by Register-Guard Staff
The Oregon Research Institute, Inc., was established in Eugene in 1960 by director Paul Hoffman. At the time, the operation had a couple of secretaries and a couple of assistants, besides Hoffman himself.
But today, that same operation has been expanded to 62 employees, including 10 with doctorate degrees, cramped into five leased buildings clustered around the main office at 11th and Ferry Streets.
Overcrowded, ORI announced this week it plans to construct new quarters near Lane Community College. An initial payment of $15,000 was made by ORI to Mr. and Mrs. John Warren of Eugene this week, first part of a total purchase price said to be “in excess of $50,000.”
Because ORI is a non-profit institute, it will have to settle financing arrangements before it can firm up actual construction plans.
Charles Brooks, administrative assistant to Hoffman, said Tuesday he expects no plans to be announced before October–at the very earliest.
At present, ORI has between 8,500 and 9,000 square feet of space and, although Brooks had no estimate of the size of a proposed new facility, he indicated it would be designed primarily only to keep pace with growth rather than being a major expansion of projects.
The largest of the projects now under way, according to Brooks, is a National Institute of Health-financed “personality assessment.”
Besides Hoffman, principals of the corporation are Edward Fadeley, Harry Rubenstein, and Roland Pellegrin of Eugene, and Dr. George Saslow of Portland.
Reprinted with permission. Copyright 1969, The Register-Guard, www.registerguard.com.