3 PAST TENSE Judith Ramaley: Portland State’s First Female President udith Ramaley came to Portland State in 1990 but my story actually begins in 1985, a year before the retirement of President Joseph Blumel. I was a member of the search committee charged with finding a replacement for our highly respected leader. Each time our committee met, we found a certain applicant’s file folder on top of the pile. As this candidate, whom I shall call “Candidate X,” was not high on any search committee member’s list, his file would be put at the bottom of the stack and we would continue discussing the merits of the other candidates. At the next meeting of the search committee, we would find Candidate X’s file on top again. From one meeting to the next, his file would have risen miraculously from the bottom to the top. When we realized it wasn’t the hand of God that was causing this miracle but rather the hand of the State Board of Higher Education, we knew we were fighting a losing battle. It did come to pass that Candidate X was chosen by the Board and served the next two years as PSU’s president. It also came to pass that I retired when Joe Blumel did, so I was no longer an active faculty member when the next president was chosen. Roger Edgington served as Interim President from 1988 until 1990, when our next President, Judith Ramaley, was selected. Many of us were convinced that the members of the Board of Higher Education wanted an easily manipulated leader for PSU. Much to their surprise, Judith Ramaley was not what the Board had anticipated. Dr. Ramaley brought to PSU strong leadership which at times clashed with the higher powers that be. Thankfully she prevailed in most cases. In addition to her skills as an administrator, Dr. Ramaley possessed a fine contralto voice and was well trained in vocal music. She was called upon to sing at various PSU functions as well as occasionally with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra. After seven years as PSU’s leader (1990-97), Judith went on to become President of the University of Vermont (19972001). From there she joined the National Science Foundation as Director of Education and Human Resources (2001-2004). She served jointly as a Fellow at the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy and as Presidential Professor at the University of Maine (2004-05) before becoming the 14 th President of Winona State University in Winona, MN, a position she has held since 2005. Her presence at PSU is still in evidence. As you drive south on Broadway, the motto she approved for PSU -- “Let knowledge serve the city” – stands out in bold gold letters on the side of the pedestrian overpass. She is also honored on “Portland’s Walk of the Heroines,” the campus garden and walkway near Harrison Hall that recognizes women’s vital contributions to society. --Gordon Solie Editor’s note: Judith announced in her 2011 Christmas letter that she will retire from Winona State University in May 2012 and return to Portland, “the place I have always felt most at home.” PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. RAPS club reports, cont. The book is described on the back cover as follows: Infidel shows the coming of age of this distinguished political superstar and champion of free speech as well as the development of her beliefs, iron will, and extraordinary determination to fight injustice. Raised in a strict Muslim family, Hirsi Ali survived civil war, female mutilation, brutal beatings, adolescence as a devout believer during the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, and life in four troubled, unstable countries ruled largely by despots. . . . Under constant threat, demonized by reactionary Islamists and politicians, disowned by her father, and expelled from family and clan, she refuses to be silenced. Ultimately a celebration of triumph over adversity, Hirsi Ali’s story tells how a bright little girl evolves out of dutiful obedience to become an outspoken, pioneering fighter. In February we will discuss Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour along with a presentation by Marge Terdal and Maxine Thomas on their trip to Palestine and Israel. --Mary Brannan J
3 PAST TENSE The Regional Research Institute A Pioneer and a Survivor n 1973 I became the founding director of the Regional Research Institute for Human Services (commonly known as RRI), serving as director for 17 years. Excellent new directors followed me, and the RRI continues to thrive. The RRI’s initial funding came Art Emlen from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There was to be one institute for each of the 10 federal regions; ours was Region 10. Today, ours is the only one that has survived. It now brings in $12 million annually in external research funds for highly respected work. Portland State University deserves the credit for what we were able to accomplish during my tenure and that of subsequent directors. The lessons to be learned from our success are about what the University did to make it possible: 1) The State Board approved the research institute’s status, which was important in university politics. 