PSU Magazine Spring 1998

president of Electro Scientific Industries in Portland. "The new structure encourages a highly collaborative process for build– ing capacity and creating better programs, and that's what attracts more students," he says. "It allows for a lot of flexibility and room for innova– tion, so that people can try things out and be successful." The college also "encourages indus– try people to be actively involved in education, to be involved with their hearts and minds," says Van Luvanee, who chairs a higher education task force of industry representatives charged with exploring how education can best meet the critical needs of business. Dryden call the solution adopted by the board "a soft merger, one that encourages collaboration and coopera– tion" among different schools, as opposed to "a takeover" of PSU's school. "It's been a wonderful, exciting time, the best time of my whole career," Dryden says. "Things moved fast, people were helpful, there have been lots of opportunities, and the University and faculty have been extremely supportive." he process of explo– ration, along with hard work by Dryden and other members of his team, has paid off handsomely for Portland State. The Oregon Legislature, for the first time in a decade, approved a signifi– cant increase in funding for engineer– ing programs. The bill, adopted last session, sets a goal of providing the new Oregon College of Engineering and Computer Science some $100 million over the next ten years, with $5 million allocated for the first two years. "It's start-up money," Dryden says of the initial funds. "Naturally, they're being cautious. They want to see how well we do. Still, the invest– ment of $5 million in new state funds is unprecedented." Almost half of the new funding will benefit PSU, paying for a new faculty position in electrical engineering, as well as participation in two new statewide endeavors: a graduate intern– ship program and a master's program in engineering and software, which will include one or more faculty positions. Local industry support for PSU has jumped dramatically. Intel donated some $200,000 worth of computer equipment for a new microcomputer engineering lab, more than doubling the amount of lab space available for the 500 PSU electrical and computer engineering students. Summit Design Inc., contributed almost $1 million worth of software to design and test computer circuits, making PSU the only college on the West Coast with uch advanced software. Hewlett– Packard in Vancouver donated computers and printers for the school's MESA (Math, Engineering, Science Achievement) program, which aims to SPRING 1998 PSU MAGAZINE 11