Emma Ambroziak / The Mossy Log
In September of 2024, Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. — a Lewis & Clark alum, businessman, philanthropist and longtime benefactor to the college — was sued by the Department of Labor in the U.S. District Court of Portland for violating federal labor laws. Pamplin was accused of conducting illegal real estate transactions at the expense of his company’s pension fund, and more importantly, at the expense of thousands of his employees. These employees, whose labor helped make Pamplin wealthy, relied on Pamplin as trustee of their pension plans and thus their financial stability in retirement.
Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. owns the Pamplin Media Group — one of the state’s largest news organizations, which includes the Portland Tribune. His largest property, the sprawling 81,000-acre R2 Ranch — five and a half times the size of Manhattan — is accompanied by a smattering of other properties scattered across Oregon, namely vineyards, ranches and mining sites. Although he once appeared on Forbes’ list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, in recent years, he made a series of poor financial decisions that slowly decreased his company’s net worth — including investing in a Christian music company and bookstore chain, and failing to pay income taxes. As his business empire crumbled, Pamplin sold properties to the pension plan to cover outstanding debts and increase personal liquidity, instead of seeking assistance from outside financiers.
A few months after the Department of Labor brought the lawsuit against Pamplin, in the Dec. 26 filing in the U.S. District Court in Portland, Pamplin conceded to all allegations. He admitted to a litany of federal pension law violations — most notably, knowingly breaching several sections of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA protects private sector employees and their benefits, including retirement and healthcare plans. Because the real estate market can be volatile, unpredictable and difficult to liquidate, ERISA largely forbids the use of a pension plan to purchase or invest in real estate, with the exception of qualifying property, which is fairly uncommon.
In essence, Pamplin admitted to irresponsibly and illegally using pension funds to purchase 27 non-qualifying real estate properties for the benefit of the corporation, despite objections from the Department of Labor. He also admitted to several other closely connected violations, including failing to account for environmental issues, inaccurate information provided by appraisers and unpaid property taxes when investing in these real estate holdings — all of which further reduced the value of the pension fund.
As stated and acknowledged by both parties in Section M of the settlement agreement, “Dr. Pamplin and Pamplin Corporation sold employer real property to the Pension Plan for the purpose of and with the intent to obtain cash for Pamplin Corporation and the Pamplin Affiliates to the detriment of the best interests of the Pension Plan’s participants and beneficiaries.”
As part of the Dec. 26 settlement agreement, Pamplin Jr. is prohibited from “from future service as a fiduciary of, or service provider to, any ERISA-covered employee benefit plan.” He is also enjoined from serving as or appointing “Plan Administrator, the Trustee, the investment manager or any fiduciary to the Pension Plan.”
Most notably, perhaps, is that Pamplin is ordered by the court to “restore all losses incurred by the Pension Plan resulting from Defendants’ fiduciary breaches.” In restoring at least $20,642,905 in losses to the pension plan, and therefore his employees, Pamplin will be forced to sell several of his properties across Oregon, including but not limited to the R2 Ranch, the Columbia Estate Farms and the Ross Island Property. Furthermore, until the loss amount is repaid in full, either with cash from the defendants or the sale of settlement assets, the loss amount will accrue an annual 5.8% interest rate, beginning with the date of the consent judgment (Dec. 26) and ending with repayment in full.
As stated by Nigel Jaquiss, who has chronicled this saga at length with Willamette Week, in a Jan. 15 article, “Pamplin’s extensive admission of wrongdoing is a painful outcome for a man who spent decades building his reputation through philanthropy and civic engagement.” Jaquiss has followed the decline and corruption of the R.B. Pamplin Corp since 2022, through the Oregon Journalism Project, a non-profit Oregon investigative newsroom. The U.S. Department of Labor, in reading Willamette Week’s and in particular, Jaquiss’s twelve articles uncovering questionable real estate transactions over the past five years, was moved to take action and bring a lawsuit against Pamplin.
The Pamplin family name is well-known at LC. The Pamplin Sports Center, built in 1969 and named for the elder Pamplin, occupies a central location on campus, serving as a second home for athletes who train, lift and work out regularly. The facility is also available for non-athletes to use for recreational exercise. Within the Pamplin Sports Center, the LC Athletics Hall of Fame features Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr., who was awarded a Meritorious Service Award in 2014 — a mark of recognition which, according to the LC website, is reserved for “Individual non-athletes, who in some manner have made extraordinary contributions to the success of the intercollegiate athletic program.”
