Kirby (Noland) Dyess ‘68 learned early on she could do whatever she put her mind to

Davis, Laura

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DigitalCommons@Linfield

Linfield Magazine Volume 1 Number 2 Fall 2004 Article 16 Fall 2004 Investing in Higher Education Laura Davis Linfield College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine Recommended Citation Davis, Laura (2004) "Investing in Higher Education," Linfield Magazine: Vol. 1 : No. 2 , Article 16. Available at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/linfield_magazine/vol1/iss2/16 This article is brought to you for free via open access, courtesy of DigitalCommons@Linfield. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@linfield.edu. Kirby (Noland) Dyess ‘68learned early on she could dowhatever she put her mind to.That legacy, instilled by herfather and reinforced by a series ofmentors, has been the basis for suc-cessful and diversified careers inbiochemistry, high technologymanagement and most recently,education. Dyess, founder of AustinCapital and a member of theLinfield College Board of Trustees,was appointed to the Oregon StateBoard of Higher Education inJanuary. She chairs the AcademicExcellence and EconomicDevelopment Committee, focusedon research areas that will becomeeconomic development engines forthe state.“I can’t imagine my career if Ihadn’t pursued a college degree,”she said. “I want to work on what-ever I can to increase the invest-ment in higher education.”As a Linfield student, Dyessentered the male-dominatedphysics lab and competed on themen’s ski team. She immersed her-self in the Linfield ResearchInstitute, conducting research inholography, a relatively new field atthe time, studying three-dimen-sional images formed with lasers.As a junior, Dyess returned toher home state of Idaho, earning abachelor’s degree in physics fromthe University of Idaho. She thenpursued post-graduate work in bio-chemistry and business at PortlandState University and StanfordUniversity.After a brief stint with a lawfirm, Dyess spent a decade at ICNMedical Laboratories Inc. inPortland, where she started andoperated the Diagnostic ProductsDivision based on her research inendocrinology, diabetes and metab-olism.She joined Intel’s staffingdepartment in 1979, where hercuriosity and love of a challengepropelled her through the ranks.When she retired in 2002 as vicepresident and director of operationsfor Intel Capital, Intel’s strategicinvestment program, she managed aportfolio of over 400 national andinternational companies and hadhandled more than 50 Intel mergersand acquisitions. “Every time there was anopportunity, I looked at it from theperspective of ‘can I learn some-thing new and can I make a differ-ence?’” she said. “And that contin-ues to guide me today.”Professionally, Dyess has beenpleased to have been part of a num-ber of successful teams that haveworked together for a commongoal.“I see that with members of theLinfield board frequently and nowwith the Oregon Board of HigherEducation, all of whom are focusedon the same objective,” she said. “It’samazing what can happen whenyou bring those diverse perspectivestogether and deliver exquisiteresults.”In addition to being a memberof the Board of Trustees forLinfield, Dyess is a member of theMenasha Corporation Board ofDirectors, the Merix Corporationboard and the H2F Media board,and she chairs the BusinessAdvisory board for the Universityof Oregon Lundquist College ofBusiness.If there’s one area Dyess has yetto master, it’s retirement. Sheremains challenged by her work as apersonal investor with AustinCapital and with her board respon-sibilities.“It’s all a labor of love,” she said.“I think I’ve flunked retirement butthe good news is, I love what I do.”–Laura DavisInvesting in higher education“I can’t imaginemy career if Ihadn’t pursued acollege degree. I want to work onwhatever I can to increase the investment in highereducation.”Class NotesKirby (Noland) Dyess ‘68F A L L  2 0 0 4 -   3 1They’ve been friends for more than 70 years –through childhood, college, a war and now, volunteerefforts.Two World War II veterans, Lieutenant TomMaloney ‘46 and Captain Colin Armstrong ‘51, had achance to reflect on their friendship and the war thatshaped their lives, when they attended the dedication ofthe National World War II Memorial in Washington,D.C., on May 29. Evergreen International Aviationsponsored the trip for four veterans, all volunteers at theEvergreen Aviation Museum, including Maloney andArmstrong. The group was among more than 150,000 peoplewho attended the dedication ceremony. The memori-al honors the 16 million people who served in thearmed forces of the U.S., the more than 400,000 whodied and all who supported the war effort from home.For Maloney, the experience was, “inspirationaland quite touching. I thought about how we werethere and all our friends who were killed were not.”Maloney was 20 and had attended Linfield forthree years when he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve inOctober 1941 as a dive bomber pilot. Two monthslater, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. During his fouryears of service, he was awarded 14 service medals,including two navy crosses, one distinguished flyingcross and five air medals.Maloney lost a number of friends and familymembers during the war including Linfield classmatesJimmy Breeding ‘39 and Gilbert Roberts ‘41. “We had more egotism and confidence than wehad brains,” he said. “Inside of us, we had the feelingwe were all supermen. When I came back, I hadmatured. I was 26 going on 56.”Maloney returned to Linfield and finished hisdegree in 1946, marrying Nita (Glascoe) ‘48 later thatyear. Returning veterans changed the climate ofLinfield’s campus, Nita noted.“Most of the veterans smoked and danced,” she said.“Within a few years, rules changed on campus, too.”Armstrong agreed, adding “things were muchmore strict and proper before the war. The attitudewas more relaxed and informal when I returned.”Armstrong entered the navy in 1942 as a divebomber pilot, fulfilling a lifelong dream.“Becoming a navy pilot was my career ambition,”he said. “Seldom do you know that and get to do it. Iwas lucky that way.”After the war, Armstrong earned a business admin-istration degree at Linfield before continuing his careerin the military, serving as a carrier pilot, meteorologistand oceanographer. He spent the next two years fore-casting ice in the Arctic Ocean, and went on to serve atotal of 30 years, earning 14 service medals along theway. After retiring from the military, Armstrong was aYamhill County commissioner for eight years.– Laura DavisRemembering service and sacrificeCaptain Colin Armstrong ‘51Lieutenant Tom Maloney ‘46that the nursing school has developed will be importantto the current project’s success, from the middle schoolswhere Linfield has a long-established mentoring programto community organizations that provide sites for clini-cal experiences. One such partnership was establishedthis past summer, when the Oregon Health CareerCenter held its Summer Enrichment Academy forCareers in Health on Linfield’s Portland Campus.Linfield also works with Las Hermanas, a program thatencourages Hispanic students to complete high schooland enter college programs, and the NationalAssociation of Hispanic Nurses.Josie Rodriguez, director of cultural liaison at SilvertonHospital, has long been one of Linfield’s partners. She prais-es Wros and the other nursing school faculty she hasworked with for their efforts and their sincerity. “They come to us,” she says. “They seek advice fromthe stakeholders.” Rodriguez believes this project willhave a direct impact on health disparities and a number ofbeneficial ripple effects on the Hispanic community.The grant fully funds the Linfield program for threeyears, with $186,343 provided for this year and amountsof $172,721 and $196,664 recommended for years twoand three respectively.– Peter A. McGrawcontinued from page 143 0  -  L I N F I E L D  M A G A Z I N E

Investing in Higher Education

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