PSU Magazine Winter 1997

School of Government A long awaited School of Govern– ment---one that may someday rival the Kennedy School at Harvard, the LBJ School at Texas, and the Humphrey Institute at Minnesota– is forming at PSU. A reorganization of the School of Urban and Public Affairs will result in the creation of three schools within a newly formed College of Urban and Public Affairs: a School of Govern– ment, a School of Urban Studies and Planning, and a School of Community Health. The School of Government will include the Departments of Political Science, Public Administration, and Administration of Justice. Together the e units will offer a systematic study of the institutions of government and political thought. Also included within the School of Government is the Institute for Non-Profit Manage– ment and the Executive Leadership Institute, which both moved to PSU this fall along with the entire Lewis & Clark College graduate public admin– istration program. A proposed Center for Criminal Justice Research would also be a part of the Government School. The School of Urban Studies and Planning will include the Departments of Urban Studies and Urban Planning. The School of Community Health will include the Department of Health Education, the Center for Public Health Studies, and the proposed Department of Community Health. The reorganization is expected to take place in fall 1997; however, because of space limitations, not all departments will be together until the Urban Center Building is constructed three years from now. This building, part of the University District Plan, will be located in the new plaza planned for between SW Fifth and Sixth avenues, along Montgomery Street. The College of Urban and Public Affairs makes PSU one the few institu– tions in the country to offer a compre- 4 PSU MAGAZINE WINTER 1997 hensive set of academic and research programs devoted to public affairs. It is the only one of its kind in the Northwest. Graduates of the college hold positions of responsibility in local planning, public administration, and criminal justice agencies, as well as within health care facilities. Alumni holding similar positions can be found in the Middle East, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. Nationally, the college's doctoral graduates are on the faculties of more than 40 major universities. Award for helping HUD When a community asks the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for help, HUD is increasingly turning to the country's universities as a resource. For the past year, Portland State and two other universities have been training HUD staff as part of the agency's efforts to be more responsive to community needs, and in Septem– ber PSU was one of 15 educational institutions to receive a HUD grant to help with community revitalization. In recognition of PSU's community service, HUD awarded the University a Community First Leadership Award this fall. "Colleges and universities, because of their great economic and human resources, must be integral actors in their cities' revitalization activities," said Secretary Henry Cisneros. To date, 112 HUD staff members from 17 western and midwestern states have attended the PSU-based training program. The program is designed to orient HUD leaders to the dynamics of healthy communities and outline ways in which HUD can play a more direct role in addressing local community issues and problems. The $400,000 grant from HUD is going toward PSU's community outreach efforts in Portland's Albina community, including small business development, community develop– ment training, and the delivery of family services. State board chooses new path for Engineering The Portland State and Oregon State engineering programs will work together but remain eparate under a new plan approved by the State Board of Higher Education at its November meeting. The board voted to create an Oregon College of Engineering to oversee financial and policy planning for both chools. The vice chancellor in charge of the new college will also work with other public and private institutions and with industry to improve quality, cost, and effective– ness of engineering education for the state. The vice chancellor wi ll be advised by an Oregon Engineering and Technology Council composed of industry representatives. The model was proposed by board Vice President Tom Imeson just a day before the November session. This plan closely resembles a model proposed by PSU engineering facu lty Franz Rad, John McHugh, Rolf Schaumann, and Dundar Kocaoglu. With passage of the new plan, the state board expects engineering education to be more responsive to the needs of Oregon's high-tech industry. Details of the plan still needed to be worked out. The board asked Chancellor Joseph Cox to work with industry and report back in December. "I see nothing in this plan that will derail or delay our initiative in building and developing engineering at Portland State," says Bob Dryden, dean of the PSU School of Engineering and Applied Science. "I even see that the visibility created by this process has made the state more aware of the need to invest in engineering in the Portland area. I'm optimistic that we'll see both addi– tional resources and encouragement for our program."