PSU Magazine Spring 1990

cousins to the main uni versity, especially during hard times when the uni versity is scrambling for money. Another approach is the joint venture between different institutions, such as a community college and a state university. The problem with this is that they tend to have overlapping missions and compete fo r the same resources, resulting in "turf wars" in which no one institution is the power broker. At George Mason University, Delaney and other administrators are developing what they call a "distributive university" that views the whole Washington, D. C. region as its campus. It is replacing the usual departmental "capsules" with in stitutes, centers and multidi sciplinary programs, each spread out in different counties: public policy, law and economics in one county, urban systems and engineering in another. All of the outlying centers will have ready access to the library and other facilities of the main campus through computer links, Delaney said . The uni versity adopted this approach after observing Bell Laboratories , which he said has no central physical library, but a computer-based infornrntion and reference system that links all its facilities throughout the country. The challenge for George Mason University, Delaney said , will be to put in place those technologies that will enable its far-flung students to study and learn as if they were on a tight knit campus, and to make sure all of its outl yi ng fac ilities have equal access to campus resources. There's also the human side - making the students feel that they belong to the larger institution, even though they are li ving and working miles away. The challenges to other urban uni versities of the future are the same: responding to urban needs in a time when the "urban" definiti on is constantly changing , teaching a "city" population that is exploding beyond the city core , and tapping a well of pri vate dollars for what used to be provided by the state. Their success may reestablish the role of higher education in the next century. D PSU 6 A vision for Portland's urban university P ortland State claims membership in the country's rank of emerging urban universities. Like George Mason University and University of Illinois– Ch icago, PSU is situated in a major metropolitan area in need of urban focused economic , social and cultural education. With this in mind , a panel of community leaders presented a major statement to the Governor's Commission on Higher Education in the Portland Metropolitan Area this February. Members of the panel were Roger Yost, president of Yost, Grube, Hall Architects, Matthew Prophet, superinten– dent of the Portland Public Schools, Bruce Willison, chairman and CEO of First Interstate Bank , and Fred A. Stickel, president and publi sher of The Oregonian newspaper. The statement represents a cross section of university and community views on the future of higher education. It call s fo r "a new kind of educational force for the Portland metropolitan area and Oregon: a comprehensive urban uni vers ity... .built from the fo undation prov ided by Portland State University. " This comprehensive university would provide the leadership to: • Enhance or develop graduate programs criticall y needed in the metropolitan area , including cooperati ve arrangements for deli vering liberal arts and sciences doctoral degrees; • Increase cooperation between public and private postsecondary institutions, including community colleges; • Coordinate all metropolitan area continuing education programs; • Develop a range of new international programs to enhance the competiti veness of the state of Oregon; • Establish special institutes and study centers throughout the region to foc us on key educational and social problems; • Continue involvement in new and imaginative programs with area elementary and secondary schoo ls; • Provide upper division and graduate educational services to suburban areas; • Develop a state supported center fo r advanced technology research in Washington County. (Continued on page 22) ·I! -_. : ..·-·===== -:= = ---