PSU Magazine Fall 1995

THE hi year, Portland State University celebrates its 50th Anni ver ary. A major birthday i a good time fo r reflection and elf exami - nation . We began this process two years ago when we were one of the fir t institutions invited to jo in the Pew Roundtable by the Institute for Research on Higher Education at the University of Pennsy lvania. The Roun<ltable's goal is to support the efforts of co lleges and unive rsities in adapting to new demands and chal– lenge a the role of higher educa ti on in soc iety undergoes dramatic change. Due to a fortunate relationship between the timing of our regular 10-yea r reaccreditation process and our impending birthday, we have engaged in an extensive self-study of all aspects of our institution over the past 19 months. We have emerged fr m this introspection confident that what we are doing makes sense. We are affirmed in this belief by a group of our most discerning peers in higher education. We truly are creating a new institutional type-the urban univer– sity-based on our own traditions and our own experiences. One thing often leads to another. Now we are part of a new 26-institution effort supported by the American Council on Education and the Kellogg Foundation to continue the reform of higher education and build on the expe– rience of the Roundtable. Just recently, PRESIDENT we were invited by the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant College , to join a presiden– tial commission to examine the future of the urban university and the land– grant university. Why are we being asked to play a major national role? Why is PSU's name mentioned wheneve r people start talking about innovation and change and community involvement ? I am fond of explaining that the reason for all this is that we are already doing what most other institu– tions are just beginning to talk about. Last year we began our exc iting new undergraduate curriculum, the University Studies Program. This interdisciplinary, team-oriented approach to the core curriculum for all undergraduates has drawn comments and inquiries from campuses across the country and very positive reactions from our students and their families. One parent echoed my own feelings when he sa id he wished he could start coll ege all over aga in, ju t to experi– ence the new curriculum. The fac ulty who are participating in thi new ve nture and the students who have erved as mentors and part– ner have a spec ial look of excitement about them. It i rare fo r one to ob erve a true transformation, but 1 can honestly say to you that this new way of learning has indeed opened up new understanding, new options, and a new sense of vitality. It is deeply satisfying and wonderfully rewarding to know that ideas do matter and that learning can be fresh and even trans– forming in our day. This summer I read a biography of Emerson and was drawn back to some of his early writings, especially Nature, his first major work, published in 1836. In his introduction, Emerson complained that in his age, scholars were building on the work of others and not encountering the world directly. In fact, the tran cendentalist movement grew, in part, out of a profound wearine with the dry teach– ing of the time. As Emerson wrote, "Why should not we also enj oy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradi– tion ?The sun shines today al o. There are new lands, new people, new thoughts." As PSU enters the second half of its first century, we feel the way Emerson did. We are using the experi– ence of our own times as a text, as a classroom, as a stimulus for learning. It is exc iting. It is unsettling. It is placing us in the fo refront of a reform move– ment that is slowly changing the nature of undergraduate education, and, before long, the nature of gradu– ate and professional education a well. The needs, values, goals, and motiva– tions of our advanced students have been slowly changing. Likewise, the need of soc iety fo r educated c itizens have also been changing. PSU is one of the first institutions to recognize this and to act upon it. Last yea r, our fa ll faculty workshop addres ed reforms in undergraduate education. This year, we are tackling an even more formidable challenge, graduate education. We have asked oursel ves how well are we responding to the needs and goal of our students and the needs of their current and future employers? How can we best build a successful relationship between graduate education and resea rch ? How can we create and support effective and quality programs, employ new modes of program delivery, and addre s the needs of our community fo r acce s to quality graduate education on a funding base that will , at best, remain constant. I will keep you info rmed a we work this year to answer these and other important questions about the future of Portland State. What is so unusual about us i that we are willing and able to ask ourselves difficult and often painful questions in order to better serve citizens who expect us to act in their best interests. Judith A. Ramaley, President FALL 1995 PSU MAGAZINE 3