PSU Magazine Winter 1988

I AROUND THE PARK BLOCKS Needle program update The fall PSU magazine featured an arti– cle on a controvers ial new experiment - a research project involving the exchange of dirty needles for steri le ones as a way of slowing the spread of AIDS. The project has finally received liability insurance and is beginning service to Portland intra– venous drug users at Outside In, a private agency that provides counseling and health care to low- income people and street youths. PSU alumna Kathy Oliver is director of Outside In and PSU Associate Professor of Psychology Hugo Maynard is principal in– vestigator for the project. Maynard and Oliver hope to determine whether the availability of clean needles and syri nges, accompanied by condoms and educational information , will discourage needle sharing and drug use in general and help slow the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a strong link to AIDS. The needle exchange program was delayed for about four months because of difficulties in obtaining malpractice in– surance. Outside In's regular insurance carrier decided not to cover the untried needle program. According to Oliver the program is now insured by two companies CNA Insurance Co., the largest medical malpractice carrier in Oregon , will provide malpractice coverage, and National Union Fire Insurance Co. wi ll cover the agency's professional and general liabili ty. MBA program goes on the road This fall Portland State launched the first statewide videotape instructed MBA Program , making the master's degree in business administration available to students who live and work far from a university campus. Katherine Novy is director of the ex– perimental program in PSU's School of Business Administration. Universities and colleges throughout the state provide monitored sites for showing videotapes of classes filmed the previous week on the PSU campus. Course substance, content and admission requirements are the same. The program is modeled after one suc– cessfu lly offered by Colorado State Univer– sity for the past 20 years. Educational centers offe ring the new Portland State MBA degree program are Eastern Oregon State College, Oregon In– stitute of Technology, Umpqua Community College, Southwestern Oregon Community College, Central Oregon Community Col– lege, Tillamook Bay Community College. Treaty Oaks Community College, Blue Mountain Community College and Treasure Valley Community College. For further information on the program contact Novy toll-free in Oregon at 1- 800- 452-4909, or (503) 464- 4822. Campus housing first Formal dedication of West Hall , the first state financed student housing building ever constructed on the Portland State University campus was held this October. The nine-story structure, built with $9 million in bonds (retired through student fees) , includes 189 one-bedroom apart– ments. Ten of the apartments are designed especially for handicapped accessibi lity. The building also includes 170 covered parking spaces. Phase I of the project was completed in September 1987, and Phase II was completed this summer. West Hall , and all other student hous– ing at PSU, is operated by Portland Stu– dent Services, Inc., a student- based , non– profit corporation. Since its inception , PSS has acquired 12 apartment complexes (most on the PSU campus) with approx– imately 1,000 units. Nine of the PSS buildings have been completely modernized. North African expert returns to campus Back from a Harvard professorship and stud ies abroad , PSU Political Science Pro– fesso r John Damis is bringing the im– mediacy of North African and Middle Eastern politics to his students at Portland State. Damis has been traveling and teaching since winter 1986. His internationally recognized know– ledge of North African politics and international relations led to two semesters, spring 1986 and 1987, as a visiting pro– fessor of government at Harvard Un iversi– ty. While at Harvard , Damis often ap– peared on , or was quoted by, the national media during the U.S. bombing of Libya in April 1986. Between his two semesters at Harvard , Damis taught American students in Lon– don for the Northwest Interinstitutional Counci l for Studying Abroad. This is a consortium of nine Pacific Northwest universities offering foreign study abroad. During the 1987- 88 academic year Damis had a Senior Fu lbright Award to lecture and do research in Morocco. He spent the year in the national capital, Rabat, where he lectured in French at the Faculty of Law of Mohammed V Universi– ty and the National School of Public Ad– ministration . Morocco's geographic loca– tion - directly across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain - and moderate role in the Arab world , along with a diverse landscape and culture, make the country an area of interest for Damis and the rest of the world. A facu lty member of Portland State since 1971, Damis has also provided analysis on North African affairs for the Department of State in Washington, D.C. He has written many scholarly works on the area and the book Conflict in North– west Africa: The Western Sahara Dispule, published in 1983. PSU 3