2) President Joe Blumel gave the RRI standing as a department within the School of Social Work, with an independent core budget as part of the university’s annual budget, to which the president steadily added as additional external research funds came in. 3) The RRI director enjoyed sufficient autonomy in budget control, in hiring of interdisciplinary staff, and in shaping the research mission to build a vibrant research organization that conducted significant social research of far-reaching influence. 4) All of our projects were research partnerships with external community groups -- key to our success. These involved sectors of society such as parents, youth, families, and allied professions, as well as local, state and federal governments. 5) We enjoyed a high degree of cooperative assistance from the university’s business office. The University’s willingness, for example, to offer reduced rates of indirect costs on contracts with local community and state agencies facilitated the development of community partnerships. This year—2012—the School of Social Work celebrates its 50 th anniversary as a degree-granting graduate program, and the RRI prepares to celebrate its 40 th anniversary. These occasions will illustrate the kind of institution that Portland State University has become. Both events will draw attention to PSU’s extensive community partnerships and its excellent research partnerships. –Art Emlen PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. RAPS club reports Bridge Group deals hearts on Valentine’s Day The RAPS Bridge Group meets at 1:00 pm Tuesday, Feb. 14 at Friendly House (corner of NW 26 th and Thurman). For information about the group, please call Colin Dunkeld, 503-292-0838. If you would like to play, please call before noon Friday, Feb. 10. This gives us time to invite guests to join us if we need to make up a table. --Colin Dunkeld Book Club elects to read Roberts memoir The RAPS Book Club meets at 1:30 pm Tuesday, Feb. 21 at the home of Marge Terdal, 997 SW Westwood Drive in Portland. Contact her at terdalm@pdx.edu or 503-2245714 to RSVP and for directions. We will discuss Up the Capitol Steps: A Woman’s March to the Governorship by Barbara Roberts. Those of us who heard Governor Roberts talk about and read excerpts from her autobiography at the RAPS program meeting Jan. 25 are especially motivated to read this book. The book is described on the back cover as follows: A personal and political memoir by one of the few women governors in the history of the United States, Up the Capitol Steps offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of a woman’s life in politics. Barbara Roberts aims to demystify leadership by telling the story of her own unlikely rise to power. The mother of an autistic child before the advent of special education, Roberts began her life in public service as an advocate for the rights of children with disabilities. Up the Capitol Steps documents her expanding political career from school board member to legislator to Secretary of State and, finally, Governor of Oregon. Hotly contested elections and tough policy decisions are interspersed with intimate details of personal ups and downs. Book club members have postponed discussing Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour until April, when Marge Terdal and Maxine Thomas will be available to talk about their trip to Palestine and Israel. --Mary Brannan I
4 PAST TENSE The Beginning: Teacher Education at Portland State SU’s preparation of teachers traces its roots to the emergence of Vanport Extension Center (VEC) in 1946, when returning World War II veterans helped create demand for state higher education in Portland. Of special importance, the postwar baby boom sparked a demand for training more classroom teachers, and data showed that enrollment at state schools was at capacity. VEC was officially developed to serve as a temporary feeder school for the four-year institutions in the state system, but this was never a goal for its faculty and student founders. From 1946-1955 the Center evolved from the Vanport Extension Center to Portland State Extension Center. The Department of Education was established early on, providing a career path for a significant number of students training to be classroom teachers. In 1948-49, the Center offered the first two professionallevel courses: Ed 312 Educational Psychology and Ed 354 Introduction to Education. Throughout these formative years, the Department of Education received strong support from Center Director Stephen Epler and Assistant Director Phil Putnam. Exceptional administrators and educators, both men earned doctoral degrees in education and had prior administrative and teaching experience in the public schools. These visionary leaders promoted student social/professional organizations at the Extension Center to complement students’ programs of study. Members of the Future Teachers organization, founded at Portland State in the early 50s. Phil Putnam served as interim Department Head of Education in 1951-52 and was instrumental in helping form the first “Future Teachers” student organization (see photo). Composed of elementary and secondary majors, the students were active both scholastically and socially (inviting guest speakers, for example, and participating in intramural sports). Future student teacher