Portland State University Alumni News Summer 1986 The Sixties: R e m e m b e l : j f Y 1 a ~ ~ g e !<:- '- ~ SEI' 2 1936}.) L ! B R · ~ V
Portland State University Alumni News Summer 1986 Inside PSU's fifth president 1 2 Natale A. Sicuro takes over after 14-year presidency ofJoseph C. Blume!. The Class of '86 1 1 Who are the 2, 135 people who received degrees from PSU this spring? Windsurfing in the Gorge 1 5 PSU alum promotes the Columbia River's steadiest a5set-lhe wind. M.th for the left brain 1 7 PSU and OSU profs are helping math teachers find alternalive methods of presenting a tough subject. Reform in conservative clothing 1 8 Gordon Dodds' new history of the Northwest shows progressive Oregon's conservative roots. From the soaps to summer theater 1 9 "Kurt Corday, " good guy of TV's "The Guiding Light, " returns to PSU for a very different role in Sam Shepard play. The Sixties remembered /10-11 Four former students and staff recall a decade of change. The search for the "Missing Viking" / 16 Helping to locate lost PSU alumni could win you a trip to Copenhagen. AlumNotes 1 4 Sports 1 11 foun<I.tion News 1 16 CMnpus News 1 17-18 Calend.r 119 On the cover: The crane and the placard were symbols of the 19605 at Portland State. The decade is remembered on pages 1 and 10-11. The Sixties The 1965 PSC College Bowl Team II A tradition of change and progress" by Clarence Hein In 1965, Portland State's College Bowl team won five straight nationally televised contests, setting records and earning national publicity for PSc. "Portland State College . . . Who in tunkit are they?" Time magazine asked. It was a question the college was asking itself, too. Students were welcomed to the campus in the early 1960s with warnings to be mindful of construction barricades, excavations and piles of building materials, a condition that was to be the norm throughout the decade. The Vanguard, in 1962, said, "Portland State is always building and growing and astonishing the critics who thought the Vanport flood had done us in. It's almost like a-that's it!- a tradition. A tradition of change and progress ." While some searched for campus traditions over the next few years and tried to find Portland State's place in the higher education scheme of things, the press of external events forced the focus of many students and faculty away from the school. At the same time, public focus was drawn to the student activism on campus. Meanwhile, a decade of tremendous developrnent at PSU slipped by, sometimes unnoticed. Through most of the decade, Portland State was guided by its second preSident, Branford P. Millar, a quietly competent, scholarly man who left a permanent mark on the developing institution. By the end of the 1960s, Portland State had evolved from an undergraduate college with 4,000 students and a 3-block campus. to Portland State University with more than 10,000 students, a 20-plus block campus and a dozen graduate programs either operating or about to start. Along the way the school marked a number of "firsts": first graduate program (social work, 1962); first international program (Pavia, Italy, 1963); first building constructed off the Park Blocks (Science I, 1965); first campus security officer (1962); first pedestrian crossing signal (1962); first parking garage (1965); first plastic ID card (1962); first pass/no-pass classes (1968). A 1960 campus map shows a small, crowded campus with only Lincoln Hall. two quarter-block sections of Cra mer Ha II and a half-block, two-story college center with a quarter-block library addition. Inadequate facilities were a way of life. The library, formally dedicated in October. 1960, registered its one millionth visitor by January, 1962, many of them in search of a quiet study space. At one point in 1962 the school was growi ng so fast that admissions were cut off early. Signs of growth were everywhere but at times the price of progress was depersonalization. By 1964. for example, the size of the graduating class had outgrown the Civic Auditorium. Commencement that year was marred by complaints from seniors who were limited to three tickets for family and friends, and who did not hear their individual names read or receive diploma covers until after the ceremony. Movement to the more spacious Memorial Coliseum in 1965 resolved those problems. Students faced change both on and off campus. Those living in the area around campus fought a steady but losing battle with the wrecking ball, the final blow coming in January, 1968. with announcement of a federal urban renewal grant to obtain all the property west of the Park Blocks and south to the freeway for the college. Dozens of older houses and apartment buildings were crushed and hauled away in trucks along with small retail and eating establishments around the college. As living space became harder to find. Portland Student Services was organized to find, renovate and operate student housing. As the charader of the campus was changing so were the concerns of the students. In 1960, three-quarters of the students were in lower division classes. By 1970, upper division and graduate students outnumbered lower Continued on page 8
Sicuro, PSU's fifth president, prepares for Sept. 15 transition by Cynthia O. Stowell Calling his new pOsition "the most desirable university presidency in the country," Natale A. Sicura is preparing to come to campus Sept. 15 as Portland State University's fifth presIdent. Sicuro, 51, the president of Southern Oregon State College since 1979, was appointed to the PSU post luly 18 by the State Board of Higher Education after a 31h·monlh national search. Current PSU President Joseph C. Blumel announced in January his intention to leave the presidency by the end of 1986. Blumel, who has been president since 1974 and on the faculty since 1957, will be appointed President Emeritus Sep!. 15 and then will go on leave Jan. 1, returning to the University (aculty later in 1987. Natale Sicura (pronounced Nat-a-lee Sick-a-row), who has a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Kent State University, feels PSU is "right in the middle of the challenges faCing higher