Mary Ferguson Cumpston, '57 Everybocly here felt a sense of energy and triumph over the fact that Portland State had made it from Van porI. . . The faculty was a very enthusiastic group committed to continuing the momentum that had been generated. And the students felt, at least some of us did, that we had unknowingly stumbled into this rare atmosphere where everybody had the same goals and everybody was interested in helping everybody else. I don't think I could have gone anywhere and gotten a better liberal arts education than in the fifties at Portland State. o The fact that we were all housed in one building (lincoln Hall)... forced us to all get to know each other and to be together. There was one cafeteria. Everybody was there, faculty, students... It was easy to get to and from various areas of the campus. And you were encouraged and welcome in all of the Frank Roberts, PSU professor It was, in the speech department, a very innovative faculty. We were constantly trying to find ways to increase the effiCiency of our teaching. We were not terribly satisfied with textbooks and we developed elaborate curricula. highly structured, lots of supporting teaching materials, and we were certainly aggressive from thai standpoint. .. The speech department was heaVily involved in competitive speech, forensics, and so we worked hard at that and that was the core group for the speech department. . We made room available as a gathering place for people who were interested in forenSiCS, and a library and a place that they met and congregated and called "home." Even when we were al Oregon Shipyard we, in the speech department, developed a unique tournament that was called the ''Town Meeting Tournament." It attracted competitors from 15 or so colleges and universities. Again, we tried to develop new things. We were not completely enamored with the traditional collegiate debate which nobody listened to except a couple of judges so the "Town Meeting Tournament" brought people in to talk in three.way debates. . . They spoke before college audiences. high school audiences, and before community groupsRotary clubs. service groups, and on radio programs. We conducted that for about 10 years. o I think, if anything, (after the move to the present campus) our students had an opportunity to become much more specialized. . . and I think that was the thing that the new location gave-a sense of permanence in the future Dean DeChaine, '59 From a student OOdy point of view it was a fairly straightforward political setting where students had a purpose, a goal. an objective, enthusiasm and an idealism... There were really not any significant demonstrations or that kind of thing. There was a good relationship, in most cases, with the students and faculty. o One of the biggest programs we had in those days was the Winter Carnival. We literally took over Mt. Hood for a weekend. Those were the days when college students ~ ~ u ~ ~ ~ : r ~ m J t ~ 1 ~ h ~ a ~ ~ ~ d ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ was quite a thing. Finally its success became so great that it destroyed itself. But in those days it was still in its successful stage. o My advisor was Brock Dixon and I had a great deal of respect for him. I was particularly fond of history teachers, in particular Charlie White and George Hoffmann. I was fond of the speech teachers, areas so I was able to do things that I would never be able to do on a large geographically separated campus like go to parties at the homes of English professors, sociology professors. Or. Dahlstrom cooked popovers at his home one Sunday morning... I was able to take courses in the arts and humanities that were taught by people who later became the most prestigious faculty at Portland State who were at that time young instructors on their way up. o I think everyone was concerned with the survival of the campus and having it become a degree-granting institution. When I first came here.. . it was still considered an extension center. But there was no doubt in the minds of many of us who were here that it was inevitable that it would happen before we would ever graduate. including Ben Padrow and Frank Roberts. By and large, with few exceptions. I was extremely pleased with the teaching and education. o Joe Blumel taught me economics when I was there. He was a very fine teacher. They (PSU professors) were mostly younger individuals just getting started in the profession and they were hardworking and they were anxious to show they could teach. o The thing that I recall best is that, if you became involved, you didn'l have the feeling as if this were an urban setting necessarily. It's true that you did live at home. It's true that most peepl rt·time job. But there was good comrade ' ... The other thing that I think has really important had been the education and the training and the close relationship that existed between the faculty members and the students. It was a very giving situation. PSU Perspective, Spring 1986 / "... S
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz