Viking_Yearbook_91

Oregon welcomes new Portland State president - / """' regan warmly welcomed Ju- ' , dith Ramaley a Portland I State University president and then dumped her in the ~ _) middle of the biggest budget - crisis ever faced by Oregon higher education. "The PSU community was looking for leader– ship and seemed to share my vision. This was a receptive environment for a new president," Ra– maley said. When Ramaley became president, PSU had survived four years of turmoil and interim presi– dents. Former President atale Sicuro, a former president of Southern Oregon State College, lasted two years before his strained relations with the faculty and investigations into the university and Foundation finances forced his resignation. Roger Edgington then took the helm to serve as interim president over a year and a half. PSU welcomed Ramaley with her vision of what an urban university could be and how PSU could serve the Portland metropolitan area. More than a thousand facu lty, students and friends attended the inauguration ceremony in October welcoming the new president. The cere– mony began with a march through the Park Blocks and finished at the Masonic Temple. "It was one of the most wonderful days of my life. It was almost like a wedding in which I was wedded to this university. All the expectation and hope was apparent," Ramaley said. Ramaleycame to PSU from an executive vice chancellor position at the University of Kansas. She found herself being nominated and pursued for the position at PSU, one she wasn't initially interested in. "The more I learned about PSU the more I realized it was the best presidential position in the country. I had the chance to be a part of building a new kind of university, one that is wo– ven into the community. PSU represents a bot– tomless reservoir of opportunity waiting," said Ramaley, explaining what changed her mind about the position. Since arriving in Portland, Ramaley has fo– cused on PSU's role as an urban university. In her inaugural address and since, she has advocat– ed PSU using the educational resources in the Portland metropolitan area both to meet the needs of the students and those of the communi– ty. "The purpose of PSU is to make the quality of life for every person in the metropolitan area bet– ter. PSU will play a central role in the future of the metropolitan area and will, through its re– search, teaching and community efforts, be a ma– jor contributor to the quality of life in this region and the state," Ramaley said. As part of the urban mission, Ramaley hopes to increase accessibility to PSU. "We do not adequately reflect the racial di– versity of our community," she said in her inau– gural address. Efforts were made this year to in– crease diversity through recruiting and support– ing minority faculty, staff and students. In January, however, the university's commit– ment to diversify and to better serve its commu– nity received a new challenge. The chancellor for higher education mandated that PSU would come up with a budget that would cut over $8 million in the next two years. Under Ramaley's guidance the university began a restructuring process to meet the budget cuts and at the same time move ahead to become the urban university PSU need to be. "I will leave absolutely no stone unturned to develop the most advanced model of an urban university in this country," she told the City Club in January. "No part of our university will be left unchanged." Ramaley continued, "We are faced with a sit– uation which will require us to reduce budgets, but what we are really going to do is reshape PSU." • • • Deborah Hallick Photo by TomBoyd above: President Judith Ramaley shows her support for the PSU football team by open– ing the homecoming game. below: Following her inauguration, Presi– dent Ramaley shows off her newly created Portland State medallion. News/Ramaley e