PSU Magazine Fall 1992

or the past six months mayors, state legislators, governor , and members of Congres from Salem to Richmond have been reading and talking about a new book on government. Books about government are seldom the object of spirited conversation, and they rarely make the best-seller lists. But, Reinventing Government: How the EntTepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector is doing both. Politicians from throughout the political spectrum have praised the book. What is it that causes Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conserva– tive to line up to sing the book's praises? One reason is the book's opti– mism. While the authors found much to criticize in government at all levels, they found hundreds of individuals working at every level of government who were showing the way to reinvent government. As authors David Osborne and Ted Gaebler explain, "We are not inventing new ideas so much as synthesizing the ideas and ex– perience of others. Those about whom we write are reinventing government. They are the heroes of this story." They include a school superinten– dent who led the remarkable recovery of a failing school district in Harlem; a Pentagon official who delegated detail management of military bases to offi– cers on site and saved the Pentagon millions in the process; a city official in California who, because his city gives managers a lot of discretion, was able to buy a swimming pool for his town at half the estimated price. The authors do not have a plan to transform government. Instead, they describe a movement born of frustra– tion and necessity that is not widely reported or detected by the national media trend potter . One might describe it as a healthy virus that is infecting the body politic. It is about empowering people in government to exercise their good ense and their imaginations rather than confining them to rigid bureaucracies bound by rule and regulation . Osborne and Gaebler believe that the same entrepreneurial spirit that created America's most flexible and high performance businesses can ener– gize government as well. Their prescrip– tion is more encouragement for those innovative people and agencies and governments that are blazing the trails. When I came to PSU a little more than two years ago, Reinventing Govern– ment had not been written, and I had not heard of the entrepreneurial spirit in government. But, I recognized it when I saw it. I found a University that had always pulled itself up by its own bootstraps. There was never enough money to do things the easy way, but the city and the University were grow– ing and the students and faculty were a part of it. Along the way, they forged new partnerships between the Univer– sity and the community, they carved out unique academic program that crossed traditional disciplinary lines and were focused on community needs, and they began the process of reinvent– ing the American university. Much has happened since I arrived in Portland, some of it bad, but much of it good. For PSU, the best thing is that we have been able to keep the entrepreneurial sp irit flourishing. The PSU spirit and optimism has allowed us to make remarkable progress during financially trying times. We have eliminated management positions and delegated their respon– sibilities directly to staff providing the service . We have taken money the state ha given us and used it to leverage other funds from the com– munity, from foundations, and from the federal government. For example, I set aside $100,000 from our state appropria– tion for a competitive grant program for tudents and faculty. From the dozens of applications we received, we selected nine for funding. These projects were so attractive and creative that they earned an add itional $100,000 in matching funds from non– state sources. PSU's reputation as a quality urban univer ity has grown beyond the boun– daries of Oregon. Our urban studies pro– gram is now ranked among the best in the country and our graduates are ga in– ing national and international academic recognition. Our professional school graduates are assuming increas– ingly responsible positions. Two stu– dents in the School of Business Administration are working with a struggling manufacturing firm in the region to implement innovative management techniques. In less than a year they have helped the company move from a loss to a $70,000 per month profit. These are not the times for business a u ual. Like American business, American government, including public higher education, is having to reinvent itself to match the changing needs of society. Here at PSU, we have a running start. If you would like to know more about how PSU is reinvent– ing the university, call my office. Judith A. Ramaley President