Portland State Magazine Spring 2018

5 PARK BLOCKS THE UNIVERSITY’S Multicultural Student Center celebrated its 25th anniversary in February. A busy, art- filled gathering spot, the center is visited every day by close to 400 students of all races, ethnicities and backgrounds. In 1993, when the center was founded, diverse students accounted for approximately 10 percent of PSU’s student body. Today, that number is closer to 40 percent, and PSU has become Oregon’s most diverse university. The center spawned the formation of the University’s other cultural centers: The Native American Student and Community Center; La Casa Latina; Pacific Islander, Asian & Asian American Student Center; and Pan-African Commons. A place for everyone A good man in any arena I was happy and surprised to see the “Honoring football great Arthur Dickson” article in the fall 2017 issue of Portland State Magazine . Such a well-written feature by John Wykoff, and all credit to Tony Beatty for funding the Memorial Scholarship in his friend’s name. Everyone got it right! I didn’t get to watch Arthur play one down of football, but knew him from working together at United Grocers, and all of the admirable attributes that John used in his story were evident daily. A good man in any arena; you just wanted to be around that guy! Thank you for Arthur’s story. ~Hannes Jahns ’71 How did PSC become PSU? The final article [Looking Back: In the Midst of Change] in the excellent, fall 2017 edition of Portland State Magazine reminded me of my days at PSC [Portland State College] and the constant “urban renewal” going on. It also reminded me that I was a part of the process of PSC becoming PSU. If I’m not mistaken, I was one of three graduate students to be the first to receive a Master of Arts degree. At least that’s what we were told at the time. My dissertation was submitted and approved in the spring of 1966, and I passed my oral exams later that summer. It would be interesting for me to know just what was involved in making PSC a university. Your article indicates that occurred in 1969, but graduate degrees were being granted before that. Many thanks for the fine publication. I enjoy it the most out of all the alumni magazines I see. ~Dick Slawson ’65, ’67 Portland State Magazine wants to hear from you. Email your comments to psumag@pdx.edu or send them to Portland State Magazine, Office of University Communications, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207-0751.We reserve the right to edit for space and clarity. LE T TERS