PSU Magazine Winter 1998

A 'hard labor' lesson Portland tate fre hmen had an unusual class ession thi pa t h liday sea on. They repackaged 40,000 pounds of potatoes for Oregon Food Bank, getting a down-to-earth understanding of the terms "hard labor" and "team– work," as they helped the busy soc ial service agency. lt was all part of a PSU Freshman Inquiry course entitled Life's Labors: The Purpose, Meaning, and Value of Work and Play. The course encourages students to think long and hard about the activitie they engage in-whether it's their job, hobby, or play-and examine how these activities shape their experiences and ideas. This year, there are five separate "Life' Labors" courses comprised of a total of 150 students. "We agreed that the classes should do one big project together to build team lidarity and to do omething for the community," say Lisbeth Lipari , a faculty member in the program. "Volunteering is about altruism and making the world a better place, but it's also an incredible way to learn and make connections with others." In December, on a campus loading dock, the students transferred a trac– tor-trailer of potatoes donated from Oregon Potato Commission growers into individual sacks. Oregon Food Bank sent the sacks to food relief agencies throughout Oregon. Engineers get together The engineering chool at Portland tate and Oregon tate Universities have tarted a new program in Beaverton to help companies improve their performance and productivity. The Oregon Performance Project (OPP) i headquartered at the Capital Center, 18640 NW Walker Road. OPP is the result of planning meet– ings between the eng ineering schoo ls and local industry representatives to determin how to best serve the needs of companies throughout Oregon. Empha is will be on Oregon, but OPP will al o serve national and interna– tional organ izat ions, say Bob Dryden, P U's Engineering dean. And the focus is not ju ton engine ring or high-tech businesse . "We'd like to 1 k at all fami lies of bu ines es, from agriculture/forest– based industries through high-tech companies and governmenta l agen– cies," says Tom We t, acting dean of OSU' Co llege of Engineering Stephen Hacker, who headed a similar program at Virginia Po ly– technic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va., is OPP's new exec– utive director. He brings to OPP an impres ive list of clients, including the U.S. Postal Service, NASA, National Grocers of Canada, the U.. Navy, Botswana Telecommunications Corp. of South Africa, and the U. Geological Service. FROM THE PRESIDENT Since my arrival on campus this fall, l have been impres ed with the quality of the faculty, staff, and tudents l have met and with the level of concern and support for PSU among alumni, friends, and public offi– cial . l have found this support in communities here in the metropolitan area and also on trip around the state. We saw ev idence of this concern and support in the recent legislative session when, for the fir t time in this decade, funding for higher education stabilized. There i no question that there is a growing realization of higher education's vital role in our econ– omy, but, in the case of PSU, there also is support for the nationally recognized academic and adminis– trative initiatives of the past everal years. The e include the development of a new undergraduate core curriculum, the re-defining of faculty scho larship, creation of the University Planning District, and a re-engineered adminis– trative and operational structure. 4 P U MAGAZI E WINTER 1998 These are some of the accomplishments that drew me to become a candidate for the presidency. They al o represent the challenges facing us today. The Univer ity has reached the point at which we need to look closely at these accom– plishments, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and determine the best way to maintain our progress. Additionally, l want us to focus thi year on improving the quality of the student experience at PSU. This involve everything from our student recruitment, admis– sions, and advising processes to the creation and mainte– nance of a <liver e campus environment for both students and for faculty and staff. PSU ha worked hard to increase its connections with the community and thi year we will redouble those efforts among business, alumni, government, and other . lt i clear that, only through increa ing private upport, will we be able to maintain strong academic and community programs. Portland State University is an exciting place to be and I look forward to working with you to carry this institution forward into the vanguard of higher education. Dan Bernstine, President