Portland State Magazine Spring 2008

PORTLAND STATE MAGAZ I NE SPRING 2008 / VOL. 22 NO. 3 EDITOR Kathryn Kirkland COPY EDITOR Martha Wagner DESIGN Leslie Watkins EDITORIAL OFFICE 325 Cramer Hall PO. Box 751 Portland, OR 97207-0751 503-725-4451, fax 503-725-4465 psumag@pdx.edu ADDRESS CHANGES PSU Alumni Association www.alumni.pdx.edu click on "update your info" or call 503-725-4948 ALUMNI RELATIONS OFFICE Pat Squire MPA '95, Assistant Vice President Simon Benson House PO Box 751 Portland, OR 97207-0751 503·72 5-4948 psualum@pdx.edu ALUMNI BOARD OF DIRECTORS Gerry Scovil '65, MS '68, President Kori Allen '84 Jeff Austin '77 Gary Barth '86 Donna Derington '79 Charles Dunn '01 Jerry Gordon '68 Linda Hamilton '90 Behzad Hosseini '96, MBA '97 Marshal Jevning '96 Korn, Kalevor '88 Bill Lemman, Vanport, DHL '04 Gina Leon ·95 M11ica Markovic '04 Kendal McDonald MA '02 Terry Pinnell 'O 1 Ann Takamura MPA ·97 Chilrisse Tooze '94 Barbara Verchot MPA '97 Rick Watson MBA '00 Cathy W1ll1ams '56 Angela Wykoff '72, MS '75, '80 ALUMNI AMBASSADORS Jon Jalali '67, MBA '7 1, Medford Dennis Olson '68, MS '80, Pendleton Cathy Williams '56. Sisters 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 1s printed on recycled paper. Portland State University 1s an affirmative action I equal opportunity 1ns!Jtut1on. 2 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE SPR I LETTERS Why we love Portland The article "Age-Friendly Portland" (winter 2008 magazine) was another example of why we love Portland-more so perhaps when you live elsewhere. Dr. Margaret Neal's and student Alan DelaTorre's work with the World Health Organization on assessing the age-friendli– ness of the city demonstrates an important piece of planning that is lacking in other cit– ies across the country. Although some folks talk about "elder friendly" planning and the need to plan for che dramatic population structure changes coming when 78 million Baby Boomers lurch into lace life, few com– munities are doing the serious work needed. Even fewer are actually listening ro today's elders or involving them in planning efforts, I wonder if Portland's reputation as a livable city or its history of participatory planning is the reason that Portland was the only American city involved in this effort? Donna L. Wagner '75, MUS '78 Professor and Director ofGerontology Towson University Towson, Maryland Where have all the gerontologists gone? As a doctoral-trained gerontologist, I was at once excited by the winter magazine story, "Age-Friendly Portland," and also quite sad– dened. The excitement comes from knowing chat PSU and its Institute on Aging are par– ticipating in such projects in my hometown. The sadness is basic but profound. Could it be true that Portland was the only city in the nation to participate in something as important as che World Health Organiza– tion's Age-Friendly Cities project? Not only should Portland serve as a model to other cities as they consider the aging of their citizenry, but Portland State University and Margaret Neal and her stu– dents should serve as an example for other gerontology programs. I realize that not every gerontology program may have had access to the information or received an invitation to participate (my program did not) , but the real question may be, where have all the gerontologists gone? Thank you to Dr. Neal for raising the gerontological bar and reminding all of us that there is lots of work to be done. Kelly Niles-Yokum '96, MPA '98 Director ofGerontology Studies Cofleges ofWorcester Consortium Worcester, Massachusetts Let's remember former film program le is excellent news that PSU is developing a new film major (winter 2008 magazine). Congratulations, it's clearly time to acknowledge the importance of media in our culture. Let's remember, however, that a PSU film department is not new. From the lace 1960s into the 1980s, PSU's Center for the Moving Image (CMI) was one of the finest film departments in the country. CMI was created and led by two extreme– ly talented individuals: Andries Deinum and Thomas T. Taylor Ill. Deinum worked in Hollywood as an assistant to Fritz Lang, Alfred Hitchcock, and others. He eventu– ally turned his talents toward scholarship and taught film at University of Southern California. Today there is a plaque in USC's Cinema Department commemorating Pro– fessor Deinum's contribution to film study and acknowledging the school's complicity with House Un-American Activities Com– mittee in terminating him. Taylor, a superb documentary filmmaker, left an active international career to organize and run che production side of PSU's Center for the Moving Image. The program launched careers for a hundred or more students, including my own, Bifl Bowling '79 Worldwide Locations Executive Warner Bros. Pictures Burbank, California Portland State Magazine wants to hearfrom you. E-mailyour comments to psumag@pdx.edu or send them to Portland State Magazine, Office ofUniversity Communications, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207-0751. We reserve the right to editfor space and clarity.