organizations continued to grow throughout the1950s, with guidance from pioneering Professors of Education Victor Phelps, Truman Cheney, Jerome Leavitt, and Morton Malter. Throughout this nine-year period as an Extension Center, all students were limited to taking primarily lower division courses. Students in Education were required to transfer to other state higher education institutions with approved teacher training programs in order to earn baccalaureate degrees in Education and teaching certification. But visionary and determined administrators and students led the push to solve this problem. Portland State, a four-year degree granting college, was created in 1955, and teacher education students formed the majority of the first graduating class in 1956. More than a half century later, Portland State College is now a University, the Department of Education has evolved to the Graduate School of Education, 14 deans have led Education, and the number of exceptional faculty and students has greatly expanded. “The Portland State University Graduate School of Education is the largest and most comprehensive school of education in Oregon. It prepares more teachers, counselors and administrators for licensure than any other institution in the state.” (Graduate School of Education website, www.pdx.edu/education.) -- Steve A. Brannan PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. P
4 PAST TENSE The Beginning: History at Portland State n the spring of 1946 Stephen Epler got permission from the State Board of Higher Education to start a college in the Portland metropolitan area, primarily for returning veterans. Amazingly, by summer he had secured a site in Vanport, assembled a small but competent staff, and signed up over 500 students. The offerings were few in number and classes were over-full. That summer’s first Vanport student body may be the only one in which the number of veterans was greater than the number of males. The reason, of course, was the small number of females enrolled, some of whom were veterans. Although one of the original professors Epler hired was historian George C. Hoffmann, Vanport offered no history courses in the first four quarters of its existence. Hoffmann was listed as an instructor in political science. Finally, in Vanport’s fifth quarter (summer 1947), a history course appeared: HST 106, History of Western Europe (third term), taught by Hoffmann. Between fall 1947 and fall 1952, when I joined the faculty, three year-long surveys in history were offered – History of Western Europe, United States History, and English History. Hoffmann, then listed as assistant professor of political science, taught American and European history, and H.O.N. Bull taught English history. Hoffmann and Bull were both very popular teachers; their courses were always packed. The normal full-time teaching load at Vanport then was five sections (3 credits each) per term. My job interview was unorthodox, to say the least. It took place in early September 1952 on the beach in Santa Monica, where Hoffmann was polishing a brass ship’s lantern he had just acquired. At the end of the interview, he said I was hired if his superiors in Portland concurred. They did, and I started my 55-year career at Portland State that same month. My load the first year was normal for the time. Fall: 15 contact hours per week in five classes, three preparations, 266 students. Winter: 15 hours per week in five classes, four preparations, 236 students. Spring: 15 hours in five classes, four preparations, 216 students. My own maximum load was in the fall of 1955 with six classes, four preparations, and 371 students. After a five-year-long intense campaign by Epler and the staff, the State Board of Higher Education yielded to popular opinion, and on Feb. 14, 1955 Portland State Extension Center became Portland State College. But the Board restricted PSC to general degrees in social science, science, and humanities. Students seeking degrees in history had to transfer to U of O or OSU. The Board thought John Cramer, our first president, would honor the restriction, but he soon became one of the agitators for departmental degrees. Enrollments in history courses burgeoned and history professors were rapidly added. From just two in 1952-53 there were five in 1955-56, and 14 in 1961-1962. Long before it was authorized, the group was called the “History Department.” In 1958-59 the “head” of history, Frederick Cox, officially became the “executive officer for history.” The Board finally recognized reality, and the History Department was authorized for the 1960-61 year. The accomplishments of the History Department in preuniversity days were many. In addition to graduating many Portland area leaders of today, the department offered the college’s first TV course, Western Civilization, in 1960-61 (see photo). In the same year Fred Cox succeeded, after two years of hard work, in establishing the Middle East Studies Center, the first undergraduate regional studies center in the United States. --Charlie White PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. I Charles LeGuin, Basil Dmytryshyn and Charlie White on the air in 1960, broadcasting a lesson in western civilization from the KOIN-TV studios.
