News
Portland State Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Roy Koch is set to retire at the end of June, and, pending in-depth review, PSU’s University Studies program may undergo big changes in his absence.
The Oregon University System Board of Higher Education recently added new members to its ranks by filling newly created seats and replacing members vacating their seats. The board, which governs all seven state-funded higher education institutions, including Portland State, has seen fit to create three new positions in addition to the 12 pre-existing seats, coming out to a grand total of 15. Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber already filled one of the new seats by appointing Orcilia Zúñiga Forbes. James Middleton will be replacing Preston Pulims, current president of Portland Community College, who has served a full four-year term on the board.
This year, Portland State has eight scholarship winners who have gone beyond borderlines and have overcome language barriers by traveling to foreign countries in order to conduct research and gain teaching skills as well as invaluable life experience. Three of these students will be graduating this spring and will begin their post-college life in international locations.
Emerging from college with a crisp degree and racked with excitement, relief and debt, graduating students are faced with an existence devoid of final-paper anxiety and library chairs familiar to the contours of one’s hindquarters (at least for a while). So, what to do?
How important are graduate and doctoral degrees? As job markets become even more competitive in the current static economy, recent college graduates will need to compete with seasoned applicants for the same positions. Qualifications and specialized skills could become that much more important.
As the class of 2012 looks out on the world beyond the halls of academia, the big question of what’s next can be intimidating. Students looking to join the work force in a professional line of work may be worrying about whether their degree will get them an opening in their field. For those looking ahead to graduate school, it can sometimes be hard to know how to go about the application process and what kinds of trip-ups to avoid.
The fifth annual sustainability celebration was held at Portland State in the Native American Student and Community Center on May 29. The event celebrated the accomplishments and progress of sustainability at PSU throughout the 2011–12 academic year and consisted of a poster session and a presentation.
On June 1, the Oregon State Board of Higher Education approved the state tuition increases for the 2012–13 school year. State schools will experience an average increase of 3.8 percent. Portland State will see a tuition increase of 3.4 percent, just below the state average.
During finals week and dead week, June 4–13, the Millar Library will be open 24 hours. During the extended hours, the circulation desk, reference desk and help desk will all be open and available to student use.
June 17 is coming up fast, and many Portland State arts and humanities students might be trying to figure out the next big step after graduation. Work, graduate school, doctoral programs, travel, volunteering—the options are numerous. For some graduates the choice is easy, but what about those who haven’t decided?
On Tuesday, June 5, Portland State President Wim Wiewel held the final town hall meeting for the academic year, summarizing PSU’s academic and financial outlook. Wiewel presented a generally positive outlook, touching on administrative changes and other noteworthy achievements.