When Dave Taylor BS ’74 became the second director of College Outdoors in 1980, the program was still in its fledgling days.
“In those early years, students needed to BYOB—Bring Your Own Backpack—while we provided the leadership, access, and enthusiasm for our outdoor adventures,” Taylor recalls. “The time spent together learning and bonding made great memories. And there was always an emphasis on teaching new skills that students could take with them as lifetime explorers of the great outdoors.”
College Outdoors by the Numbers
1978
Year program was founded
500
Approximate number of students participating annually
15 to 18
Typical number of new student trips each year
During his four years leading the program, Taylor launched several initiatives that helped shape College Outdoors as students know it today, including New Student Trips, Spring Break adventures, and the beginnings of the equipment program.
After leaving Lewis & Clark in 1984 to attend the Yale School of Management—where he earned his MBA in 1986 and met his wife, Carol Samuels—Taylor remained deeply connected to the college. He served six years on the Board of Alumni and later as president of the Lewis & Clark College Alumni Association. In 1992, he received the Donald G. Balmer Alumni Citation for Service.
When Taylor returned to campus for his 50th reunion, he was blown away by how much College Outdoors had developed. With its 50th anniversary approaching in 2028, he and Carol decided to help sustain and grow its value to students and L&C.
To ensure that more first-year students could participate in this fall’s New Student Trips, Dave and Carol decided to make a generous gift to the College Outdoors program. Dave used the tax-savvy method of an IRA rollover gift and contributed $108,000, the maximum amount allowed for 2025. (This amount counted toward his required minimum distribution and reduced his taxable income for the year.) He recently initiated a second gift of $111,000—which will go toward student scholarships for improved trip access—using the same method.
“This amazing donation will have a huge impact on our students, and make it possible for more of them to access the many benefits of outdoor trips,” says Kori Campbell, director of College Outdoors. “New Student Trips have been shown to promote a sense of belonging, reduce student anxiety, and build resilience. For some students, the experience is truly life-changing. Dave and Carol’s generosity will allow many more students to participate.”
Taylor hopes fellow alumni will help build on that momentum. “The skills and adventures students experience through College Outdoors bring an opportunity to appreciate our natural environment and our relationship to it,” says Taylor. He and his wife continue to model this philosophy having just returned from a three-week hiking trip across the South Island of New Zealand.
Join Dave and Carol in supporting College Outdoors programming. Their goal: to double this gift and ensure that future generations of Lewis & Clark students experience the same sense of adventure and community that has defined the program for nearly five decades.
To learn more or make a gift, contact Henry “Hank” Coates at hcoates@lclark.edu or 503-768-7911.