3 PAST TENSE Snapshots of Diversity at PSU SU’s earliest efforts to address diversity in its instructor ranks can be traced to Edwin C. Berry, Vanport Extension Center’s first African American faculty member. Berry taught a sociology course at Vanport in the fall of 1947 while serving as the executive secretary of the Portland Branch of the National Urban League. At the time, Berry was the first black faculty member in the Pacific Northwest. Vanport Extension Center evolved to Portland State Extension Center when it moved in 1952 to the old Lincoln High School Building in the Park Blocks. By the time the Center became Portland State College in 1955, student enrollments and faculty recruitment had greatly George Guy in 1955 increased. That same year (1955), Portland State hired its first full-time African American professor, George V. Guy, in Education. Cultural changes nationwide in the late 1960s and 70s led to curricular changes at Portland State that addressed diversity. In 1968 President Gregory Wolfe promoted the development of a Black Studies Program. A first step in achieving this goal was the formation of the Center for Black Studies in 1969, followed in the early 1970s by the emergence of the Department of Black Studies and the post-baccalaureate certificate in Black Studies. These new developments required highly qualified faculty. PSU hired Darrell Millner as a full-time assistant professor to teach Afro-American literature and History in the Black Studies Department. Since joining PSU, Millner has been a driving force in the department’s growth as an academic interdisciplinary unit within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). Along with helping develop major and minor undergraduate degrees in Black Studies, Darrell’s efforts have helped build and define a program devoted to the exploration and understanding of the history and culture of African people in the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. Such efforts have been in conjunction with outreach efforts directed toward metropolitan community needs. Throughout his lengthy career, Dr. Millner has made significant contributions in teaching, publications, curriculum development, and service to his university and community. He is an expert on the history of AfricanAmericans in the western movement, focusing on the Oregon and California trail experiences, these states’ early black history, and the history of the Black Buffalo soldiers in the Indian wars. His expertise also includes Black cinema history and the development and perpetuation of negative racial stereotypes. Darrell Millner in 1975 As the senior full professor in his department, Darrell Millner represents a unit that is the oldest Black Studies program in the Northwest and the only one in Oregon that offers a degree. As one of the program’s pioneers, Darrell recently reflected on his career over the years in teaching, program development, writing, and especially being an advocate for Black Studies at Portland State. Darrell referred to a “legacy of struggle for survival, resources, and the ability to provide for the department’s future.” --Steve A. Brannan PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. P
3 PAST TENSE Making Music: The Music Department’s Beginnings ortland State’s music program was created at Vanport Extension Center, relocated to the old Oregon Shipyards after the flood of 1948 destroyed Vanport City, the college’s initial site. In these beginning years (1948-49), Howard Backlund was hired as a full-time instructor (two-thirds in Secretarial Science and one-third in Music) to help the Extension Center begin development of its music program. Verne Wilson, from the Portland Public School’s Music Program, was also brought in part-time as an instructor. Backlund and Wilson teamed as music instructors at Vanport College. Wilson, who focused on the Vanport Band, later directed the Music Program for Portland Public Schools, served as adjunct faculty member in Music at Portland State, and contributed to the professional literature on the importance of music education in the school’s curriculum. Backlund, who focused on the Vanport Choir, was Howard Backlund in 1962 instrumental in promoting music education for the Center throughout its early years, prior to the move to the Park Blocks in 1952 as Portland State Extension Center. Howard directed the 1949 Annual Spring Concert, which included a performance by the “Vanport College Choir, Band, Quartette, and Soloists.” Backlund went on to complete his Master’s Degree and continued full-time at Portland State as Assistant Professor in Secretarial Science, his academic specialty. John H. Stehn retired from the University of Oregon as band and concert director in 1950 and was recruited to head the Department of Music at Vanport College, which became Portland State College in 1955. Stehn immediately implemented plans to expand the Music Department, expending considerable time, energy, and skill to achieve this goal. At Portland State he was known for his equal treatment of men and women in music band education, for his forceful but soft-spoken voice, and for his patience and efforts to help students succeed. John was a leader and one of the guiding forces behind the band movement in the Pacific Northwest. He served as president of the Oregon Music Education Association (1951-52) and made numerous appearances in the region as guest conductor and judge of band festivals and contests. John Stehn in 1957 I came to Oregon from Los Angeles in 1955 to play bassoon in what was then the Portland Symphony Orchestra. In 1959 I was hired by Stehn to conduct the band and teach conducting at Portland State College. As we had to wear many hats in those days, I also taught music theory and ear-training (solfeggio). Finally I got to add courses in my specialty, the music of Latin America. These times were both challenging and rewarding for faculty and students who participated in and contributed to forming PSU’s Music Department. --Gordon A. Solie, Professor Emeritus of Music, with additional information contributed by Steve Brannan PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. P
