PSU Magazine Fall 1990

PSU 2 I FROM THE PllFNIOENTJ I have wasted no time becom ing involved with the campus and com– munity. Already in my first months in office, I have two clear goa ls that match closely the values that our fac ulty, staff, students, and members of the Portland community have shared with me. First, I intend to approach our community on its own terms rather than ask the community to adapt to us. We must be access ible, open and ready to hear from the community about thei r needs and hopes for what the uni versity can be. Second, we will bui ld on the efforts of the last years to increase diversity on campus, he lping men and women of all backgrounds and stages of education to fee l welcome and appreciated. Everyday, our faculty, staff and students employed on campus go out of their way to he lp people. I wan t lo do the same. Our most important task thi s year is to develop a c lear and shared vision of the role that Portland State will play in the City of Portl and, the greater metropo litan area, the State of Oregon, the Pac ific Northwest, as well as nationally and internationally . In this country today, all roads lead to the ci ty and from there to the world . PSU is in the hub of thi s network because of our location and because of o ur mi ssion. I am very excited to be here at thi s time in our deve lopment. On Aug. 16, I gave a report to the Governor's Comm iss ion on Hi gher Education in the Portland Metropolitan Area about the principles whi ch I feel should guide the role and mission of Portland State University. Although the time was short - I had onl y arrived on campus Aug. 3 - I was able to discuss these ideas with the senior adm inistrators and with faculty , staff and student representati ves , and I was delighted wi th their response. My rough draft became much stronger as members of the uni versity community gave the ir reaction and adv ice. So that you may know how our thoughts are developing, I want to share with you the main points of my report, and hope that you wi ll write to me if you have suggestions for strengthening or illustrating o ur message. I am eager to involve alumni in design ing our future and will be working closely with the PSU Alumn i Assoc iation during the nex t year. Many of you have already written, and I welcome your advice and support. • Portland State University is the only comprehensive public higher education institution in Portland, and downtown must remain the center for the educa– tional environment supporting the greater Portland area. In Portland , Portland State is the on ly in stituti on wi th the capac ity to interact with all the Port land-area private coll eges and uni vers ities, wi th Portland Commun ity Co ll ege and with the rest of the Oregon State System sc hool s. We have the facu lty and staff to bridge all the special strengths of our sister institutions. Because of our location , we are at both the physical and intell ectual hu b of an education network. Of the Portland-area universities, only Portland State has the unique responsibi lity to take the broad view of the needs of al I o ur metropolitan c itizens and bring together all the educational institutions - both hi gher education and K- 12 - to serve these needs. • Portland State University will re– spond to the unique needs of the Portland metropolitan area, while at the same time affording an opportunity for scholars and students across the country to work and study in our extraordinary urban setting. Portland State is accessible because of its location , range of programs and its increasi ng ability to serve a diverse student body and citizenry. Our commitment to the urban environment and our emphas is on high quality teaching and research make us unique ly able to serve our region and its changing needs. Un li ke a traditionally organized research uni versity that is much more self-contained and departmentalized, our emphasis on cooperative and interdependent academic programs and research, and our abili ty to work together with the other colleges and uni versities, g ives us a spec ial fl ex ibility and sensitivity to our urban environment.