PSU Magazine Fall 1996

U District bolstered by building acquisition Portland State can check off another University District wish-list item. In a unique real estate deal, PSU has acquired 60 percent intere t in the US West data process ing building at SW Fourth Avenue and Harrison Street. This acquisition repre ents a significant development within the 52-block University District. S ince the district gained official recognition in 1995, the University has: built Harrison Hall, rece ived $7 million in federal money for the Urban Center and University Plaza, hired an archi– tectural team to design the building and plaza , entered negotiations with Portland Public Schoo ls to build an elemen tary chool on campus (see story on page 29), and worked with business and civic leaders to bring the proposed Central City streetcar to the west side of campus. This newest achievement, the acquisition of the US West building, was made possible through an unusual partnership with a private developer: Gerding/Edlen Development Co., of Portland , which owns the remaining interest in the building. For the University, the 195,000- square-foot building provides much– needed office space for departments that will be displaced when the Urban Center is constructed. It will also provide additional parking and lab space for the School of Engineering and Applied Science. For the next several years, PSU and Gerding/Edlen are renting out much of the building to a variety of tenants, including the Portland Developmen t Commission , city of Portland , and PacifiCorp. PSU's School of Extended Studies is immediately moving some classes and offices to the building. Nearly all debt and operating costs associated with the building will be paid by PSU from rent and parking revenues. The price for PSU 's initial acquisition was $11.6 million, which was financed through the issuing of state building bonds. PSU has the option of purchasing Gerding/Edlen's remaining interest for $6.6 million in the next severa l years. Irreverent, controvenial, and a hit back in 1968, Hair is the Department of Theater Art's fall production. Hear "The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius" and "Let the Sun Shine In" in Lincoln Performance Hall Nov. 14-23. For tickets call the PSU Box Office at 725-3307. Be a guest of the court King Arthur-central character in the epic legend of family conflict-is coming to Portland State. A national traveling exhibit, "The Many Realms of King Arthur," opens Nov. 8 and runs through Dec. 20 at the Branford P. Millar Library. The presentation explores the literary history of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Lancelot and Galahad, and the knights and ladies of the Round Table that have evolved through folk tales, ballads, poems, and aged manuscripts. O rganized by the American Library Association and the Newberry Library of Chicago, the exhibit has received critical praise across the country. Funding is from the National Endowment for the Humaniti es. Portland State is one of a few libraries selected to host the exhibition. Several concurrent free lectures and events are being coordinated by Friends of the PSU Library. Geoffrey Ashe, Arthurian and author, speaks at a Nov. 10 public reception that includes medieval and Arthurian activities and guided tours. The week of Dec. 2-5 includes appear– ances of Ruth Hamilton, director of Chicago's Newberry Library, which houses a noted collection of Arthuriana. A medieval dinner of venison and trout is scheduled Dec. 4 at the River ide Inn. PSU academic departments also are scheduling a series of readings, musicals, and panels. A schedule of events, classes, and additional information is available from Charlotte Brown at the PSU Library, 725-4575. Social Work gets $2 .2 million for center The Graduate School of Social Work has received a five-year, $2,228,070 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to establish a Social Work Research Development Center, one of only four such centers in the nation . The School was selected from among dozens of major schools of social work across the United States. The center's purpo e is to increase social work research in the area of public mental health. "This grant provides a unique opportunity for the School and PSU to develop and test interventions and services which can improve the mental health of the community, particularly for those adults and chil– dren who have major mental illness," says Robert Paulson, center director and professor of social work. Two pilot programs will be funded during the first year. One will explore the special problems that parents of children with serious emotional disor– ders have in balancing work and family responsibilities. The second will examine the impact of parents' subsi– dized private employment on their and their children's mental health, as part of a continuing evaluation of Oregon's new welfare program, Oregon Options. In addition, the center is applying jointly with the Oregon Mental Health Developmental Disability Services Division to become a post– doctoral research fellowship site. FALL l996 PSU MAGAZINE 5