2 President’s Message At this time of the year, those with access to space in some publication often feel compelled to offer amazingly obvious advice about being thankful or the pleasures of giving or the importance of family. Don’t worry. I won’t do that since I’m sure you’ve heard it before. Instead, I’d like to describe briefly two tours in which I recently participated. One, our regular RAPS November meeting, involved visiting several campus buildings to see the latest in the University’s sustainability efforts. There is more about this tour in Presidentelect Joan Shireman’s article below. Most impressive to me was to hear about the work students are doing to bring about the end of bottled water as we know it. The other event was a University Umbrella Tour, in which a small group of visitors spend time with selected faculty, staff and students learning about current academic research or administrative planning. Our tour was introduced to programs in the Graduate School of Education, The Occupational Health Psychology Program, and Theater Arts. We finished the visit with a roundtable lunch hosted by President Wim Wiewel. These tours are organized by the University Communication Department. Finally, I hope you have an excellent holiday season and hope to see you at the RAPS Dinner in December. --Clarence Hein RAPS members explore sustainability on campus id you know that Montgomery Plaza—the attractive space between Smith and Cramer—is designed to be part of a system that begins to restore the movement of rainwater from the West Hills to the river? RAPS members learned many such fascinating facts on a Nov. 18 tour of Portland State’s “green” buildings. Led by Honore Depew, Student Ambassador to the Sustainability Office, the group was treated to a most interesting discussion and examination of the sustainability work going on at PSU. The mix of big and small was emphasized--the MAX and trolley lines, the development of new buildings and refurbishing of old, and the many smaller efforts needed to make sustainability really work. Honore emphasized the efforts made to reach students, faculty, and staff, involve them in sustainability, and encourage them to develop new patterns of behavior. The tour began in the new Academic and Student Recreation Center (ASCR) with its many environmentally friendly features, including carefully planted roof terraces and porous tiling, so that rain can be collected and re-used. In contrast, Lincoln Hall was held up as an example of an old building refurbished to be structurally sound, energy efficient, and beautiful. Our tour also included examples of efforts to change patterns of living. The new bicycle shop—prominently placed in the ASCR—encourages bicycle riding by offering tools and help in repairing and maintaining bicycles. And we saw much evidence of smaller efforts designed to alter the way we think about common things, such as the hydration stations (the result of a student project) where re-usable water containers can be refilled with Portland’s Bull Run water. Our guide was wonderfully patient in answering our many questions. And RAPS members were much impressed with the work the University is doing. --Joan Shireman Up first in 2011: volunteerism or our January program, to be held Thursday, Jan. 20, we plan to explore the volunteer work that RAPS members are doing. We’re putting together a panel that illustrates the range of work in which RAPS members are involved. The meeting begins at 1:00 pm in 228 SMSU with light refreshments and socializing, followed by the main program at 1:30 pm. If you would like to talk for five or 10 minutes about your work, please contact program chair Joan Shireman, (shiremanj@pdx.edu), or Maya Burton in the RAPS office (RAPS@pdx.edu). Tell us your name, contact information, and a brief description of the work you do. If we have too many responses, the program committee will select those that represent a range of activities. There will also be time for audience contribution at the meeting. –Joan Shireman D F
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz