PSU Magazine Fall 2003

Alumni Board a dedicated and talented group lt is an honor and a pleasure for me to assume the role of PSU Alumni Associa– tion president. I want to continue the energetic, visionary work of past leaders. Gerry Craig '66, board president The board is a proud group of dedicated , civic– minded individu– als whose varied backgrounds and talents allow them to develop strong programs and suc– cessfully tackle all kinds of issues. Board mem– bers, along with staff and others from the community, organize and sponsor PSU Weekend, PSU Salutes, legislative advocacy, alumni receptions , and many other activities. We have recently staged gath– erings in Bend, Salem, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. We have a scholar– ship program, support student endeav– ors, and sponsor affinity products, including a strong alumni travel offer– ing. We sponsor the PSU Advocates and help manage the Simon Benson House. This year the board is going through a strategic planning process and looks forward to continuing many of our services and examining new ones for involving and assisting alumni and the University. Our University is now the largest in the state. We have the best location in Oregon, and our alumni can now gather in the Simon Benson House on campus. The University and the PSUAA board have unlimited potential for growth and achievement. 1 hope to guide our outstanding board and the association through the next year and make a positive impact on our plans. It's a great time to be a Viking! Gerry Craig '66, President, PSUAA Board of Directors gcraig@teleport.com 16 PSU MAGAZINE FALL 2003 Experience 'La dolce vita' at PSU Weekend Frances Mayes, acclaimed author of Under the Tuscan Sun, will be the keynote speaker at this year's PSU Weekend, November 7-9. Under the Tuscan Sun, published in 1996, chronicles Mayes's quest to buy, renovate , and settle into an abandoned villa on the outskirts of Cortona, Italy. All three best-selling books in Mayes's series explore taking chances, loving a house, the pleasures of food , and the "voluptuousness of Italian life. " A movie of the same name opened in theaters September 24. Meet Mayes in person at a special patron reception on Friday night, November 7. Details are available from the Alumni Office. On Saturday, Seminar Day will fea– ture more than 20 free, hour-long talks on such topics as "Hill Towns of Tus– cany" with Thomas Harvey, geography professor; "Learning the Italian Accent" with Bill Tate, emeritus professor of theater arts; and "Michelangelo's Mas– terpiece: the Sistine Chapel" with Jane Kristof, professor of art history. Experts will also tackle many non-Italian topics such as "Oregon's Economic Recovery," "Changing Careers in Midlife," and "Great Britain and the Creation of Iraq. " Author Molly Gloss will lead a book discussion group. Saturday evening the community can choose between Viking football against Weber State at PGE Park or a special jazz concert in the Smith Union Ballroom with Darrell Grant and Chuck Redd. The performance will be hosted by Smithsonian magazine's CultureFest. Sunday offers tours of Portland's Esplanade with Charlie White, history emeritus professor, and the wine coun– try with Scott Burns, geology professor. Also scheduled that day is a piano recital by Robert Roux, professor of piano at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston. For more information, call the PSU Weekend hotline at 503-725-4949 and request a brochure or visit our Web site at www.alumni.pdx.edu . Benson House back on National Register The Alumni Relations Office has received official notification from the State Historic Preservation Office, a division of Oregon Parks and Recreation, that the Simon Benson House has been re-listed in the National Register of His– toric Places. The house lost its designation when it was moved from its original location at SW 11th and Clay to the PSU campus in January 2000. According to the State Historic Preservation Office, "Listing prop- erty in the National Register not only provides recognition of the property's historic importance in the community, it also ensures pro– tective review of federal projects that might adversely affect the character of the property. " The Benson House Visitors Center is open Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on the Benson House or to volunteer, contact Mary Coniglio by phone at 503-725-5073 or by email at coniglio@pdx.edu.