3 PAST TENSE Gordon Dodds: the Savior of Portland State’s History s an historian, Gordon B. Dodds (1932-2003), Professor Emeritus of History, recognized the void in the literature about the school’s past, and he acted to remedy such neglect. A highly respected and prolific scholar in his field, Dodds convinced the PSU administration to take action. In the late 1980s he was appointed University Historian, with the assignment of preparing a history of PSU in time for the institution’s 50 th anniversary, celebrating the period 1946-1996. Although numerous persons assisted him in various aspects of the book’s development, producing the manuscript became a monumental task for Dodds. Pertinent records of historical significance – written, oral, images – were literally scattered across the campus in academic units and offices. In large part, this woeful situation occurred because Portland State did not have a full-time university archivist for archiving key records to support such an endeavor. In addition to accessing primary materials, Gordon was faced with the challenge of identifying, reviewing and organizing the materials, interviewing individuals whose knowledge of Portland State’s history spanned five decades, and shaping the resulting jumble of information into a coherent package. Fortunately, Dodds’s passion, work ethic, and dedication enabled him to persevere. His groundbreaking book, The College that Would Not Die: The First Fifty Years of Portland State University 1946-1996, was published in 2000. The publication was marked with a book signing on campus, celebrating not only the book but the remarkable man who wrote it. More than a decade has passed since its publication, and The College That Would Not Die is now firmly established as the landmark book on PSU’s history. In 1946, Stephen E. Epler founded Portland State University. In 2000, Gordon B. Dodds assured that the history initiated by its founder would be preserved and celebrated in perpetuity. --Steve Brannan PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. RAPS club reports . . . cont. from page 2 RAPS Hikers to walk Tryon Creek trail On Friday, Sept. 14, we will make a local hike in Tryon Creek State Park. Meet at the park information desk at 9:30 am. We will take one or more of the many loop trails in the park. Lunch at a local restaurant will be determined at the hike. Please confirm your participation to Larry Sawyer by Thursday, Sept. 13 at 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net. –Larry Sawyer Bridge Group deals Sept. 11 The RAPS Bridge Group meets at 1:00 pm Tuesday, Sept. 11 at Friendly House (corner of NW 26 th and Thurman). For information about the group, please call Colin Dunkeld, 503-292-0838. If you would like to play, please call before noon Friday, Sept. 7. This gives us time to invite guests to join us if we need to make up a table. –Colin Dunkeld A Gordon Dodds with Vic Dahl and Nohad Toulan at PSU book signing in 2000.
3 PAST TENSE The Early Years: Engineering at PSU anport Extension Center opened in June 1946 in response to the unprecedented demand for higher education following the end of World War II. Nationally, some 15 million veterans received generous scholarships; by 1947, 1.1 million students were enrolled. Vanport was authorized to offer freshman and sophomore-level courses extended from the five state institutions of higher learning. Nearly all the veterans applying to Vanport were interested in three areas: engineering, business administration, and liberal arts. In 1946 Oregon State College was the only school authorized to offer engineering. The Birth of Engineering. The need for some form of departmental organization at Vanport soon became evident, and several departments were organized. The newly created Engineering Department was composed of Eugene Guldemann (head), James Coombs, Carleton Fanger and Ralph Greiling. The average teaching load for full-time faculty in the fall of 1947 was 16.1 credit hours, and the average class size was 38 students. The Columbia River Flood of May 1948 was the game changer in the development of the school and its engineering programs. Although the flood destroyed the campus’s physical plant, it did not alter the determination of loyal students and staff to seek stability and permanence for their fledgling institution. The institution that students humorously characterized as “the college without a future” became “the college that would not die.” Chancellor Paul Packer made no secret of his hope to close “the temporary center” as early as possible. High enrollments and enthusiastic students persuaded the State Board of Higher Education to continue the center for one more year. Accordingly, the 1948-49 academic year was hastily organized on the Oregon Shipyard campus. The move to PSU’s present location in 1952 marked the establishment of a permanent day/night Portland State Extension Center (PSEC). War on the E-Word. The Engineering program was housed in an abandoned, partition-modified Safeway store (see photo above) on the SE corner of SW 6 th and Mill. Later the program occupied the south end of Lincoln Hall’s basement for laboratories and office space. These years marked continued growth in engineering registrations and faculty. Fanger headed the program from 1954-60. Donald Kellas (1953), David Jannsen (1955), Bernard Baumgartner and Casimir Oliszewski (1956), and Nan-Teh Hsu (1958) were recruited to support the rapid growth of the program. The great event for this period was the legislative action in 1955 renaming Portland State Extension Center (PSEC) Portland State College (PSC). The idea was to establish PSC as the fourth regional teacher’s college. By 1958 most students were pursuing General Studies, the only degree authorized other than a B.S. in Teacher Education. This situation led to a faculty drive for degrees in nine majors, including a B.S. in Engineering Science. Political considerations resulted in the engineering program request being altered to a B.S. in Applied Science to ensure the program was “distinct from engineering.” All cont. on page 4 V THEN: "Portland State Center Engineering Building" can just be deciphered on the window in this circa 1952 photo. The Engineering program was located at SW 6th & Mill in an abandoned grocery store. NOW: The Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science on SW 4 th Ave. boasts a beautiful exterior and topnotch teaching and research facilities inside.
