PSU Magazine Fall 1995

0 U N D Evaluating Oregon's criminal programs Portland State and the O regon Department of Corrections have signed a master agreement which will allow University researcher to evalu– ate ongoing and new criminology programs run by the state. The master agreement comes at a time when the Department of Corrections must deal with the recent passage of measures aimed at getting more tough with criminals. The number of inmates under their super– vision could increase by SO percent over the next fo ur to five years. The agreement grew out of a six– month evaluation PSU 's Center of Urban Studies conducted on the Department's O regon Summit prison boot camp program. The evaluation, released in May, indicated that the boot camp program is cost effective and in full compliance with the O regon Legi lature's intent. "There are monumental changes taking place in corrections," says Norm Solomon, project coordinator for the Department of Corrections' O ffice of Budget, Research and Eva luation . "Many of these changes are going to have to be evaluated." Putting it on the Internet G reater acces to governmental, historica l, and educational info rma– tion over the Internet is the goal of a $ l.S million, two-year grant rece ived by Portland State and the O regon Historica l Society from the Depart– ment of Education. The Internet project is being administered by PORTALS (Portland Area Library System) , a PSU-based consortium of 14 academic institutions and libraries in the Portland area and southwest Washington . PSU and PORTALS will upgrade the PORTALS electronic network statewide. The Oregon Historica l Society is cataloging and placing on– line thousands of historical documents, 2 PSU MAGAZINE FALL 1995 T H E PARK photos, maps, and other items. As part of the grant, lO ru ra l communiti es will al o rece ive funds to purcha e the computer equipment needed to access PORTALS and the Internet. Studying quality of life O regon's stable economy and cele– brated quality of life may be seriously impaired by some current population trends, according to a report recently published by the Center fo r Popula– tion Resea rch and Census (C PRC ) at Portland tate. Among the key findings in the center's report entitled "Do All Tra ils Lead to O regon ? An Analys is of the Characteri tic of People Mov ing To and From O regon" are: the number and proportion of O regonians living below the poverty level has increased over time; a greater proport ion of out– migrants have college degrees than in– migrants; the number of elderly mov ing into the state has increased over time; and a greater proportion of people moving into the state have poor English language skills. The report provides an analysis of 1990 U .S. Bureau of the Census data, as well as more current data. 'These variables, taken together, could threaten O regon's ability to compete in national and international arenas, and they may hera ld serious drains on the state's service agencies and other resources," says Howard Wineberg, ass istant director of C PRC. Comi g "ttrac ions T. Coraghessan Boyle, author of The Road to Wellville, a satirical novel about turn-of– the-century inventor and health impre– sario, John Kellogg, will give a free lecture Thursday, Oct. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in 355 Smith Memorial Center. B L 0 C K S Ethical issues and legal implications rega rding genetics, technology, and behavior will be addressed in a free public symposium entitled "Genetics and Behav ior" on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 5:30 p.m. in 75 Lincoln Hall. Special speakers include Irving Gottesman, author of Schizophrenia Genesis: The Origins of Madness . An alumnus who made good , Michae l Kazin '74, will give a lecture on "The Populist Persuas ion in American Politics" Monday, Oct. 23, at 1 p.m. in 296 Smith Center. Kazin's recent book, The Populist Persuasion, has been acclaimed by the popular and academic press as a significant contribution to the understanding of American politi– cal history and our contemporary polit– ical situation. Portland State is aga in one of the sponsors for the Science, Technology and Society Lecture Series that brings renown scientists to Portland and Eugene. The Portland schedule includes Jane Goodall, "My Life with the Chimpanzees," Nov. 10; George Johnson, C limbing the Stairway to Heaven, Dec. 8; David Pearce Snyder, 'The Great Experi– ment Continues: a tour through the trans-millennium, Jan. 12; Ralph Abraham, "Euclid's Voyage into Chaos, Feb. 12; Richard Leakey, "The Sixth Extinction," March l ; Richard Dawkins, "Universal Darwinism," April 3; and Jean C lon es, "Prehistoric Cave Art at Vallon," May 10. All lectures are at 7:30 p.m. in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Reduced season tickets (l ess than the full nine lectures) are available through FASTIXX, 224-8499. Abraham and Leakey will also be on campus in February to give special evening lectures. D