UAF BENEFACTOR GRACE SCHAIBLE HONORED

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 1996

Fairbanks, Alaska - Alaska's first and so far only woman to hold the office of Attorney General has been named Outstanding Philanthropist of the year by the state chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives.

Longtime Alaskan and lawyer Grace Berg Schaible, currently chair of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. Board of Trustees, will be recognized for her generous donations of time, money and personal property to non-profit and educational organizations statewide, including the University of Alaska Fairbanks and campuses in Anchorage and Juneau.

Schaible will be honored in Anchorage Nov. 21 with an award given annually to recognize individuals who have demonstrated exceptional civic responsibility by providing major, on-going financial support and leadership to community fundraising projects.

Gifts by Schaible include endowments in the name of her late husband, medical doctor Arthur Schaible, which benefit students at the Anchorage campus pursuing medical degrees. Schaible donated her home in Juneau and land in Fairbanks to the university, as well as gifts of fine art, ivory and paintings to campuses in Fairbanks and Juneau.

Her contributions also have benefited national merit scholars, music students and fine arts students. Schaible was one of three co-chairs of the northernMOMENTUM 21st Century Campaign, which successfully raised nearly $13 million in private funds for UAF. Her other charitable contributions include gifts to the Nature Conservancy, Sitka Music Festival and Sheldon Jackson College.

Schaible graduated from high school in Juneau in 1943. She received a degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1949 and worked briefly as a secretary for the university's founding President Charles Bunnell before leaving to pursue a law degree.

After receiving her law degree from Yale in 1959, Schaible returned to Fairbanks and in less than two years became a full partner in the firm of McNealy and Merdes. In 1966, she became a partner in the firm of Merdes, Schaible, Staley and DeLisio, now Cook, Schuhmann and Groseclose. Schaible remains "Of Counsel" with the firm.

Schaible was appointed to the University of Alaska Board of Regents in 1985 but resigned in 1987 to become the first woman to hold the state's highest law office. She served as attorney general until her return to private practice in 1989. Schaible is known for her acceptance of pro bono cases, many of which have been on behalf of elderly Alaskan pioneers. Her corporate law activity includes representation of the Arctic Slope Regional Corp.

Schaible received an honorary doctor of laws degree from UAF in 1991 for her "distinguished and unselfish service on behalf of the state of Alaska and her thoughtful practice of law benefiting Alaska's people."

She is a current or past member of several community-based organizations, including the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the University of Alaska Museum Endowment Committee, UAF Alumni Association Board of Directors, several corporate advisory boards throughout the state.

CONTACT: Assoc. Vice Chancellor Karen Cedzo, (907) 474- 7581.

DPD/11-15-96/97-030