4 references to the word “engineering” were removed from the program. Major areas in engineering, i.e. civil-structural engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering, were modified to read as “emphasis areas” without the E-word. In 1960, Harry J. White, a renowned scientist in air pollution and conservation at Research Cottrell Inc., was named to head the Applied Science program. Charter faculty members were Fanger, Hsu and White. The Applied Science program was restricted to upper division coursework and given departmental status separate from the Engineering Department, which continued to offer lower division engineering courses. In 1962, in response to increasing demand for lower division engineering courses, Chik Erzurumlu and Tom Mackenzie were added to the Engineering Department. At this juncture, the feeder aspect of the lower division engineering pre-professional program proved to be unworkable as the new Applied Science program began to starve for upper division registrants. In 1964 the two departments were merged under the existing Applied Science title, without the inclusion of the E-word. The Breakthrough. PSC became a University (PSU) in 1969, but with severe curricular constraints, particularly in graduate education. By 1969 it had become evident that professional accreditation of programs under Applied Science, i.e. Civil-Structural, Electrical, and Mechanical, could not be accomplished without program curricula entitled “engineering.” As a result of the discontent expressed by students and the professional engineering community in the late 1960s and early 70s, the Portland Area Committee on Engineering Education (PACEE) and the student engineering clubs made a united appeal before PSU’s administration that reverberated all the way to the Chancellor’s Office. With the full support of Joseph C. Blumel (then Vice President for Academic Affairs), the Chancellor appointed a blue ribbon team of consultants, headed by Stanford University’s Engineering Dean Fred Terman, to review the engineering education needs of the Portland metropolitan area, with special emphasis on PSU’s readiness to offer accreditation-eligible engineering programs. The team’s 1973 report stated that engineering education was effective at PSU, it was serving a disadvantaged and place-bound student clientele, and it would be a disservice to the students and the Applied Science faculty to not appropriately identify the course offerings and the program as engineering. In a nutshell, the report said, “Let’s get on with it,” meaning a departmental name change and engineering program identifications. The proposal received the approval of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education (OSBHE) and was sent for review to the Oregon Educational Coordinating Commission (OECC). Adding more drama to the E-word battle, the OECC staff recommended against the proposal. However, during the November 1973 meeting of the Commission, thanks to convincing testimony by Vice President Blumel, Portland’s industrial and professional engineering community and PSU students, the OECC rejected the recommendation of its staff, and approved the proposed name change: Department of Applied Science and Engineering. A year later in 1974, without fanfare, the department’s name improved to Engineering and Applied Science when the Structural Engineering program received accreditation from ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. And the rest, as they say, is history. --Chik Erzurumlu PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. RAPS club reports . . . cont. from page 2 influence on writers such as Montaigne and Shakespeare and even Thomas Jefferson. Looking ahead to November, we will read Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. –Mary Brannan Bridge Group fans the deck Oct. 9 The RAPS Bridge Club meets at 1:00 pm Tuesday, Oct. 9 at Friendly House (corner of NW 26th and Thurman). For information about the group, please call Colin Dunkeld, 503-292-0838. Newcomers are always welcome. If you would like to play, please call before noon Friday, Oct. 5. This gives us time to invite guests to join us if we need to make up a table. –Colin Dunkeld RAPS Hikers walk city streets, forest trails Friday, Oct. 12 the RAPS Hikers walk the #2 loop described in Laura Foster’s Portland Hill Walks, starting at Wallace Park in Nob Hill and passing through Kings Heights and the Pittock Mansion. Combining city streets and the Forest Park Wildwood Trail, the walk covers a distance of 4.75 miles with an elevation gain of 820 feet. Foster describes historical details seen along the walk. Meet at the corner of NW 25th Ave and Raleigh Street at 9:30 am on the 12th. We will lunch at one of the many restaurants along 25th Ave. RSVP by Thursday, Oct. 11 to Diane Sawyer at diane_sawyer@comcast.net or 503-646-8782. –Larry Sawyer
3 PAST TENSE “Can PSU help?” Special Education Leadership in Autism Research hrough the 1960s, Oregon college students majoring in special education were primarily being prepared to teach children with mildly delayed mental development, academic delays, severe developmental delays, and visual/hearing impairments. There were no programs readying them to work with the unique challenges that children with autism bring to the classroom. As late as 1974, Oregon children with autism were unable to find support or services targeted to meet their specials needs. In the early 1970s the PSU Special Education Department implemented an on-campus practicum clinic program that operated two evenings a week, enabling graduate students to work in a supervised setting with children experiencing academic problems in the school. In 1972 David Krug joined the department to Dave Krug in 1978 provide greater emphasis on behavioral disorders, precision teaching, and research. Shortly after Dr. Krug became Director of the Clinic Program, a mother arrived at an evening clinic with her 10year-old autistic son. When told the Portland State program was not yet equipped to work with her child, the mother challenged the department to set up a program that could help her son and others with autism. That parental encounter led Krug to establish a multi-year federally funded research classroom for children with autism. It was housed on campus in the Helen Gordon Day Care Center. Krug recruited colleague Joel Arick to serve as the classroom teacher/researcher, along with a cadre of special education student assistants, and this became the first research-based project in Oregon to successfully teach children with autism in a classroom setting. Over the years, PSU faculty members have led the state and the Northwest in developing services for children with autism. The early leadership provided by Krug and Arick (now emeritus professors) combined with the efforts of other PSU faculty have resulted in millions of dollars in state and Joel Arick in 1987 federal funding directed toward the support of autism research and services. In 2005 the Autism Training and Research Center was established at PSU by Dr. Arick and is currently directed by Special Education Professor Helen Young. Research and development efforts over the last four decades have produced a large cadre of skilled teachers, testing instruments, and specialized curricula. These efforts have been a direct response to that mother’s plea in 1972, “Can PSU help?” The answer: “Yes!” Our university can be proud that such early work in autism by PSU professors formed a legacy that continues to guide special education practices today. --Steve Brannan, Professor Emeritus, Special Education PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. T
3 PAST TENSE A History of Holiday Giving t the most recent “Celebrate the Season” Open House (Dec. 4), the PSU community gathered in the ballroom to reconnect with friends around campus and exchange good wishes. Staff and faculty also brought canned food and nonperishable food items for the Sunshine Division and gifts to support PSU students who are raising children while pursuing higher education. The Open House is a longtime holiday tradition that has seen some changes. At least 30 years ago, PSU marked the holiday season with a tree-lighting ceremony held in the Park Blocks outside Smith Center. Retiree Nancy Goldman remembers going to one of those tree-lighting ceremonies in the 1980s – in the rain. She suggested to Shirley Kasparek, Coordinator of Special Events, that the ceremony be moved inside and combined with singing carols and giving gifts to needy children. “I had just read in the paper about a program to give gifts to foster children – warm coats, gloves, hats,” Nancy recalled. “It was one of those articles that tug at your heartstrings.” Nancy contacted a foster care organization and got the ball rolling. I remember going downtown with Nancy at lunchtime to shop at Meier and Frank for children’s clothing. We had fun choosing items we hoped would surprise and delight kids of all ages. “Eventually,” said Nancy, “it grew into a program in which PSU folks donated much more to the cause based on specific wishes from the kids. The PSU Chorus sang, and it was a great way for the PSU community to get together and celebrate.” A few years ago, recognizing that many PSU students combine their schooling with jobs and parenting, the campus community began collecting gifts earmarked for needy student parents. “I think it’s a really nice idea,” said Nancy, “and I like giving to those close to the institution.” In a bow to political correctness, the tree lighting ceremony was abolished almost a decade ago but the PSU tradition of gathering gifts for needy families is stronger than ever. --Dawn White PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. HAPPY HOLIDAYS from the RAPS Board! A
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz