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--> --> U of O to return donation EUGENE (AP) - The University of Oregon will return an $850,000 donation made by the defunct Portland investment firm Capital Consultants, school officials said Friday. The amount is a little over half the payment that Capital Consultants made toward a 1996 pledge of $1.5 million by the firm's former chief executive officer, Jeffrey Grayson, to help renovate the university's old law school building. The name of the building, now used for general classroom and office space, will be changed from Grayson Hall to McKenzie Hall. Grayson gave up control of Capital Consultants in September after he was accused by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission of concealing massive investment losses totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. A judge has ordered the firm's remaining assets be sold, and a court-appointed receiver asked the UO foundation to repay the pledge money after determining the donation should be voided because it was made at a time when Capital Consultants was insolvent. "Returning the gift is the right thing to do under the circumstances," said UO Foundation President Vinton "Slim" Sommerville. Thomas Lennon, the court-appointed receiver, praised the school for returning the money. "The UO Foundation acted promptly and was very forthcoming in bringing this to a resolution," Lennon said. Grayson is a 1964 business graduate of Oregon. He served as president of the UO Foundation in 1994-95 and as co-chair of The Oregon Campaign, which raised $255.3 million in private gifts for the university from 1992-98. Based on Grayson's $1.5 million pledge, the foundation gave the university the money for the renovation. The project was completed in fall 2000. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing