Alumni Spotlight: Dick Pizzo Vanport Extension Center It was 1946. Vanport Extension Center had just opened its doors, and Dick Pizzo, a returning veteran, was among its first students. Dick doesn’t remember any marketing or advertising for the education center—it was simply there when he needed it. He received $35 a month as a veteran, and Vanport tuition cost $35 a quarter—a considerable advantage for the 20-year old. Books were paid for by the Veterans Administration. Enrolled as a pre-med student, Dick found the professors dedicated and demanding. He recalls an inspirational math professor that could just look at an equation on the chalkboard and know the answer, an English professor that took the time to instill strong grammar skills in all her students, and a German professor that opened his world to a new language. While the educational experience was a great start, Dick remembers feeling that it wasn’t a typical college life experience. He missed the social aspect that we now consider integral to undergraduate studies at Portland State. He carpooled with a classmate, but he never spent time with any other students because the campus lacked a place for them to congregate. The classrooms were in existing buildings built for Vanport residents, and there was no construction to renovate them for their new purpose. Dick’s lab classes were held at the Dental School in Portland and at the old Lincoln High School (now Portland Hall). Dick would leave Vanport after one year, but it was probably just as well. Two years later, the Vanport Flood destroyed the fledging campus, along with all of Vanport City. Dick was on a retreat at the Oregon Coast when the news of the flood appeared on the front page of the Oregonian. He and several other former Vanport students at the retreat were shocked to read about the devastation in Vanport, and left for Portland to see if they could help in any way. He recalls the efforts of the citizens to help one another during this disaster and marvels at how dramatic the desruction was. After a year at Vanport, Dick transferred to nearby University of Portland. He changed majors and earned a bachelor of arts degree, and then a master’s degree in Education. After graduation, Dick taught at Lake Oswego High School before pursuing a doctorate at the University of Oregon. As a graduate student, he began working in the Office of Academic Affairs of the Oregon State System of Higher Education, ultimately rising to Director of High School-College Relations. He continued there for over 27 years, eventually becoming Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Services. As a part of the Chancellor’s staff, he helped Portland State evolve into a university that is now recognized as a core provider of education for returning veterans like he once was, along with thousands of Oregonians working to achieve their dreams of a college education. It was a long time ago, but Dick feels that if it wasn’t for the existence of Vanport when he returned from the South Pacific and Japan, the Oregon Veterans Education program and later, the Federal GI Bill, he may never had attended college and become an Oregon educator. A view of the Vanport Extension Center
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