PSU Magazine Winter 1987

- a.-.~ Middle East Continued from page 6 graduate programs was elimin ated, forcing PSU to compete with all other universities- graduate and under– graduate - for money. T hrough no fault of its own, PSU's program in 1979 lost the federal monies it had depended on for so many years. For the next two years, PSU kept the center going through its own budget. But then in 1981 the university went through a major budget crunch and the center was discontinued. Classes on the Middle East con– tinued to be taught, but without the outreach of the Middl e East Studies Center. Farr was asked to be a coordi– nator for Middle East faculty in 1983 to keep the courses going, and in 1984 a new degree in International Studies was introduced, along with a certificate in Middle East studies. Farr became ever more involved with the Middle East curriculum, a nd, together with other faculty, thought of ways to bring back the Middle East Studies Center. At the same time, those same thoughts ~ere running through the mind of Governor Vic Atiyeh. Atiyeh, who is of Syrian descent, said he was aware of the strength and influence the center h ad had over the years and wanted to see it- along with the international feeling it brought to the university-come back. "I just talked to the ch ancellor and said 'let's get the ball rolling agai n,"' said Atiyeh. The State Board of Higher Educa– tion voted in November 1986 to re– establish the center. Atiyeh and Farr got together the first of this year to start planning, which for the most part meant raising money. Atiyeh was named the head of the advisory council and others through– out the community, many with Arab or Jewish backgrounds, also were re– cruited. To date, the center has raised $115,000, the biggest chunk of which came in September in the form of a $ 100,000 donation from a Saudi Arabian donor-a PSU alumnus– doing business in Portland. With the influx of cash and the organization of the council, the center was officially reactivated at the begin– ning of the current school year. In early December, the center– along with the offices of International Studies, International Programs, International Student Services, the Northwest China Council and the American Institute for Yemeni Studies - set up headquarters in Smith Memorial Center. If those involved in the center have one thing in common, it is to take an objective, balanced and non-political approach to the Middle East. Farr lived for two years in Afghanis– tan and two years in Iran, and said the events in Iran in the last decade - the taking of American hostages, the war with Iraq- have had a chilling effect o n American study of the region , but he doesn't see them as endangering the Middle East Studies Center. "The more these events happen , the more we need to have discussion," he said. That is, discussion without hidden political agendas. "In my classes, I have J ewish kids and Arab kids and Sunni kids, and we have lively debates, but I will not tol– erate propaganda or intimidation," said Farr. The advisory council members are adamant on that point as well. Hershal Tanzer, a leader in the Portland Jew– ish community and a member of the council, said the university is taking great pains to stay away from potential problems. "I want to see a fair por– trayal of this very volatile area, and I think the school is making an extra– ordinary effort in keeping this on a non-propaganda, non-politicized track," he said. No one is more adamant about that point than Atiyeh himself. "There have been Middle East cen– ters in other institutions, and too often they fail because you get into an Arab– Israeli argument. I'm determined that will not occur here. We need under– standing, we need to know about that area, we need to do it in an academic context. We don't need another one of those fights." rsu PSU MAGAZINE PAGE7 Long-time English professor dies The University community was saddened this fall by the death of Frederick 0 . Waller, professor emeritus of Eng– lish, who died in September of a heart attack at his home..Professor Waller had been at Portland State for 30 years, serving in many academic and administrative capacities, includ– ing chair of the English department, assistant dean of the College of Lib– eral Arts and Sciences, associate dean of faculty and dean of undergraduate studies. He was a two-term presiding officer of the Faculty Senate and was honored by the faculty in 1984 with the George and Virginia Hoffmann Award for faculty excellence. The focus of Professor Waller's teaching and research was the litera– ture of the Elizabethan period, and he was often seen in dramatic produc– tions on campus, particularly the Shakespeare plays. The Department of English has established a Frederick Waller Memor– ial Fund within the PSU Foundation. Researchers to help planners for elderly Portland State researchers Deborah Howe and Nancy Chapman of the Institute on Aging and ·the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, have been awarded a $147,320 grant by the federal Administration on Aging to train persons who plan facilities for elderly persons. The researchers will try to sensitize planners to the envir– onmental needs of the elderly and to understand how facility planning deci– sions influence the quality of elderly residents' lives. The project will train planners from throughout Oregon, including members of planning departments, planning commissions, housing authorities, and transportation planners.