Portland State University Magazine Fall 1991

Tribute to Vergil Miller Colleagues from education, business, and industry will pay tribute to Vergil Miller, former dean of the School of Business Administration, on Wednes– day, Oct. 16, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Portland Marriott Hotel, 1401 SW Front. · ··1 o· ~ Miller, who now serves as senior policy ad– viser to PSU Pres i– dent Judith Ramaley, is be ing honored for his contribution to the University and to Oregon business. For reservations call 725 -4728. Miller became dean in September 1983. During his tenure, the School established close ties with Portland's business community, and many projects saw progress including: forma– tion of the Corporate Associates Program, growth of the Profess ional Development Center, establishment of the Herbert Retzlaff Chair of Cost Management, construction of the new School of Business Administra– tion building, creation of the Chiles Information Systems (student microcomputer) Laboratory, inaugura– tion of the Statewide MBA Program, creation of the Soviet Eastern European Business Administration Center, and establishment of the Age of Pac ific Project. Miller, who has been weakened by a serious illness, continues to serve PSU and the state's business com– munity. Business professor John Oh is acting dean of the School of Business Administration pending a national search for a permanent dean . Living with Japanese investors in Oregon With Japanese investment in O regon the largest of any foreign entity, con– cern has shifted from attracting new investment to living with this increas– ingly powerful new partner. These are the findings of a recent report by the International Trade In– stitute (ITI) of Portland State. 4 PSU "Japanese Foreign Investment in Oregon" was produced by Wallace Bain of ITI for The Commiss ion on U .S.-J apan Relations in the Twenty– First Century in Washington, D.C. Bain points out that Japan is the number one foreign investor in Oregon both in the amount of loca l assets held and in the number of people employed. . Nationally, Japanese investment m the United States has raised concerns, but in O regon, according to the ITI report, there has been very little public criticism of Japanese invest– ment. In fac t, Oregon continues to tout the benefits. Japanese invest– ments and the establishment of Japanese firms in the state have helped to diversify Oregon 's economy, most apparent in the large electronic and semi-conductor manufac turing faci lities in Portland. Japanese firms and joint ventures are also located throughout the state: beef and seafood process ing in Salem, aviation electronic connectors in Tualatin, stereo cabinet manufac tur– ing in La G rande, hay exporting in Boardman, and a wooden chopsticks plant in Toledo, to name a few. There is concern among O regon business leaders that Japanese com– panies do not eas ily integrate into their local communities. The report quotes a Portland executive as saying, "For the amount of Japanese influence in Portland , I don't see much Japanese involvement in community groups." Another Portland executive told ITI "There is a great need to assimi– lat~ Japanese executives into the busi– ness community. [They) have the experience and abilities to provide unique insights into business and charitable organizations." The report concludes that O regon needs to maintain a posit ive invest– ment atmosphere which attracts a diversity of Japanese companies to communities throughout the state and integrate these firms into local social and economi c systems. Soviet Union business Twenty-one Soviet business execu– tives spent a month on campus this summer learning more about western business practices as they completed the first year of a cooperative MBA program. T he Soviet factory managers and executives attend the Soviet American School of Business Admin– istration in Portland 's Sister C ity, Khabarovsk. The program is a joint venture of PSU and the Kh abarovsk Institute of National Economy and grants a certificate equivalent to a master's degree in business admm1stra– tion upon completion of the three– year program. Whi le in Portland, the students attended business lectures and English classes; toured area busi– nesses; and made fo rmal presentations to Portland businesses on the virtues of their firms as suppliers, customers, and joint venture partners. The program is operating under the direction of Beverly Fuller, associate professor of business admini– stration and Professor Earl Molander, director of the Soviet and East Eu ropean Business Administration (SEEBA ) Center at PSU. T he Khabarovsk management students each pay $8,000 plus 32,000 rubles fo r tuition . The program also receives private and public funds, including a $48,000 gran t from the Meyer Memorial Trust and a recent $70,000 grant from the United States Information Agency (USIA) for a second MBA class scheduled to start this fa ll. Plans also call fo r opening a branch of the Soviet American School in Novgorod and Blageve– shensk. Portland State's program is the most extensive of any U .S. busi– ness school in the Soviet Union. In addition to the Soviet school, SEEBA sees to exchange programs between PSU and six universities in Central and Eastern Europe and estab– lishes professional and educational business soc ieties in those countries. The USIA recently awarded Molander a $200,000 grant to develop profess ional business societies in Poland and Hungary.