PSU Magazine Fall 1990

Smith Center remodeled Smith Memorial Center has a new look. The final phase of a three-year, three– million doll ar remode ling project was completed thi s summer in time for returning fall students. The redesigned main-floor cafeteria is the building's show-piece. Upon entering, patrons can see all the food choices: gourmet coffee bar, soup/salad bars, new charbroil grill line, and hot food line, with pizza baking on the spot. Two islands for drinks are set away from the wa ll s, and cash registers line the entrance to the seating area. Summer remodeling also ex panded the Smith Center Store by a third of its former area, and the whole building rece ived new paint, carpets, tile, lights and signs - including glowing neon fo r the food and game areas. Last year the basement got a brighter, more up-to-date look when the video arcade, bowling lanes, billiard room and Nordic (dining) Room were remodeled, and last spring the building's bathrooms and plumbing were redone. Enrollment extension gets results PSU's Admi ss ions Office received a fl ood of inquiries and applicat ions followin g the an nouncemen t Jul y 3 that the Un iversity's admissions deadline was ex tended through Aug. 1, and that the restricti ons on preregistration were removed. Final fa ll enrollment figures wi ll not be avail abl e until October. The earlier admissions deadline of Jul y I was ex tended after the State Board of Higher Education decided in late June to lift the enrollment cap it had imposed earli er, lo all ow Oregon's three major universities to increase enrollments and thus increase revenue. Portland State, which cut enro llments last year under the former enrollment cap, moved quick ly to initiate a radio and newspaper adverti sing campai gn and send out several thousand letters informing prospecti ve students of the ex tended deadline and prereg istration opportunity. The Univers ity a lso added 70 courses in antic ipation of increased enrollment. The combination of news artic les and advertising messages apparently contributed to much heav ier than usual admissions activ ity, according to Nancy Tang, vice provost for academic program operations. "Obvious ly," says Tang, "we managed to raise people ' s awareness that the University was open and accepting applications." She po inted o ut that last year, many students were denied classes because of the enrollment limitat ion. No longer a visiting professor Professor Peter Bod from Hungary was scheduled to teach economics at PSU thi s summer. He never made it. In stead Bod is serving as Hungary 's Mini ster of Industry and Commerce, a cabinet-level post. Bod 's vis iting professorships at Portl and State in the summers of 1987 and 1988 marked his first visit s to the United States. Accord ing lo PSU Economics Professor John Hall , these teaching stints gave Bod the opportunity to perfect his English and learn about Americans, knowledge that wi ll come in handy when dea ling with American managers promoting joint ve ntures and direct in vestments in Hungary. Hungary is o ne of the East-Central European countries in the process of transi- ti on from a planned to a mi xed economy and from a one-party system to a multi-party democracy. In hi s new post Bod is faced with the gargantuan task of deciding the fa te of Hungary' s outmoded indu stries - whether they should be reorgani zed by the Hungarians or by fo re ign investors. Bod's years of research in the fie ld of industrial organi zation , whi ch he shared with hi s PSU students, will provide an important theoretica l foundation for the work ahead, says Professor Hall , adding, " PSU has another good friend in a position of importance and influence." Who's buying Oregon? Oregon is not being bought up by the Japanese or by any other fore ign in vestor, according to a study recently completed by two Oregon professors. Gi l Latz, director of the International Trade Inst itute (!Tl), and Michael Moffett , Oregon State Uni versity professor in the College of Busi ness, analyzed the impact of fore ign investment on Oregon ' s local and regional business climate. The study was conducted at !TI , an Oregon State System of Higher Ed ucat ion institution under the aegis of PSU, which is located at Portland 's World Trade Center. !TI foc uses on ed ucation, research and public in formation to promote expansion of Oregon's economy through increased intern ational trade. Using statistics from 1987, Latz and Moffett fo und that foreign companies empl oy onl y 1.9 percent of all non-agricultural workers in Oregon and that European countries dominate thi s employment picture. Foreign investors also own or lease onl y 3. 1 percent of a ll private land in the state, and aga in the Europeans constitute the largest presence. Japan does lead all foreign-country investors in the stale wi th $364 million in assets in Oregon, fo ll owed c losely by Canada wi th $363 million and the United Kingdom with $286 million. These figures show that fore ign investmen t plays a small role in Oregon ' s total economy, but Latz and Moffett ack nowledge th at thi s issue continues lo be an emotional concern. A measurable number of Americans are concerned that profits are flowing o ut of the country lo competing nations, and that foreign res idents operate businesses in the U.S. differentl y - " in a negati ve sense," says the report. What the Oregon educators found contradicts these notions: fore ign in vestors are generall y more interested in long-term profit rather than short-run profit-tak ing; and fore ign corporations re- in vest in their American operati ons as much or more than the domestic firms of the same type. These affiliates also spend more on research and development than domestic firms. PSU 5