Portland State University Alumni News Winter 1984 On the inside Toulan goes to Mecca ........................... 3 Finished with PSU's strategic plan, he starts one for holy city ROTC comes to campus ............•.....•..... 5 The Official Official of the '84 Olympics ............................................... 6 PSU's Ralph Davis does his part New theaters, new degrees ................... 7 PSU performing arts keep pace with downtown development Pourquoi Ie franpis? ......................... 8-9 A professor and an alum have French in their blood Life in PSU's first dorm ....................... 10 Alumni News .............••.................. 11-12 Campus News ........................•...•... 13-14 Calendar .............................................. 15 On the cover: First-grader Margaret Steams is absorbed in UEnfantaisie," the French children's magazine produced by a PSU professor. Margaret is a student at the Portland French-American School, headed by a PSU alum. See stories on pp. 8-9. tivc Strategic plan points direction for University of the 1980s by Cynthia D. Stowell When we begin to feel like victims of circumstance, spending all our energy responding to crises, we are apt to look inward for the values that help us regain control and feel more in balance with the world. So, too, with institutions. Portland State University, beset by fiscal crises and public debate over its future role, has been engaging in some self-examination that officials hope_ will create a more certain identity for the University- an identity strong enough to withstand financial setbacks and flexible enough to meet societal change head-on. "A Strategic Plan for the 1980s," the work of a 15-mernber task force assembled by President Blumel in the fall of 1982, takes a hard look at issues as broad as the University's mission and as specific as departmental deficiencies. Based on the su rvey of more than 900 facu Ity members, students, alumni and community people, the draft plan presents 58 "strategic decisions" that balance internal values with external needs to chart a course for the University. _ Underlying the plan are four "institution-wide goals" identified by the task force: 1. PSU's continued development as a "University"; 2. Movement toward becoming a "Comprehensive Research University" ; 3. Recognition that PSU's roots are in the local community, which it should continue to serve; 4. Attainment of excellence in fields where the potential is high (while enhancing overall quality of all programs). An even deeper undercurrent of the strategic plan is the tension created by PSU's two principal impulses: to be a traditional, liberal arts university and to meet the professional needs of the surrounding urban community. This potential conflict is resolved quite nicely by the task force, which was chaired by Dean Nohad Toulan of the School of Urban and Public Affairs. "The community expects and is entitled to have the only public university in the region become a place of excellence and high quality," states the plan. "It cannot be viewed as a place of last resort and be expected at the same time to assume the role of a catalyst for social change, economic development, and technological innovation." To this end, the report says the University must "excel in theoretical and applied research and to enhance and expand its professional offerings, especially in the areas of business, management, planning, design, engineering, computer science, biological sciences, genetic engineering, and international studies." Aiming high In its academic recommendations, the strategic plan tends to favor the suspension of undergraduate and certificate programs where the field would be better served by the development of professional degree programs. For instance, certificates in dance and public health should give way to bachelor's and master's programs respectively, suggests the plan. Also recommended is the suspension of the undergraduate program in social work and the diversion of resources to a "Graduate School of Social Work:' New Ph.D. programs in psychology and speech pathology should be considered, while the quality of research and instruction in existing Ph.D. and master's programs should be improved, says the task force. The Systems Science Ph. D. program needs some serious examination with a view to its direction and administrative location within the University, the report suggests. The plan confirms the continued relevancy of the various research and study centers developed at PSU in response to societal needs through the years. But it recommends that the administrative independence of the Black Studies Department be examined, and it suggests better coordination among the Institute on Aging, the Regional Research Institute, the Center for Population Research and the Center for Urban Studies. Values and environment The task force, following a strategic planning model especially designed for colleges and universities, carried its assessment into three areas other than academic- personal values of constituents, external constraints and opportunities, and academic support units. Continued on p. 2
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