education." Certain advantages, such as its location in "one of the most dynamic cities in the world," make Portland Siale "a grecH place with a great future," he says. PSU's position on the Pacific Rim also holds great potential, believes Slcuro. "1 think our mternational business posture is among the very best in terms of where we can be strategically positioned to help not letter Thanks, Ben I was deeply saddened to read about the passing of Ben Padrow (Sprmg 1986 Perspective). It seems only yesterday that he led the PSU Team, and therefore the College as well. to national distinction on the C. E. College Bowl. Thai Singular distincllon did more to raise the public consciousness about the academic excellence of the College than anything. in my opinion, before or since. Never again was I the butt of comments about attending a "real" school like Oregon State University or University of Oregon. Thanks. Ben. Kenneth F. Sample 1'67 BS) ZIon, Illinois Correction The photograph on page one of the Sprmg 1986 Perspective was credited to the wrong person. The photographer who captured a sunny day in the Park Blocks in 1958 was Herb Perkins ('57). While on campus, Perkins was a staff photographer for the Viking. the Vanguard, and the University's Information Office. PfJ8e 2 / PSU Perspective, Summer 1986 only Oregon and Portland, but the entire world." Sicura speaks of the UniverSIty becoming a national demonstration center for research in urban education, "putting the University and the public school system In a dose working relationship." He also wants to "strengthen ties with community colleges and private institutions" in the area, he says. Community relations was one of Sicuro's strengths at Southern Oregon, said State Board President James S. Petersen. "His success ... was based on a lot of communication with faculty, staff and the public at large," he said. The new president says he plans to set up a 40-45 member University advisory board of community members "from all walks of life" to be involved "integrally in the affairs of the University." Not just a "sounding board," this group would bring PSU faculty and administrators togelher with the community on a regular basis to work on specific projects. Legislative affairs would be one area of focus. In fact, one of Sicuro's first steps this fall will be to meet with the local legislative delegation 10 "discuss the agenda for PSU and the slate system as a whole." High on Sicuro's priority list for the 1987 seSsion will be faculty salaries, capital construction projects ~ i n c l u d i n g expansion of the USE PSU LIBRARY AlumnI 8('n('tll\ Cud n q - ~ q ~ 8 "Portland State is too young to be covered with the ancient ivy of educational complacency. But already the university has established a tradition of service to the community, of responsiveness to business and industry, of recognizing the need for an educated citizenry if we are 10 be a strong, vital, energetic, visionary, aware people. "The campus has the verve and vigor of the proletariat without losing sighl of Ihe integrity and intellectual excellence of a great university." -Pauline Anderson, in accepting a PSU Distinguished Service Award at spring commencemenl. library and renovation of Smith Center at PSUI, and the state system's "centers for excellence." Sicuro also plans to begin work on a "Plan for the '90s" based on the state system's strategic plan and PSU's mission statement, and to "talk extensively" with Ihe Foundation Board and development staff about fundraising goals and methods. While Sicuro was president, the sase Foundation raised $5 million in five years. Sicuro would like to see PSU fundraisers "reach out a lillie farther and a little longer" with specific funding goals and expenditures in mind. A drive to raise $10 million in five years would be reasonable al PSU, he feels. Alumni are "extremely important" in these efforts to reach out 10 the community, says Slcuro. "They are the University," he believes. As examples of the institution's "products," alumni are the "best recruiters of proo;pE!Clive students and the best fundraisers and d e v e l o p e r ~ . " He points to urban universities in Seattle, Miami and Houston thai have strong, spirited alumni participation in campus affairs. "They have to be involved," he says. not only in financial but in academic mailers. Continued on IMge 8 Who was your favorite prof? When you think back to your days at Portland Slate or Vanpon. does one professor's face leap to mind? Out of all the ideas and information that came your way, do the words of one professor stay With you? Spend a few moments thinking about the Portland State prof who influenced you the most. What made him or her stand out? Inspiring leclures? An intriguing outlook on life? Exceptional expertise? A personal interest in your work? Some sage advice at a critical time? years of great teaching Now share your memories of this favorite professor with your classmates in a special salute to "40 Years of Great Teaching" scheduled for the fall issue of Perspective. Send your thoughts (up to about 250 words) to: PSU Perspective, Portland Stale University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR 97207. Please include the professor's name and department, your name and address, and your year of graduation. Help us celebrate 40 years of great leaching al PSU! JFmJ ~ r s p e c t i v e P 5 U ~ l w : l s p u b i i s h e o d q u a r t f l l y d o f i n 8 t h e yNr by News MId Inforrmlion Services fOI' ~ I u m n l , f.cully MId ~ f f Jf'Id frier'1d5 01 P o n l ~ n d St;ile UnMnity. &litor C } n l h l ~ 0 SIoweIl Contributors C ~ r e n c e Heln ·(,S OIIi.k;)hA§On ~ E d i ' o r P " I 5 c o t l a . . . . . r o l ~ S e n d I x l d l _ M . d < N d .td1tiJlH 10 P5U PwnpKthoe, P.O. b 751, P o n I . I n d ~ . u ~ , PortL.rd, Orep-o, 91207. htmb; Iflhlslnue i s ~ 10 your son or diushaer who no Ioniet m.lIinblim ~ perm;lnent .tdle5lillyouthorne,pIe_nocifylheP5U Aknnni QfRc,. (50),229-4948) of the _ IMIIIni ....... PSU 5UpI)CIfb eqlYl e<b:atlon.l opfIOfII.Inity wichouI: rq.lIrd 10 Ib, JKe, Iwndicap• •, Ntil:NI on,.n, INIIQI status, or ~ ; I i M .
The Class of '86 Each year, a couple of thousand names are added to Portland State's alumni rolls. About 900 of them file triumphantly through Memorial Coliseum to receive their diplomas at spring commencement. Who are these people who are earning their degrees from PSU? This year, PSU graduated 2,135 people. Of those, 1,568 received bachelors degrees, 551 master's and 16 doctorates. Women slightly outnumbered the men: 1,119 women 10 1,106 men. Men earned more bachelor's degrees than women (79B men, 770 women) but more graduate degrees were awarded to women (master's--339 women, 212 men; Ph.D's-lO women, 6 men). About 40 percent of the undergraduate and graduate degrees were awarded through the College of liberal Arts and Sciences. while 23 percent came from the School of Business Administration. Education accounted for 12 percent of the degrees, Engineering 10 percent, Social Work five percent, Urban and Public Affairs five percent, HPE four percent, and Performing Arts one percent. Seventy·seven percent of the Class of '86 was white, 5.2 percent were Asian, 1.5 percent black, .9 percent Hispanic and .5 percent Native American. Foreign students made up 5.4 percent of the graduating class. The average age of the '86 graduate was 30 years old. Those earning bachelor's degrees averaged 28 years of age, master's 34 and doctorates 38. Statistics provided by Dale Vermaas, PSU Institut ional Resurcb. PSU Perspective, Summer 1986 / pase 3
Compiled by Cliff Johnson Van port Dick Bogte, Portland city commlssiOllef. recently relUrned irom a Portland Development Commission·sponsored Ifip to Japan, where he helped secure a new economIC development exchange agreement between the s i ~ e r cities of Portland and Sapporo. Jeny A. K ~ 1 e y has beIm named manage!' of the N.E. 42nd and Going 51. branch of First Inlootate Bank of Oregon. Portland. He has been with First Interstate since 1957 and has servt'd as manager of the bank's WeslUnn. Ore. branch since 1984. Roger Zenet' has been appointed to serve a term on the Oregon State lottery CommiSSIon. '58 Hon. Setty R. Roberts (85), 'o\'ho retired ,u as!ioO<lle Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court in February of this year. has been appoinled to the Oregon [ducalional COOfdiruling Commission, serving until Aug., 1990. The commission plar», coorthnates and evaluates ooucillion programs in kindefgarten through postgraduille programs around thE' state. '60 Monte Shelton (85). pre5.dent of Monte Shelton Motor Co., Portland, woo the hotly<ont£>Sled G.I Joe's Rose Cup spoos car ract' lune 8 .11 Ponland Inll'fnational Raceway. Shelton steered .1 controversial twin turbo-charged Porsche 935K3 race car to his fifth Rose Cup victory before an esum.lled 11,000 fans. '61 Dick F ~ y (BA), director of Tri-'-'IeI's Public Affa.rs-Marketing Div.sion, has been named the trans.' agency's manager of governmental affain and strategic planrtlng. The new posilion involws an emphasis on the agency's lobbying activllles. '62 Roiwrt G, Murray (SS), execullve vice presidenl at Fir..! lntl'f'Stilte Bank of Oregon, has been elected chalflni!iO of the Marylhurst College board oflJUstees, Marylhurst, Ore. '64 Dnid M. Witter (SS), interim director of the Orqon Health 5cieoces University Hospital, Por1Lmd, was recenlly elected to serve as treasurer on the board of directors of the O ~ Trail Chapter of the American Red C r ~ f o r 1 9 & 6 - - 8 7 . '65 ~ Gerst (85, '78 MSn, a science teadle'r al 1.8, Thomas lunior High School, Hillsboro, Ore_, is studying NASA space technology research and educational programs Ihis summer during an honors workshop in t-.1offett Field, Calif., r.ponsored by NASA and the NatlOOill SclffiCe Teachers Msoc.atlon. She has taught science In her high school district for the pasl 1 2 ~ a r s . '67 ~ C. CummiM (BS) has received a staff ~ : : ~ ~ h e W ; : ! ( ~ f u : ~ ~ ~ a ~ ~ : I , i s t Wash. School District. She is curre-ntly a reading specialist at Harney Elementary School In Vancouver kitlredst "Kilt" H.iwliins (BS) has toined P.cdlC B ~ n e s s Brokers 01 Pooland He w.11 ~ p e c l a h z e In the- Soale of compante> ..... th ~ u e s of more than ~ 1 million, HawkinS .s the k>rmef Oregon manager of I h ~ M u l J k DivisIOn 0( Colnteefl Company of Oregon .ic .... rd J, "Rkk" HHJ iBS) h a ~ rem named manager of efl\.'.ronmental sef\'ices for Ponland General Eleclu( Co. He- is rl"q)Ofl5lble for f!flwnn8 Ihat c:ompan) operations comply w.th envtroomenlallilws and regulatioos at the Ioc:ili. stelte and f e d e r a l l ~ e l . An eflgmeef, he joined PGE.n 197). _ 4 I PSU ""r>pective, Summer 1986 '68 Gary R, Maffei (B5), personnel diffftor for louisiana·P<l(ific Corp., also serves as president of Wholesome and Hearty Foods, Inc. The local firm is currenlly marketmg "Cardenburgcrs" in nearly all Western stales. The low-fat, no-salt burgers are made with mushrooms, onions, cheeses, rice, oab ilnd willnuls. Stephm Mikulic (BS) has been named a real estate manager al Coldwell Banker Real Estate Management Services, Portland. He has ei8ht years' experience in the field, including regiooal marketing and management responsibilities. Mikulk formerly WQfked for two Portland properly managemenl firms. Betty l. Pope (Msn is a physical anthropology instroctor al Portland Community College, whef-e she has !ilughl for the past 18 years. Previously, she was a research associate at Ihe Oregon R ~ i o n a l Primate Research Center, as well as a par.asitoiogist wilh the U.S. Pubfic Health 5efvk:e. '69 Dustine Davidson IBS), statlQll manager 01 KOIN-TV, Portland, H .. rold M. Otness ('60 BS). associate professor of library sCIence at Southern Oregon State c o n ~ , Ashland, and P.ul Pinlarich f65 BSI, book review edilor of "The Oresoman, " Portland, are among 16 new members of an advisory COUflOllO the rl"Cenlly formed Oregon Center for the Book in lhe Oregon State library, an affiliate 01 the Center for the Book in the library 01 C o n g r e s ~ . Advisory council members will work dUring 1 9 8 & ~ 8 8 to gUide activiti('5 wh.ch stimul.te public interest in books and r e a d i n ~ , and to encoura8(' the study at books In society. l.ury W, Becker (BS) has been appointed vice president of branch operations for North Pilcific I n ~ r a n c e Co., Portland_ Gwendolyn eer.kt (8S) is the new principal at Portland's Marysville Primary Schoollhis fall. With lb years' experience .n the Portland Public Schools, she has served as integration 5pe(:ialist at Marshall High School, basic skills coordinator at Woodlawn Primary, and teacherlteam le.ader at Ockley Green, Rice and King Pnmary Schools. larry P f t t ~ (BS) has JOined Harris Entetll'ises, Inc., Portland, .lScorpor;ate comptroller. He is a formef manager with Coopers & lybrand, and is a member of the Oregon Society of CPAs ind the American Institute of CPAs. Stephen F. Wolfe (BA), an assistant professor of English at linfield College, McMinnville, Ore" won a 1986 Distinguished Faculty Award from the college, where