Portland State Magazine Fall 2012

FALL 2012 / VOL. 27 NO. 1 EDITOR Kathryn Kirkland CONTRIBUTORS :s:: ~ )> N z rn Chris Broderick, Scott Gallagher, Suzanne Pardington, Heather Quinn– Bork, David Santen '99, MS '04 COPY EDITOR Martha Wagner DESIGN Brett Forman, Sean Martinez LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 810 Market Center Building PO Box 751 Portland OR 97207-0751 503-725-4451, fax 503-725-4465 psumag@pdx.edu ADDRESS CHANGES PSU Alumni Association www.pdx.edu/alumrn click on "update your info" or call 503-725-4948 ALUMN I ENGAGEMENT OFFICE Tom Bull, Executive Director Simon Benson House 1803 SW Park Ave. PO Box 751 Portland OR 97207-0751 503-725-4948 psualum@pdx.edu PSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dan McDonald MBA '91, President Ron Adams '60 Leila Aman '99 Aubre Dickson '98 Al Fitzpatrick MA '83 Nicole Gallagher '01 Richard Helzer '62 Kelly Hossain, '90, MURP '93 Matthew Johnson '03, MURP '06 David Keys '81, MBA '92 Bill Lemman, Vanport, HD '04 Greg Meyer MBA '08 John Whearty '91 Portland State Magazine is published three times a year, during fall, winter, and spring terms. Contents may be reprinted only by permission of the editor. The magazine is printed on recycled paper. Portland State University 1s an affirmative action / equal opportunity 1nst1tut1on. 2 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE FALL 201 2 FROM THE PRESIDENT Reflections upon entering my fifth year at PSU Alice and Wim Wiewel T HE START of a new academic year at Portland State is always exciting, with shin– ing examples across campus that showcase our rising faculty excellence and vibrant student life. This fall also marks the start of my fiftl1 academic year at PSU, so it's a good opportunity to reflect on where we've been and where we are going. When I arrived in the summer of 2008, we didn't yet know how deep the recession would become in Oregon and across the nation. Despite our economic crisis and severe cuts to higher education, PSU has experienced steady growth in enrollment, record numbers of graduates, improved stu– dent retention, new and renovated facilities, and significant increases in research funding and private philanthropy. That makes me optimistic about our future: If we can do all of chis when times are tough, imagine what we can accomplish when times get better! I was drawn to Portland State and to Portland by the quality of the people, the strong campus partnerships with all sectors of the community, and the open social and cultural climate of the city. Still, there was a persistent notion that PSU didn't get the respect as a university that it should, and we've worked hard to change that percep– tion. After years of being satisfied to be a school of convenience, PSU is emerging as a school of choice for high-achieving students, our-of-scare and international students, transfer smdencs, and smdents of color. At the same time, we remain committed to our mission to be accessible to all students and create opportunities for them to succeed. There have been many pleasant surprises over the past four years. For exan1ple, both my wife, Alice, and I have found the community to be warm and welcoming to newcomers. And like many Oregonians, we have come to love the natural environment here, from the coast to the mountains. It's a beautiful place, and chat shared value con– tributes to PSU's devotion to sustainability. A not-so-pleasant surprise has been the chronic decline of state funding for higher education. Oregon ranks in the bottom five states in the nation in support for public universities, and keeping a PSU education affordable continues to be our biggest chal– lenge. As the economy rebounds, we will do everything we can to show lawmakers and the public that investing in universities yields direct educational, cu lmral, and economic benefits essential to securing Oregon's future. LOOK I NG FORWARD , I see Portland Stare continuing to grow in enrollment, improved facilities, and influence. Our focus on sustainability will guide us over the next 10 years, and I envision our partnerships will flourish with OHSU, Ince!, PGE, the city of Portland, Multnomah County, public schools, and many other organizations. I also predict that our educational delivery model will change with technological advances and more online learning opportunitie . Ten years from now, I can imagine a Portland State where students no longer have to attend lectures to learn general information, enabling faculty to go deeper with individual students to engage them in academic projects and real-world problem solving. I feel lucky to be part of a team at Portland Stare working every day to make a differ– ence. Our an1bition is to become a model for urban universities across the nation, and we're on our way. Of course we have our challenges, but as we start a new year at P U, I feel more than ever that we're faced with insurmountable opportunities. WimWiewel PRESIDENT, PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY