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Portland State University

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Portland State University
Portland State University logo
Motto Doctrina urbi serviat (Latin: Let Knowledge Serve the City)
Established 1946
Type Public
President Daniel O. Bernstine
Staff 2,248 [1]
Undergraduates 16,905 [2]
Postgraduates 6,212 [3]
Location Portland, Oregon, USA
Campus Urban
Colors Forest green and white
Mascot Vikings
Website www.pdx.edu

Portland State University (or PSU) is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon. It has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon including the largest business and graduate schools. It is also the only public university in the state that is located in a major metropolitan city. PSU is part of the Oregon University System.

The current President is Daniel Bernstine, the former Dean of the Law School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Contents

[edit] History

The University was established as the Vanport Extension Center in 1946 to satisfy the demand for higher education in Portland for returning World War II veterans. (It became known as "the college that wouldn't die" because it refused to close after the Vanport Flood of 1948.) In 1952 the Center moved to downtown Portland and occupied the vacated buildings of Lincoln High School on SW Broadway street. In 1955, the Center changed its name to Portland State College to mark its maturation into a four-year degree-granting institution.

PSU struggled for the next couple of decades under the ruling that no university or college in Oregon could duplicate the programs offered by another, with grandfathered exclusions for the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. Nevertheless, graduate programs were added in 1961 and doctoral programs were added in 1968. The institution was granted university status by the Oregon State System of Higher Education in 1969. In 1994 PSU did away with the traditional undergraduate distribution system and adopted a new interdisciplinary general education program known as University Studies. This program has been controversial both on and off campus, but it is one of the programs at PSU that has garnered national attention. U.S. News & World Report has on multiple occasions listed University Studies as a "Program to Look For". While on the other hand The Educational System in German found that "Teachers said they experienced a practice shock when they started student teaching because of a lack of practical knowledge during their university studies." The only agreed upon perspective through the controversy from most credited educational institutes is that University Studies is a good match for some and not for others. In 2003 PSU was approved to award degrees in Black Studies. That same year the university opened a center housed in a new building to support Native American students. The racial make-up of PSU students is over 90% white even as PSU promotes a more racially diverse student body. Still, PSU is the most diverse university in the Pacific Northwest.

In 2004 Dr. Fariborz Maseeh donated, through The Masseeh Foundation, $8 million to the College of Engineering and Computer Science. This was the largest single donation to the University at the time. The college was renamed the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science.

In May 2004, PSU announced a joint offering with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to establish the nation's first biomedical informatics program. [4]

In early 2005, State Representative Mitch Greenlick along with co-sponsors introduced legislation in the Oregon House of Representatives that would have merged PSU and OHSU. The legislation was met with resistance as it was opposed by the presidents of both universities. Consequently, the bill died.

In May 2006, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer helped PSU celebrate the grand opening of a new engineering building, the "Northwest Center for Engineering, Science and Technology". The new engineering building is a key element of the university's increased emphasis on engineering, science and technology, enhancing interaction and learning within the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science in order to serve more students, increase research funding, attract top-rate faculty and expand industry collaborations. The 130,000 square-foot facility includes classrooms, offices and 41 research and teaching labs with an environmentally sustainable design.

[edit] Academics

PSU is currently the largest school in the Oregon University System and is its fastest growing. The university is ranked among the "Best in the West" and as a "College With a Conscience" by the Princeton Review. PSU has progressively added more PhD programs as it evolves from its historic roots as a liberal arts undergraduate college towards a more broad based national research university. Recently added PhDs are Mathematics, Biology, Computer Science, Applied Psychology and Technology Management.

In the 2004-05 academic year, PSU awarded 2931 bachelor degrees, 1510 master degrees and 55 Doctorates for a total of 4496 degrees.

PSU is home to many colleges and programs that offer undergraduate, graduate, and certificate degrees. Below are the current offerings, as well as links to selected departmental websites.

Colleges and schools
General education
Extended learning
International Programs
Cultural programs

[edit] Student life

PSU differs from the other universities in Oregon partially because it attracts a student body older than other universities. In the 2006-2007 school year, it was reported that the average age of an attending student was 25-years-old. A significant percentage of PSU's classes are offered at night and Saturdays. Indeed, some programs only offer classes at night. PSU also delayed the development of its campus for decades after its founding. The institution sold land in a neighboring block soon after its move to downtown Portland, and delayed the construction of student housing until the early 1970s.