he has been a fa<uhy member SInce 1982. '70 Bruce A. fret, M,D. (85) h a ~ been named physician director of Mi. Hood Medical Center's urgency care chnic, Gresham, Ore He has led the family prilctice gfOUp al the med.ol center fof the past three ~ a t s , Tom G ; ! I ~ r i n o (BA), ~ i d e n t and owner of Cascade Rehabilitation Counsel.ng, Inc., Portland and Vancouver, Wash., has been elected 10 a tVt'O-year term as the treasurer of the Nalional A§.SOCiation of Rehabiluallon Professionals in the Private Sector. Robin HufflNn PenllOCk (BA, 74 MAl has earned htor doclorate In educat.on from Am:ona State UnIVerSity. A fmmer leafher and librarIan at lake 05wego High School for nine yedrs, she and her husband Deane live In MlCh'san, ""here he .s manager of sales prornOhon for Buick Motor DIvision, Fhnt, Mich. Roy R. Razers IBS), Washmgton County commissioner and pdrtner in the Tigard, Ore CPA firm of Pauly, Rogers and Co., has reoeeiH'd the 1966 Publtc Service AWJrd of the Oregon Society oi CPAs. SunWy C. Sw.an IBS), a buyer m the purchaSing department of Fre.ghlhner Corp., Portland, has been elected vk:e president of Ihe Purchasing Management Msoc.at.on of Oregon. '71 Jerome A. Ancienon iMSl is the new principal and teacher at Rufus Elementary School, Rufus, Ore, Prior to his new post near The Dalles, Anck>rson worked in the Beaverton and Reedville M:hool districts as a gUidimce coonselor and §ummer school vk:e principal. James .0. Be. . n (MSn has been appointed dean of Columbi.. Christian College, Portland. A former chairman oi the college's division of am and M:iences, he has been a member of the music facuhy since 1967. Telt'tha k n ~ m i n (MSWl was recently named manager of the Special Services Departmenl of the Oregon Children's Services Division's Northeast Portland office. Her departmenl licenses area day care centers, ct"rtif.es foster homes, recruits and trains foller parents atld conducts prograrm to help combat ch.td sex abuse. Undy Giles (BS) has been named sales manager for the j\"\emorial Coliseum comple)l in Portland. In this capacity, she is r ~ n s i b l e for scheduling all Coliseum events, and contmues in her responsibility of selling and booking spoKe at both the Coliseum and at Ponland's Civic Stadium. Stephen t_ MillH (BS) is the new bus.ness mana8€"" for the Washington County, Ore. Educat.on Service District. He had seNe<! in a similar colpacily for The Dalles, Ore. School D'S!ri<.1 since 1980. Barbara Seesu Pickett (BS), a weaver and .tn associate professor of fine and applIed arts at the University of Oregon, has been awarded a Fulbright 8rant to p u ~ u e research abroad. Beginning in September, she will use her s.x·month sabbatical leave 10 study velvet weavings at the lls,o FouOOatlOl'l in Florence, Italy. Pkken has had malor shows throoghoot the U.S. and Canada, and her artv.tori<.s have been published in calendars and books. Michael F, WilliU'ls (BS) has formed "Screenwrights" with partner Robert Biheller. The new Vancoover, Wash prodUClion company will offer ScriP! wrillng and video producing services primarily to Vancouver·Clark County busine§se5 and Indusrrie-s. '72 Milton louis Bleitel, M.D, (85) has completed his profess.onal degree work at the University of Texas Health Science Center CIt San Anlonio. He plans to begin his resideocy in internal medicine soon at St. Vincent Hospital and Medical Center, Penland, Eric G. EgI.Ind 18S) is Ihe current central region franchise manager .11 General foods Corp., White Plains, N.Y. leo t. P..yne (BS) has been named financ.al offlCf!f for the Port of Hood River, Ore. The port's manager noted that rapid StoWlh of the mid-Columbia port and its activilies crealed the need for the new position Payne now occupies. Susan I. ShMnan (MS), director of ~ i a l education for the Hillsboro, Q-e. Elementary School Dislrict, 5pends her summers as co-owner and directm of Camp Tamarack. a private girls' camp located {'41St of Sanliam Pass, Ore. on the shores of Dark lake. '73 "met B, Burges5 (MSJ IS the new principal of Bryant Eleml'f"ltary School, lake Oswego, Ore. She formerly served as assiSlanl pfllK"ip.,1 al lake ~ w e g o Jumor High School O.vid A, H..nsen (MS), an associate professor of ecooomics iltLinfield College, McMinnvill(', Ore., h a ~ won a 1986 D.stinguished Faculty Award from the college, where he h<ls been a faculty member since 1969. ROn.J1d 0, Ki"l 185) has been promoted to product manager at Western Family Foods, Portland. He is respomibie for prOCUring a wide VAriety of dry grocery items and gent"ral merchandise. He has been with Western Family since 1983. Continued on piJ&e 14 Here is a valuable supplement to your current life insurance plan - easy. economical. Now. during a limited enrollment period. all PSU Alumni under 60 are eligible to apply and purchase S10,000 to $200,000 of term life insurance that may be continued to 75.. _plus an equal benefit amount from $10,000 for your spouse and $5,000 for each of your dependent children. We endorse this program as one of the best group life insurance plans on the market today. Apply nowl Call or write for your application. ) PSU ALUMNI I) () H(I\ -) • I) I ilild (Jrt .,!(I(l 11-. 1 '1- ,I , ~ ~ ! j "+'J411
Grad's sport brings wind of hope to river community by Cynthia O. Stowell Ryan Rooper ('78) wants to change the city of The Dalles, Oregon forever, Rooper's love for his hometown has combined with his love for the up-and-coming sport of windsurfing to create a bit of new hope for the economically depressed town in the Columbia River Gorge. It happened at Hood River, 20 miles downstream, so Rooper feels it can happen at The Dalles. If the flock of colorful sails traversing the half-mile width of windswept river at The Dalles on a recent weekday is any indication, it's already starting to happen. There, on a tiny strip of sandy beach, Rooper and his assistants have been busily rigging up rental sailboards and giving lessons to a growing number of enlhusiaslS. - Ryan and Beverly Rooper, avid windsurfers themselves, anticipated the popularity of the Columbia River when they opened Gorge Windsurfing in 1981. Still the only shop of its kind in The Dalles, although Hood River now has five, Gorge Windsurfing has doubled its sales each year and grown from a seasonal operation to its own year-round storefront on one of the town's two main streets. Inside, beyond the awning that still reads "Dresser Drawer," a reminder of the previous tenant, Ryan and Beverly offer a wide selection of boards, sails, rigging, wetsuits, and windsurfing paraphernalia to friends and strangers who stop in. local kids come by after school to inspect the small skateboard i n v ~ t o r y . and a cross section of the public is lured in'by the town's first frozen yogurt machines. Occasionally an older native hesitates outside the front window and peers quizzically al the array of colorful but unfamiliar equipment. . ("What's that?" Rooper repeats a typical Interchange from the early days of windsurfing in The Dalles. "A surfboard," answers the visitor. "Oh, aren't you a long way from the ocean?") The windsurfer, or boardsailor, is still a bil of an anomaly in The Dalles. "Windsurfing is a little upper crust right now," says Rooper. " It attracts a lot of doctors and lawyers with BMWs. It's like skiing was 25 years ago." It's not an exceptionally expensive sport, however. A board, mast, sail and boom can be nad for as little as $500, says Rooper. Throw in a wetsuit, life jacket, and a couple of sails (fOf different wind conditions) and you're up to $1,500. Access to the water is usually free. Windsurfing may appeal to young urbanites in part because of its portability, suggests Rooper, who says that it takes just ten m i n u t ~ to get an outfit from rooftop to wave skipping. "You might call it the apartment dweller's sailboat," he added. It may seem a little risky to base one's livelihood on something as tenuous as the wind. Bur in the Gorge, there's plenty of it, and that's what the Roopers are banking on. In fact, the Columbia boasts such strong winds that board sailors who are profiCient elsewhere need extra coaching when they come to the Gorge, says Roopef. "The attraction to the Columbia River is that the wind comes from the west and the current comes from the east, and that creates waves," e ~ p l a l n s Rooper. "This is real high-performance windsurfing." But that combination also makes it easy for beginners 10 get back to shore. Rooper feels The Dalles is an ideal spot for a wide range of board sailors because it is situated on a bend in the river, which rakes a little of the edge off Qorh the wind and the current but leaves plenty of excitement. The key to bringing windsurfers to The Dalles is development of the waterfront, believes Rooper. The Pori of The Dalles recently aCQuired 80 acres of riverfront property from Union Pacific Railroad, and Rooper is helping to improve len acres of it (or recreation. "Beverly and t and Gorge Windsurfing have put a lot of our individual time into cleaning up the area," said Rooper. "But we didn't think up the idea. A lot of people did a lot of legwork before us_It High school kids wanting to raise money for band uniforms asked local individuals and businesses to sponsor a clean.up effort. A slide show documenting their glass-picking and tire-burning campaign has been used to raise funds for further development. A local architect did J scale drawing of Ri"erfront Park, as it came 10 be called, and more money was raised to build a scale model. Growing up in The Dalles has been a real ildvantage for Rooper in his efforts 10 promote windsurfing, " I know who 10 call and it's easier to get things done." Still, it's a slow process, "The locals are nOI all jumping on the bandwagon to turn Ihis into a resort town overnight. But when windsurfing caught on in Hood RiveT, people could see that the future of the Gorge was going to include windsurfing." Beverly, who went to high Khool in The Dalles, is still amazed by even the subtle changes brought by the new sport. "We never would have thought that people would come to The Dalles and Slay overnight in motels!" But they are coming, from all over the Northwest and as far away as the East Coast. "This is the first summer people have moved here to windsurf," remarked Ryan. The Dalles certainly needs the business. Hurt by the weakening of the timber industry and the closure of the Martin Marietta aluminum plant, the city is looking 10 the tourist trade. "We've lost a 101." said Rooper. "Windsurfing is not going to replilce lumber and aluminum, but it will make a dent." Windsurfing tends to bring more than sailors to town. ''It's not just a participatory sport, it's a spectator sport," said Rooper, who described it as "little butterflies flitting across the water." Ryan and Beverly were bitten by the sailboard bug in Jackson, Wyoming, where they worked in a ski shop after Ryan graduated from PSU. Homesick for The Dalles, the two natives returned and went to work at Stone Ski & Sport. "We tried a few boards (in the ski shop) and losl our shirts," said Ryan. Undaunted, they pulled together $2,000 and opened a separate shop. Using some of the business acumen he'd gleaned from his accounting studies at PSU. Rooper "kept dumping receipts back inlo the inventory" and the doo(S have stayed open. This year they hired a director for their windsurfing school so they could spend more time managing and minding the store. Their seven·month-old daughter Stephanie, who spends her days spinning skateboard wheels and smiling at customers in the store, also keeps them off the beach more than they like. Maybe when the sfX>rt and the city are better acquainted, and Stephanie is old enough for her first board, the Roopers will have more time for the river, the wind and the sunshine they've been promoting. PSU Perspective, Summer 1986 , _ 5
Caution is alpine companion of climbing grad, prof b ~ Cynthia D. Stowell Gel a couple of mountain climbers in the same room at the same time and the air is thick with both bravado and camaraderie. "WJ,f stories" fly back and forth. other climbers come up short, and in-jokes ericH knowing snickers. II was all there when PSU chemistry professor Dayid McClure and Hillsboro attorney David Rich ('75) shared the same room recently. But there was another element presenl, 100. Caution laced the conversation of the two active members of Portland Mountain Rescue. It has only been two months since the disastrous Oregon Episcopal School climb on Mt. Hood, which ended with nine people dead and two rescued. McClure and Rich were still feeling the emotional effects of their involvement in that sec1rch and rescue operation. But theirs is not a newfound respect for the mountains and the elements. The lure of dazzling glaCiers and rocky pinnacles for the two climbers is tempered by a certain conservatism. "If your aggression and your willingnes!> to gel to the top at any COSI compromises common sense, you're asking for real trouble," said McClure, who h3S climbed off and on since 1960. "The first objective is 10 have fun," added Rich, a 13-year veteran. "The second objective is to come back alive. The third objective is, ir at aJi possible, to bag Ihe summit so you don't have to go there again. You can go somewhere else and have lun." " I never worry about whether I get to the summit or nol, to be honest wilh you," said McClure. "Many limes when the weather was perfecl J've just laid on the Hogsback (on Mt. Hood) while everybody else wenl to the summit because I thought it was more enjoyable watching the rock concert-the rocks coming off the Steel Cliffs up Ihere and crashing down." That was the closest either man came to waxing poetic about the alpine environment There was much more said about the dangers, the psychology and even the boredom of mountaineering. "Hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror." McClure used Ihose words, which he attributed to a 707 pilot after