the lives of two of their daughters
and afflicts a third.

For
their groundbreaking work on Fanconi Anemia, Lynn and Dave received the 1999
Research America national advocacy award for health-related research and the
2000 Albert B. Sabin Heroes of Science Award from the Americans for Medical
Progress Educational Foundation.

Lynn
and Dave were also named the First Citizens of Eugene in 1998. In addition,
Lynn received the Portland March of Dimes White Rose Women of Achievement Award
in 2002.

Lynn also
worked as a national trainer promoting an initiative to get abused and
neglected children out of the revolving door of foster care and into permanent
homes.

After
growing up in Grants Pass, Ore., Lynn received her bachelor's degree in history
from Stanford University in 1964 and her master's in social work from Smith
College in 1968. From 1964-66, she worked as a Peace Corps volunteer on the
Ivory Coast, teaching English to French-speaking African children and writing a
language textbook.

For
more information about the Pioneer Award Gala and the scholarship fund, call
the Special Events Office in the UO Office of Development, 541-346-1670.

###