Mark McCambridge ’73, Jan. 16, 2014.
The former vice president for finance and administration at Oregon State University died in his home from “a long and courageous battle with cancer,” according to an email from OSU President Ray and Provost Sabah Randhawa. McCambridge retired in July 2013 after 20 years at OSU. He was 62 with two children. McCambridge, who was born in Seattle and graduated from Santa Clara University, joined OSU in 1994 as director of business services. Before being named VP of finance and administration in 2001, he held several positions at OSU. In 2013, McCambridge received the Honorary Alumni Award and the Distinguished Service Award, one of OSU’s highest honors. He was well-liked and respected by colleagues and friends. “We lost a remarkable individual,” said Kavinda Arthenayake, director of University Conference Services in the LaSells Stewart Center. Arthenayake knew McCambridge for more than 10 years. When they worked together, McCambridge was Arthenayake’s direct supervisor.
McCambridge’s impact went beyond just the workplace. Arthenayake said McCambridge made an effort to know everyone as an individual and would reach out to people’s families. McCambridge developed a bond with Arthenayake’s 14-year-old daughter, Lauren, who met McCambridge when she was 6 years old. When Lauren discovered McCambridge had cancer, she started baking him cookies. One birthday, she baked McCambridge’s cake.
“This is how (McCambridge) touched the lives of other individuals,” Arthenayake said. Arthenayake spoke fondly of McCambridge, describing him as a mentor and the “most considerate individual he has ever met.”
Arthenayake said McCambridge built meaningful relationships and went beyond to help those around him succeed. Ray and McCambridge built a close friendship, and Ray said he helped shape several aspects of the university.
“Mark McCambridge was a very special friend of mine,” Ray said in a press release. “And he was a great friend of many, many people at Oregon State University, within higher education in Oregon and throughout the Corvallis community. He will be sorely missed and fondly remembered.”
McCambridge also helped the university achieve fourth place in the nation for use of renewable energy. Brandon Trelstad, sustainability coordinator, worked with McCambridge on making the university a greener campus. Trelstad said McCambridge played a particular role in helping OSU achieve its recognizable status as a leader in sustainability.
McCambridge is survived by his wife, Betsy McCambridge ’74, his son, Mark McCambridge Jr., his daughter and son-in-law Kelly and Jason Hower, and his grandchildren, Patrick and Molly Hower.