Portland State University Magazine Fall 1991

M y first year as president of Portland State University has been a year of excit– ing events,.but none more gratifying than the official recognition of PSU as the key institution of higher educa– tion in the metropolitan area. This means new state funding and the potential for large federal grants to support our critical role. This recognition is important for the University, and the influence of the Governor's Commis– sion on Higher Educa– tion in the Portland Metropolitan Area can– not be underestimated. Its final report was a landmark for PSU. The report emphasized the eritical role of Portland State, and the Commis– sion's hearings prompted wide public discussion of what an urban university is and can be. Implementing the Commiss ion's findings was the next task, and the Portland Higher Education Agenda is the road map. It's an act ion plan developed by PSU in consultation with Chance llor Thomas Bartlett and the Governor's Office. The agenda was adopted by the State Board of Higher Education and endorsed by Governor Roberts and the O regon Legislature to the tune of $7 milli on. That ringing endorsement is no acc ident. The Portland Agenda is so powerful because it addresses the rea l 2PSU needs of the region . It was designed around the irrefutable fact that, with the financial resources ava ilable and Oregon's historically uneven support for education, no one institution– even a comprehensive university– can meet the needs alone. Collaboration and cooperation are essential. What does $7 million buy? Five million dollars is earmarked to estab– lish the Oregon Joint Graduate Schools of Engineering, which will draw together the resources of PSU, Oregon State Univer– sity, Oregon Graduate Institute, and University of O regon to bring the state's engineering educa– tion and research to the forefront nationally. The remaining $2 mil– lion wi ll help create new "collaborat ive struc– tures" and provide incen– tive money for new program ideas. The first collaborative structure is the regional library network. About half the funds will be used to electronical– ly tying together the resources of the area's academic and public libraries using PSU's Millar Library as the hub. Other coll aborat ive efforts are the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies and the Portland Educational Network, both housed at PSU and beginning this fa ll. They will bring together the region's educational, research, and service expertise to foc us on critical metropolitan issues. But don't think our activities are limited to Portland. PSU's teaching, research, and serv ice agenda is direct– ly linked to the state's plans in work force development, educational reform, health policy, and economic development. Those issues affect all O regonians. The facts are clear: PSU is leading the way in innovative and collabora– tive efforts, and our educational programs relate directly to state government policy in many areas. That's why the Portland Agenda and the concept of the urban grant univer– sity are receiving such support. One powerful endorsement has come from Sen. Mark Hatfield , who is leading the effort towards a $10 mil– li on federal appropriation for Title XI of the Higher Education Act, better known as the U rban Grant Univer– sity. It is the first allocation of funds in the 10-year history of the act. At a hearing of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee in Portland last August, we outlined these developments fo r Sen. Hatfield. What we described to him is nothing less than a full-scale experiment to redraw the face of higher education in the United States. We are busy remaking Portland State every day– not in the isolation of the ivory tower, but in direct collaboration with our communities. And one of our most important communities is the University's alumni and fr iends. I want to en– courage those of you who are not already working with Portland State to get involved. Many departments have act ive advisory counc ils, and the Alumni Board sponsors an Alumni Advocates program. Together we have the potential to influence higher education not only in the Portland metropolitan area and throughout O regon, but across the nation as well. Judith A. Ramaley President