PSU Magazine Fall 1990

A calming hand After leading PSU through a difficult transition, Roger Edgington is off to new adventures R oger Edg ington has much to be proud of: a distingui shed 14-year career at Portland State with the last two as interim pres ident. He left thi s post on Aug. I, when Judith A . Ramaley became PSU 's sixth permanent pres ident. Much of the enthusiastic reception Pres i– dent Ramaley has rece ived from inside the university and from the surrounding community can be attributed to the ca lming hand of Roger Edgington. He was appointed interim pres ident in October 1988, fo llowi ng the res ignation of atale Sicuro, who had spent the preceding eight months battling with facult y members over hi s fin ancial management and leadership styl e. " My goals were to li sten and have some humility, to try and understand what the fac ulty and students were saying, and not to talk too much ," remembers Edg ington. He also spent countless hours meeting wi th community groups, and fee ls th at in the last I0 months commun ity support has been strong for PSU . The university has seen progress under Edgington 's guiding hand, inc luding the appo intment of key deans and admini stra– tors, new degree programs, building the new library addi tion, acq ui sition of the fonner State Fish and Wildlife building, and appo intment of a task force to look at hi gher education needs in Washington County. " I think we made a lot of progress with affirmative action," says Edgington, "and we have a very good relationship wi th the deans. I am also extremely pl eased that I never got bad press," he says with a growing smile. Of course, the job was not w itho ut problems. Several month s fo llowing Edg ington's appointment as interim pres i– dent, Gov. e il Goldschmidt appo inted a comm ission to study higher education needs in the Portland Metropolitan area. In November 1989, this commi ss ion heard a recommendation from the Oregon chapter of the American Electronics Association (AEA) to " disband" PS and di vide its programs between Oregon State University and the Uni versity of Oregon. An anxious fac ulty asked to meet wi th Edgington, who had just returned from a business trip in Europe. "We had over six hundred people in the ball room, " he says. "When I finish ed talking they gave me a standing ovation . It really made me fee l good, and it also to ld me they were supporting me. It was heart-wanning." Edgington ass ured hi s audience that dismant ling PSU would not improve the state of higher education in Portl and or in Oregon, and the soluti on , he sa id, " is going to have to be a strengthening of PSU. " Si nce November, the AEA 's original proposal has a ll but di sappeared, and thank s to Edg ington and others, the Governor's Commi ss ion has heard many more proposals suggesting PS U pl ay a major role in the Portl and metropolitan area. When asked about the commi ss ion 's final report, which is ex pected in November, Edg ington forn1all y answers, " I would li ke to see Portl and State take a lead role in any fu ture structure and planning fo r hi gher educati on in the Portland area." Candidly he adds, " It is going to be a fun time to be here. I think everythi ng is going to be positi ve." He is optimistic for the uni versity's future and particul arl y pleased with the selection of Dr. Ramaley as pres ident - hi s " first choice." Edgington , now 62, is retiring. In hi s 44-year career, he has had only two employers: the uni versity and the U.S. Am1y. When he came to Po1 land State in 1976 as director o f business affairs, he had just retired from a 30-year career in the U.S. Anny. A colone l, he served as chief financia l officer for the U.S. Military Academy at West Po int, .Y. Hi s years in the service and hi s wife 's Austri an heritage have g iven him c lose ties in Europe. Retirement promises to be very acti ve for Edgington and his wife, Valentine, who has always played an important role in hi s career. He plans to pursue educat ion and business consulting in Eastern Europe as director for International Porgrams wi th American Heritage Associati on. " I know some people in West Germany, and I understand part of thei r mission to help the East German educational structure get back on its feet. After 12 years under the Third Re ich and 44 years of Commu– ni sm , there is a lot of restructuring and re learning needed. This work holds a certain intri gue for me ." D PSU17