a tranS-Atlantic flight. to describe Ihe re-.'Vards of mountain climbing. "It's quite funny. You can have hours and hours of misery ... and when you gel back the next day you start talking to your friends about whal a grealtrip it was and you don'l remember that 90 percent of the time you were complaining and sniveling the whole way." Rich, who listens to a radio during non-technical ascents (" a Walkman, because I respect other people's right 10 be bored"), slX>ke of other IU&r 6 / PSU Perspective, Summer 1986 PSU grad David Rich ('75) was ftluipped with ~ smile 011 a recent trek to the summit 01 Mt. Hood {lelt}. On a more grim mission, PSU chemistry prolessor Dayid McClure (below, (ronl) helped transport if rescued climber (rom ., military helicopter to if makeshift emergency treatment center at Timberline Lodge. Rich and McClure both assisted in the search and rescue effort (or the eleyen Oregon fpiscopill School climbers lost on Mt. Hood I.,st ~ - - " ' __'-'_J< May. rewards. "It's some sort of personal accomplishment. particularly if you gain the summit. You have to be really driven, because you don't compete with anybody but yourself. 'How far can I go before I absolutely have 10 have my friend carry my pack?' " To understand the why's of mountain climbing is perhaps to look al Ihe kinds of people who do it. "Climbers are egomaniacs," offered McClure. "Type A personalities," Rich added. McClure also sees some social distinctions. "Most people wno climb are basically your while-collar, welt-educated, upper-middle-class (types). They tend to be the more leader-type personality." Climbing a mountain might be inspired in part b ~ ' ego, but climbing it safely and returning home requires the suspension of some of that ego, Rich feels. " If you've got two routes 10 go, one more egotistical than the olher, I'll alway!> take Ihe least aggressive routc. Hey, I've got three kids. Besides, if I killed myself, my wife wouldn't let me go anymore." Why do two such cauliou!> men take the risks at am "Neither one of us feels Ihat when we go out we're risking our lives," answered McClure. "There's no way I'm going to go out on a climb and say I've got a 50-50 chance of survival. If I don't believe it's essentially 100 percent, I'm not going. And I'm sure if you were to ask (jim) Smolich and (Alan) Pennington, who just died on K2, they would have told you the same thing." To some extent, the proper equipmenl can minimize risks, but McClure and Rich agree Iha! climbers can put too much faith in technology. "There's a tendency for people to think-this recent incident on MI. Hood, for example-if we could be better equipped, that would not happen to us," said Rich. "If you really want 10 spend megabucks, you can buy clothing that you can survive a storm like Ihal in, but you'd have to have a sherpa to pack il all around. And you still might freeze." "What people are trying 10 do is substitute technology for common sense," continued McClure, who confessed that in his early days of climbing he used to go to his favorite outdoor store just to "fondle pitons." McClure has doubts about the current drive to equip all MI. Hood climbers with transmitters, which he feels are invitations to taking unnecessary risks. '·If you pit technology against the mountain, the mountain is going to win every time," Rich added soberly. About 10.000 people pit themselves against MI. Hood annually, according to McClure. " It amazes me that we're not called oul every weekend," he said. As it is, Portland Mountain Rescue (PMR) gets about six calls a year, of which two or three turn into actual missions. Because there are relatively few peaks near Portland, PMR, which is the largest of Oregon's three mountain rescue units, isn'l as busy as some other western units of the National Mountain Rescue ASSOCiation, indicated McClure, a PMR board member. PMR volunteers are called into action by sheriff's departments when people are lost in hazardous terrain involving high angle rock, ice and snow. It would be too expensive for counties to maintain their own mountain rescue unit!> for a handful of operations each year, said Rich. Using volunteers saves taxpayE't'S' money and en!>ures that mountains will stay open and free to the public, according to PMR literature. That puts the financial responsibility squarely on Ihe 100 or so members of Portland Mountain Rescue. "When you get used as little as we do, you don't generate (much) public support, so you live on a very limited budget," said Rich. "We h.1d somebody selling garbage bags for us. That's pretty wimpy, when an organization thai has .1 function as important as thi!> one does has to rely on the sales of garbage bags to raise funds." The garbage bag money boughI PMR its first official vehicle, however. A $19,000 grant that McClure helped win from the Murdock Foundation was used to equip the truck. "That truck, fitted out with all the gear, has done more for our image than any other Single thing," noted McClure. "And ii's increased our response time immeasurably." McClure and Rich were two PMR members who piled into the truck very early Tuesday morning, May 12, after a call on McClure's beeper from the Clackamas County sheriff. It was the beginning of four harrowing days on Ihe side of Mt. Hood in search of ten leenagers and three adults on a climb sponsored by Oregon Episcopal School. McClure and his wife Cheryl, also a mountain climber and PMR member, shared with a third person Ihe vilal iob of coordinating search and rescue base operations at Timberline lodge, while Rich spent 24 hours trudgins through the snow in b e l o w ~ f r e e l i n g , white--out condilions. " It was really a very emotional situation, I guess because it involved children," said McClure, who has Continued on page 15
Turning on to math Math teachers explore new ways to reach students by Bob Mullin Traditionally. the "good math student" has tended to be of a particular type. Quite skilled at "memorizing and rcgurgilaling" textbook concepts, 10 use words of Portland State mathematics professor Marjorie Enneking, such a student could excel on tests and easily make hiS/her way through a typical public school math curriculum. HOwever, something was lacking. "Most exercises in lextbooks, even the so-caffed story problems, I don't consider real problems," says Enneking. "I would call them practice problems." Real problem-solving involves seeking answers in a way that isn't immediately obvious, she explains. "The dilemma in mathematics is thai ... kids art' nol bad in arithmetic skills-they have the basic facts all right-bul they don'l know what 10 do with them" says Enneking. "They don't know how to use them in any practical and creative way." This problem has been compounded by the increaSing numbers of students now laking math to meet .upgraded high schoof graduation and college entrance requirements. Many of these students lack the degree of abstract thinking skills thai marks the traditionally successful math