The Pamplin family’s involvement with LC dates back to 1956, when Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Sr. first joined the Board of Trustees. He served on the board until 1968, and again from 1969-1979. He was nominated a LC life trustee — a title that pays homage to his devoted service and exceptional commitment to the college over the years. A philanthropist, successful business man and lifetime supporter of educational institutions, Robert B. Pamplin Sr. passed away in 2009, whereupon ownership of the Pamplin Estate transferred to his son, Robert B. Pamplin Jr.
Robert B. Pamplin Jr., who graduated with Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Administration (1964), Accounting (1965) and Economics (1966) from LC, is currently a life trustee for the college and served on the Board of Trustees from 1970 to 1996. In 1993, Robert B. Pamplin Jr. founded the Pamplin Society of Fellows, an undergraduate honor society which grants lifelong membership to educators and students “of the highest caliber,” according to the LC website.
“Membership is extended to seven second-year students annually; it is the highest honor bestowed by the College on its students,” reads the website. “Four endowed professors, one each from the disciplines of History, Science, Government and Economics, also serve as members of the Society. The student fellows determine, plan and implement a number of programs each year, including hosting a Distinguished Visiting Scholar and bestowing a Teacher of the Year Award.”
Needless to say, the Pamplin family has played a significant role in the financial wellbeing and academic development of the college, which is why Pamplin’s concession to years of swindling funds from his employees’ pension fund is both unexpected and disheartening.
According to Josh Walter, vice president for institutional advancement, who manages the college’s fundraising, outreach, event and stewardship goals, the Pamplin family has not made significant gifts to LC for over a decade.
Walter did not share specifics regarding the Pamplin family’s total donorship to the college since their involvement dating back to 1956.
“We acknowledge donors publicly at the time of a gift (if they wish to be acknowledged), but we do not make any kind of comparatives regarding total giving by different donors over time,” Walter shared via email on Feb. 3.
Walter added that while the Advancement Office does not share information about donors’ giving amounts, both Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Sr. and Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. are on the “Donor Wall of Honor” in the Fowler Center. To be on the wall of honor, a donor must have given $1 million or more to LC.
Director of Public Relations Lois Leveen shared a statement on behalf of the college with The Mossy Log on Feb. 3, via email, addressing the recent settlement between Pamplin and the Department of Labor.
“Lewis & Clark was disappointed to learn of Robert Pamplin, Jr.’s misdeeds regarding his company’s employee pension, as revealed in the US Department of Labor lawsuit,” Leveen wrote. “Such misdeeds do not reflect the values of the College.”
Whether or not Robert B. Pamplin Jr. will face criminal charges remains to be seen, as the civil settlement did not shield him from future prosecution.
On Jan. 27, 2025 WW staff published a number of reader responses to the federal crackdown on Robert B. Pamplin Jr. One reader, u/florgblogle, via Reddit, strongly condemned Pamplin’s pension fraud.
“Just glad that he lived to suffer the public beating of his reputation as a consequence,” they wrote. “What he did was absolutely unacceptable. So if his legacy was the most important thing to him personally, well, maybe he’ll spend his final years wallowing in shame and regret for stealing from his pensioners.”
Another reader, Richard Ellmyer, via wweek.com, praised Jaquiss’s work.
“Bravo, Nigel and WW,” Ellmyer wrote. “Well done. I have been following this story for years. It’s about time Pamplin was caught and paid up. No doubt this illegal maneuver will be prominently noted on plaques at Lewis & Clark College and the University of Portland and taught in their classrooms. Perhaps announced at their next patron awards dinners.”
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Too bad the Pamplin name is still all over campus. “Pioneers” has some bad connotations so we’re changing the name of our mascot, Pamlin’s crimes tarnish his father’s legacy, so lets rename the buildings and the scholarship program, otherwise our mascot might as well be the Lewis & Clark Swindlers. University of Portland changed the name of their business school, why can’t LC follow suit? #PamplinCrooks #LCSwindlers