The Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust recently made a $1 million donation to Portland State’s University Honors Program. The program, which is the only urban honors program in the state, focuses on building upon PSU’s commitment to community engagement by providing an education to high-achieving students.
It uses the city of Portland as its test ground for sustainable urban living. It draws gifted and highly motivated individuals from Oregon as well as from out of state and possesses a curriculum appropriate for students from various areas of study. It’s already enjoyed success attracting new talent; enrollment has increased from 153 students in 2010 to 343 heading into 2013.
The trust’s gift will allow the Honors Program to continue attracting top-tier students. It is expected to help the program increase its enrollment to 600 by 2018. This growth is aided by the fact that 75 percent of the contribution will be dedicated to providing scholarships, which allows gifted individuals who may not have otherwise been able to afford higher education to attend PSU. It’ll also help support the cost of the employees needed to facilitate the increase in enrollment.
Another reason enrollment may grow so rapidly is because a portion of the gift is set aside for recruitment efforts. This will not only allow the university to draw more students into the program but will also potentially attract exceptionally gifted ones. In a way, it’s similar to recruitment of the nation’s top athletes: Generally, the most well-funded football or basketball programs capture the top athletes.
Also, having a reputation for excellence attracts talented individuals. While PSU may not be on par with other illustrious public institutions, garnering high-level, academically motivated students lays the foundation on which to build a reputation. The endowment may lead to PSU’s capture of gifted individuals whose scholarly efforts will increase the university’s acclaim.
This gift has implications that extend beyond campus limits. Because roughly two-thirds of PSU’s graduates remain in the Portland area, an increase in highly motivated and gifted students attending the university means that Portland will see an increase in highly motivated and gifted citizens.
In essence, a larger Honors Program will contribute to a greater number of potential leaders in the area’s communities and industries. The local economy will benefit from an increasingly skilled labor force churned out by the program.
One caveat to this promising outlook is whether employment opportunities will present themselves. Though a high percentage of PSU graduates remain in the area, if jobs aren’t here they’ll have no choice but look elsewhere. They may not settle for an unfulfilling or unsatisfying job just to be able to stay in the Portland area.
One encouraging sign: President Barack Obama spoke in his inauguration speech of his desire to press forward with sustainable energy sources and practices:
“The path toward sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries; we must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure—our forests and waterways, our croplands and snow-capped peaks.”
With the Honors Program’s focus on sustainability, the graduates it produces will be perfectly equipped for this task, and if President Obama is true to his word, the field’s job outlook should be bright.
Portland is already dedicated to urban sustainability, and the contributions of some of the state’s and nation’s most gifted individuals drawn to PSU’s University Honors Program will build upon Portland’s reputation as a progressive leader in this field.