News

Lincoln Hall, home to Portland State’s School of Fine and Performing Arts, emerges from a $31 million transformation as the university’s first platinum-certified LEED building. The renovation took a little more than two years and is nearing completion.

Funding for the deferred maintenance project came from the state legislature and federal economic stimulus packages.

The renovation was part of a massive project to upgrade the building’s seismic codes and mechanical systems, remove hazardous materials and live up to the university’s reputation as a leader in sustainability.

On Oct. 4, Maura Kelly and Lindsey Wilkinson of the PSU department of sociology, along with consultant Leslie Hammer of the PSU department of psychology, were chosen by the Bureau of Labor and Industries and the Oregon Department of Transportation as the recipients of a $76,025 research contract entitled, “Evaluating why women and people of color have lower retention rates in apprenticeships.”

This contract is part of the highway construction workforce development partnership program. The program is dedicated to increasing diversity in the highway construction workforce, and ODOT is the financial backer while BOLI supplies its expertise in workforce development.

Yesterday marked the beginning of the fifth annual Portland State Sustainable Business Conference. The three-day event will bring together business leaders from all over the country to discuss the future of sustainability within American companies.

The event, which continues until tomorrow, focuses on how business can adjust to an ever-changing ecological and economic environment.

“The goal of the conference is to bring together sustainable business practitioners and educators from around the world and to generate meaningful dialogue—the kind of dialogue that inspires positive action,” said event organizer Alison Dennis, executive director for the Center for Global Leadership in Sustainability at PSU.

Students interested in working in the nonprofit sector should come to today’s nonprofit career fair, hosted by Portland State’s Career Center, that will feature 67 nonprofit organizations from around the city. The event will be held in the Smith Memorial Student Union ballroom from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For the past 11 years, the nonprofit career fair has provided resources and opportunities for students interested in working in the nonprofit sector. Representatives from some of the most recognizable organizations—including Planned Parenthood, the Peace Corps and Volunteers of America—as well as smaller organizations, such as Loaves and Fishes and Bethesda Lutheran Communities, will be on campus to speak to students.

Portland State and the PSU Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (PSU-AAUP), which represents approximately 1,200 full-time university faculty members, failed to reach an agreement during negotiations held on Oct. 28.

Yesterday, with the contracts set to expire on Oct. 31, the university “agreed to extend the faculty contract for another month to Nov. 30 to negotiate an agreement,” said Scott Gallagher, PSU director of Ccommunications.

According to Phil Lesch, executive director of PSU-AAUP, the consequence of working without a contract is largely symbolic. The lion’s share of working conditions will remain the same. However, managers could potentially use the end of a contract to make significant changes and employees have no real recourse.

The aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan will be presented to the Portland public in a free lecture given by Ken Belson, a New York Times reporter with personal experience in the disaster.

Belson will speak at the Mercy Corps Headquarters (45 SW Ankeny St.) Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The event was organized by Doug Smith of the Japanese Study Advisory Board, and is co-sponsored by the Portland State University Center for Japanese Studies. It will be held at Mercy Corps largely due to the organization’s extreme relief efforts immediately following the disaster in March 2011.

The Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods will be hosting a discussion panel looking at the history of economic development in Northeast Portland from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight at Curious Comedy, located at 5225 NE MLK Blvd.

The event, titled “Historical Perspective For Today’s Understanding: Economic Development in N/NE Portland,” will be the first in a multiple-part speaker series that aims to educate people on the economic developments that affect communities in the city’s North and Northeast areas.

A “green screen” was installed in Smith Memorial Student Union Oct. 18, which displays the building’s water, electricity and gas usage and updates its report every 15 minutes.

The green screen allows “both the university and the building users to see exactly how the building is performing over time,” said Mark Gregory, associate vice president of finance and administration, in an email.

As of January 2012, the Public Employees’ Benefit Board is making changes to benefit plans for state employees, which will impact approximately 3,000 workers at Portland State.

State employees who are members of the PEBB’s health insurance plan are being asked to voluntarily participate in a new program called the Health Engagement Model. According to PEBB, the goal of the model is to encourage members to make healthier choices and “take action in areas where simple steps can reduce health risks.” In addition to the HEM, there will be a $25 per month surcharge for smokers, and a $50 per month surcharge for spouses and other family members who opt out of coverage from their own employer in favor of family coverage provided by the member’s insurance.