student. In addition, according to Enneking, "very often, and rightfully so, these students don't see much connection between school math and real math thaI is used in the world." In response to this situation, Enneking gal together last summer with J. Michael ShalJghnessy, associate professor of mathematics at Oregon State University. to aHack the problem with 60 of the best middle, junior high and high school math teachers in Oregon, Washingron, Idaho and northern California. Their task: to find new ways of teaching math that would turn kid$ on to a subject Ihal all too often has turned them off. After spending three weeks sharing ideas-30 at PSU and 30 at OSU-the teachers returned to their schools during the past Scil001 year to implement these ideas with a variety of programs thai generally were built around one or more of the following alternative approaches: • A less formal introduction to geometry thaI begins with spatial visualization , a tudy of shapes and their properties that "relies heavily on physical models, hands-on activities, and application of geometry." • A new context for general math which uses a p r o b l e m ~ s o l v i n g approach and incorporates probability and statistics and the use of computers. • Inserting p r o b l e m ~ s o l v i n g into the traditional Algebra I and Algebra II curriculum, where p r o b l e m ~ s o l v i n g in a variety of content areas takes up at least two days a week and traditional algebra skills "not more than" three days a week. • New statistics and probability courses with an emphasis on "descriptive statistics" at the junior high (Grades 7 to 9) level and on "exploratory data analYSis, simulations of experiments on computer, and some hypothesis testing" at the senior high (Grades 11 and 12) level. • Increased use of computers in math, especially in p r o b l e m ~ s o l v i n g . During d break from semindr5, PSU math professor Mdrjorie Enneking (center, standing) O ~ f 1 I e d teachers from iJlI over the NOl'thwest as ,hey experimented with math games in d reslJUl'Ce room set up (01' the PSU workshops, fuoof'd by the Nationdl Science fouooa'ion. This summer, funded by a $356,314 grant from the National Science Foundation. the teachers met again on the two campuses, only this time they brought 60 new teachers wilh them. While the new teachers went through a similar i d e a ~ s h a r i n g experience, the old teachers served as mcntol'5 10 t h ~ new whire reaming leadership skills designed, according to Enneking, "to give them tools to be able to make changes in their school programs," "Suddenly the 'good math studenr' wasn't the best anymore. It was a very healthy thing to have happen." "The culminating activity will be to get the leaders' group bade again in the faU of 1987, hopefully with an administrator from each of their districts," says Enneking. "We think we need to make the administrators more aware of the good things happening so they can be more in tune with what their teachers are recommending . .. As for what was happened so far, Enneking says, "by and large the teachers who participated in the program last s u m m ~ r were very, very excited about the things they did." For example, Gwen Waite of Hermiston High School used spatial visualization techniques learned in last summers worksnop to help create what she calls a GEMS (Getting Enthusiasm in Mathematics) approach in her basic math classes, and her success became the topic of a newspaper article published in the East Oregonian newspaper. The article described how students used "bright-colored wooden cubes and sticks of varying lengths, plastic tape measures and M&Ms" to learn math concepts formerly taught "by rote." When Waite asked the students to place colored wooden rectangular pieces onto paper patterns, some students completed the assignment in a few minutes, but others found difficulty in fitting the pieces in the allotted space. "Research indicates some of us use the left side more than the right side of the brain, SO we will retrain the brain with this exercise, which gets both sides working together," the article Quoted Wai(e as telling her class. "You can see the problem instead of just putting it down on paper," said one student. "It makes it a lot easier because, somehow, iI's explained in mOre depth." Other teachers elsewhere reported similar success stories using techniques learned at the workshop. In addition, many participants began to share their work with others in in-service workshops and educational articles. The ideas of this new "folk math," as one staff member calls it, were catching on everywhere. The alternative approaches were nol without their frustrations, however. Enneking reports that teachers found some of the best math students under the old methods of teaching ran into difficulty dealing with hands-on materials. while other kids who were considered not SO bright in math were now succeeding, "Suddenly the 'good math student' wasn't the best anymore," Enneking says. "Actually, it was a very healthy thing 10 have happen." Another healthy aspect of the program has been its effe<::t on teachers. AI a lime when a shortage of math teachers is developing across the country, in part because existing teachers were finding other more profitable Or creative places for their talents, those teachers involved in the workshops have been energized by their discovery that other teachers care, too. "We found that the network and the support group that developed among teachers was a very important Outcome of this process," says Enneking. "They're talking to one another on the phone, they're helping one anolher, they're making arrangements to get to conferences. Many of them are already doing other workshops. These are very committed teachers." (Bob Mullin is a Portland free-lance writer who also teaches English at Aloha High School.) PSU Perspective, SUmmer 1986 1 ~ g t ! 7
History prof reveals Oregon's conservative roots by Dick Pintilrich Ten years ago, in a boolc produced in honor of the nallon's bicentennial observance, PSU history professor Cordon B. Dodds described Oregon as a "chlorophyll commonwcahh... a fruitful garden set amda the desiccated wildemes5 of contemporary urban pollution. vIolence. crime. and ailenJlion." The stalc's people. he wrote. valu(' "quiet competence over the pursuit 01 excellence," and have c;eized upon "common decency. as a way of life," A decade later, Dodds has released a new, thought-provokmg history that includes a somewhat less nattet'ing Interpret>tion 01 the Oregon story _ In The AmerlGn orthwt"Sl:.A H;story of Orf!