While the mean age of students is near the upper twenties, increasing traditional enrollment is bringing the average student age down. Ambitious mixed-use building projects (commercial, educational, residential) in the city are purposed to attract younger students. These establishments preserve downtown shops and businesses while transforming Portland State University from a "commuter campus" to a mix between a commuter and a traditional campus. Recently completed residential projects include the Stephen Epler Hall and The Broadway. Further steps toward increasing housing capacity — and university control over its own housing — are being taken with plans for further construction, and with PSU taking over management of the residence halls it currently owns. Optional residential and social opportunities exist with a small but active Greek System.

In March of 2007, Portland State University took over the managing of the on-campus housing at Portland State University. College Housing Northwest, who has previously mananged the on-campus housing buildings (including The Broadway, Stephen Epler Hall, West Hall, King Albert, St. Helens, Montgomery Court, and Ondine) for over 30 years, will still maintain its off-campus housing (including Goose Hollow, The Palidian, The Cambrian, and Clay).

The student government at PSU is the Associated Students of Portland State University. ASPSU, also has a Senate Committe, with 25 voting seats, with the vice-president as the chair.

The student newspaper at PSU is the Daily Vanguard, a fully student-run newspaper established in 1946. The student run radio station is KPSU. "The Portland Review" is a literary magazine of poetry, fiction and art published by PSU's Student Publications Board. Additional student newspapers at PSU are the REARgUARD, an alternative-monthly newspaper, and The Spectator. In 2006, "The Full Monty", an underground student newspaper based in the Montgomery Residence Hall, focusing on diverse and alternative perspectives, began circulation.

The 1.3 million volume Branford Price Millar library is located in the center of campus, and has a Microcomputer lab with both PCs and Macs. The Branford Prince Millar library is a repository for federal documents.

Portland State University is served on Fifth and Sixth Avenues by TriMet bus lines, by the Portland Streetcar at three stops throughout campus, and by Oregon Health & Science University and Portland Community College Shuttles on SW Harrison Street at SW Broadway.

[edit] Athletics

Image:Portlandstate.gif

Portland State is a member of the Big Sky Conference (joining in 1996), Pac-10 Conference in wrestling and the Pacific Coast Softball Conference. PSU competes at the NCAA Division I level in basketball, women's volleyball, golf and soccer, wrestling, softball, indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country. Football competes at the DI-AA level under Head Coach Tim Walsh.

Prior to joining Division I, the school won NCAA National Division II Championships in women's volleyball and wrestling. The school has also placed second twice in football and once in women's basketball at the Division II level.

Portland State's colors are forest green, black, and white, and its mascot is the Viking personified as "Victor E. Viking".

Among the two more notable former PSU athletes are Freeman Williams and Neil Lomax. Freeman Williams was the NCAA Division I national men's basketball individual scoring leader in 1977 and 1978. Neil Lomax was a record setting quarterback who went on to star for the then St. Louis Cardinals in the NFL. Football's the "Run and Shoot" offense was first implemented at the college level at PSU by then coach Darrell "Mouse" Davis. Davis' quarterback protoges were Lomax and June Jones.

Home games for football are held off-campus at PGE Park, and home games for basketball are held on-campus at the Peter W. Stott Center.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Awards

In 2006, PSU was declared to be the nation's first Salmon Safe University by the nonprofit organization Salmon Safe. The award was given to recognize campus-wide efforts toward environmental sustainability by treating storm water runoff before it reaches the local watershed.<ref>PSU first 'salmon safe' university. Daily Vanguard. Retrieved on September 8, [[2006]].</ref>

[edit] Trivia

  • PSU's entry in the 1965 General Electric College Bowl Team won the nationally televised quiz show that pitted teams of college whiz kids from across the country against each other. The team knocked off its competitors for five consecutive weeks, retiring as champions, and setting a new record for total points scored. The University's Smith Memorial Student Union was named after team member Michael J. Smith, who competed in the tournament while suffering from cystic fibrosis and died in 1968. [10]
  • In 1971, Phil Knight was supplementing his modest income from his fledgling Nike, Inc. (then Blue Ribbon Sports, Inc.), by teaching an accounting class at Portland State University. There he met Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student, who was working on a drawing assignment in the hallway. Knight offered to pay her a couple of dollars an hour if she would design a shoe stripe. The Nike "swoosh" was the result of her efforts. [11]

[edit] Gallery

PSU College of Urban & Public Affairs
Portland Street Car at PSU Urban Plaza Station

[edit] Notes

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[edit] References

[edit] External links


Oregon University System
Oregon State University • University of Oregon • Portland State University • Oregon Institute of Technology • Western Oregon University • Southern Oregon University • Eastern Oregon University • Oregon Health & Science University (affiliate)
Big Sky Conference
Eastern Washington • Idaho State • Montana • Montana State • Northern Arizona • Northern Colorado • Portland State • Sacramento State • Weber State
de:Portland State University

ja:ポートランド州立大学

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