PSU Magazine Fall 2003

PSUMagazine Fifty-OK, it is not a huge num– ber, and 50 magazines will only fill a small cardboard carton. But picture this: 50 magazines means 7,000 Alum Note listings, 400 campus news arti– cles, 250 in-depth features, 85 book reviews, and two profiles on 1983 alumnus John Callahan, our own polit– ically incorrect, syndicated cartoonist. For years, alumni were kept informed through Perspectives, a news– paper tabloid. Then, in the spring of 1987, the University switched to a black and white magazine. During the next 15 years PSU Magazine slowly evolved, all the while retaining its main goal: to keep alumni and friends connected to Portland State University. The process wasn't always smooth. There was the time in 1992 when the presses were stopped-by the press– men. "Did you intend for the cover to look like this?" they asked. It was a dark , purplish-yellow photograph of broadcast journalist Susan Stamberg. Too bad Photoshop was not yet in existence. Susan stayed, and the editor, yours truly, turned purplish-yellow in embarrassment. Then there was the time we inno– cently ran the feature, "An lnternational Prize," about the Turkish governments award of $750,000 to Portland State for the creation of a contemporary Turkish studies program. The local Armenian community and others flooded the magazine's office with letters protesting the Universitys acceptance of Turkish dollars. The money was kept, and the letters were published (winter 1998). Controversy is always welcome in the pages of PSU Magazine. Then there were instances when everything went right. Regionally important issues are favorites of the magazine staff. The timing couldn't have been better for the feature , "Great Shakes: The Pacific Northwest is Ripe for a Major Quake." Our editorial crys– tal ball was clear that issue. Less than two months later, in March 1993, the area experienced the jarring, Spring Break quake. lt is easy to pick out good covers and display them on this page, but good fea– tures need to be read, or reread. We did just that and came up with these: "Women of Science: Succeeding at PSU for 55 Years," by Nancy Porter; "ln Search of Cathlapotle: Uncovering an Ancient Chinook Village," by Merlin Douglass; "Slip Sliding Away: Nature ls Taking Everything in its Path," by Jack Yost; "Spellbound: Help Your Child Become a Good Speller," by John Kirkland; "I Remember When ... ," memories shared by alumni; "Cram– ming for Clinton: Putting Out the Welcome Mat for the President and VP," by Melissa Steineger; and "My Own Private I Dunno: A Personal Tale of Attending PSU," by Jack Ohman. We have a lot of fun putting out the magazine and value our alumni and friends-all 82,000 of you. We hope that esteem is reflected in the pages of PSU Magazine. -Kath,yn Kirkland, editor FALL 2002 PSU MAGAZINE 9