/jOll dnd IVdShington (The Forum Press), Dodds concludes thai the Beaver State's progressive roots actually sprang oul of conserv.11ive soil. We've been willing to act progressively. he suggests, only as long as our past as been preserved. Such oft-applauded Oregon reforms as the initiative and referendum "were designed 10 get the system back inlO lhe hands of the average pet5Of1 and oul of the hands 01 the big interests." suggests Dodds, a frequen'ly published aUlI1O<_ Environmental reforms that nave succeeded in Oregon have been geared. "if not '0 look back. aI least to preserve lhe scenic. and natur.J1 attractions." At their most progressive mom('nls. Oregonians have been actmg as neither mavericks nor radicals. RefOrmS were enacted "not to uproot the social system," he argues, "but to preserve the past." What Mve been progressive, he says, "are the methods. The obJe<:hve has been c onservatl\le. . . In another deduction thaI will surprise many. Dodds points Oul that the stale's best·known rerorms are also perceived as being cost-rree. "Certainly our land-use legislation costs somebody something, but the average penon doesn't see It. I think the greatest measure in the Oregon voters' eyes is the Bottle Bill. It preserves the environment, and there's no eniorcement whalSoeVer from ,he cllizens. Small boys. Yag1ants downtown, the ordinary customers-they're the enforcement agency. It doesn't cost anybody anything. " A classic example o( Oregon progressivism? "RighI. Ef(ective. Preserves the environment. No cost." Dodd's interpretation o( Oregon-style progressiveness is unlike any other yet publi hed. His illustrated text is also more current than any other volume available on local history_The prevoous bible for the region, Empire of the Columbif1 by Reed College professor Dorothy Johansen, has been the standard text on PaCifIC orthwest hiSklry for the past twenty )'ears. While Dodds is quick to p r a i ~ Johansen's opus-""ve always used it The Sixties: Change and Progress CooliDU#!d (rom ~ g e 1 division students, The nature of campus activism changed. too. Studenb organized campaigns In favor of Slate bond and tax mea)Ures In 1961. 1963 and 1964. with voter canvasSlIlg and rallleS_ The 1964 bond issue, including major campus constructIOn funds for Portland State, was successful. By the late SixtIeS, student activism was dominated by different themes-the war In Southeast Asia, the draft, the (ree speech movement. Campus news stories about parking problems were replaced by clariflCalions of the college policy on demon<trallOM and dlc,rupltOn of c I ~ . Portland Siale was not Immune to the disillusionment and dissent s"eepmg more ~ I a b l i s h c d campuses around the country bul at the 5.lITIe tune. the school was fighting lOr Ib place In the 'lale ~ t e m . As late as 1964 there "ere S1ill diSCussions of proposal:, to move the campus away (rom downtown. 8ul. In 1969. at a time \\hen IIiOITle offiCial" and member 0( the pubhc ....-ere I'TlOSt cntlcal eM college administriJtions and studenb, the Oregon legislature gave nearly unanimous approval to university SIa'US for Portland State_Governor _ ' I PSU PPrspective. Summer 1986 Tom McCall came to the campus on February 14, 1969. 10 sign Ihe law establishing Portland Stale University and opening the next majOf phase of de\·elopmen, for PSU_ Sicuro ContinUftllrom fJ4r 2 Descnbing PSU as "the people's univerSity-accessible to anyone who wants to make a go of ii," Sicuro also notes thaI PSU has attracted to its faculty "Iremendous resources from all over the world." All of Ihls makes Sicuro "very excited about the challenges and opponunllles at Portland Stale." Sicuro's e'.l!iperience includes faculh' and admlnlstrati....e ~ t l D n 5 iU Kent Stare. such a,., Dean or ContInuing Educahon and Associate PrO\lOSl tor Medical Affairs. He was ASSIstant Supcnnlendent and Director of Second.lry Education iOt tOe GeJuga County Schools In Ohio. and taugh' and coached athletICS in Ohio schools. For two years, S'CUro was Manager-in-Charge of Educallonal Consulting for Peat. Man....,ck, MilChell & Co. in Los Angeles_ In teachmg"-he also JX)inlS out that II's now h,;enty years out of date. "\\'hen she \VfOle. people v.'eren't mterested so much In cena," things. ..uch as ethnic history. That whole field has opened up in ,he past "'en'y years." In hiS latest book, he discusses the Indians m Oregon and Washington, descrtbes the history of European discovery and exploration, fur trading, missionary and pioneer settlements, and chronicles the history of block. Chinese. lewish and Hawaiian immigranf'i in the region. Nor does he overlook women's history. In a sense, Dodds suggcsts. the 51.ate's past accomplishments have become a hisrortc.al burden for pre!oel'lt-day ()n>gonlans. "If you h.1ve a history of success, this can breed complacency. You can (eel that progress is automatic. Now we may be in trouble." he warns, "because things are costing more to srnve." Instead o( debating the merits o( a bottle bill, for instance, today's Oregonians must argue for new ways to fund their public schools. "Very few states allow their schools to depend so hea\ily on local taxes," jX)ints out Dodds. And even in the face of yearly school c ~ r e s , Oregonians (ail to agree on a financing solution. He does praise the state's newest pioneers as being more forward-looking_ "The hIgh-tech people seem to be qUIte socially fC"ponSlve. The new people out there are quite o p e n ~ h a o d e d . They think bigger." lhe state's most recent h i ~ t o r y gives Dodds cause (Of concern about the future. "'We might become Idaho with J coastline," he warns, "a place where nobody is willing 10 make hard sacrifices for the public welfare and where e....erybody thinks this is Ihe best of all possible worlds. We o;eem to be kind of 8!ving up." The lesson in all thiS. Dodds concludes, is to recalltha! success is nol automatic. It was a lesson our hard-working pioneer ancestors kl'leV\ , a lesson Tom N\cCall remembered when he fought for contral,'ersial land-use reforms. "What we h.l\-e is a successful but not a very useful history," Dodds says. 'We have to learn that a communlty's success is not automatic Of' mevltable." I( Oregon is to have a (uture as heroic as her past, residents must begin looking forward and not merely rest on previous accomplishments. Warns Dodds, "The past is not necessarily prologue," ~ ) _ " ' _ 0 1 " , , " , " Dick P;ntarich is a Portland free-lance writer and a goouate 01 PSU ('72, '80 MSI_ Dodds was hIS graduate advisef'_ WANTED Future engineers, artists, accountants, computer experts, scientists, social workers, musicians, historians, educators, ~ r l ~ and other top-flight prospective students for PSU. Alumni and (riends are encouraged to recommend high school and transfer students you know (including your OY.'n sons and d a u ~ h t t . r ' S ) ..... ho YJOUld benefit (rom continuing their education .11 Portland State. Please complete and mail the attached ronn to Alumni Offi(e, Portland Stale University, P.O. Box 7S2, Portland. Oregon 97207 Or lelephone: (SOli 229-4948. Your name'-_________________ A d d r e s s ~ _ _______ , C l t y - - - 5 t a l ~ i p - - - Studen,'s name'-________________ A d d r e s . ~ s _________City___5tate---Zlp--- PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI
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