News
Audrey Wimmer is one of many Portland State student living on campus who has a compost bin in her kitchen but doesn’t know where to take it when it’s full.
“My compost is piled up right now. I haven’t yet brought it anywhere and I’m not sure where I’m going to bring it,” Wimmer said. “I took one handful of compost, mostly jasmine [tea] leaves, and dumped it in the bushes a while ago.”
In the shadow of California’s landmark passage of the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) lies Oregon’s dead Senate Bill 742, which would have granted resident tuition at Oregon University System schools to illegal immigrants who live in the state.
On Sept. 24, the Duathlon World Championships were hosted in Gijon, Spain. Debra Lindberg, an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at Portland State, participated in the race and placed 22nd in the world in her age bracket.
The duathalon consisted of a combined 9.3 miles run and a 23.9 mile bicyce course.
The office of Research and Strategic Partnerships is devoted to growing PSU’s public-private partnerships and helping its researchers attain funding by facilitating the grant process. Led by Jonathan Fink, the office is relatively new to the university; its creation in a time of economic uncertainty marks it as a sign of PSU’s long-term goals.
The 12th Annual Simon Benson Awards dinner held Wednesday night was a huge success for Portland State, netting $465,000 in funds raised.
The money goes towards supporting PSU students and faculty, according to the PSU Foundation, the organization which planned the event. Named after the late local philanthropist Simon Benson, the event honors the Furman and Mark families for their contributions to the arts, as well as education and nonprofit organizations.
Oct. 16 marked the end of an experiment Portland State had been conducting on the International Space Station.
This experiment created a unique opportunity for students and staff: Students had the opportunity to have hands-on experience operating the complex equipment onboard the station.
Portland State professor of public health Mark Kaplan will be the chief investigator of a new study researching the connection between acute alcohol use and suicide. The project will be funded by a $953,459 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, an institute within the National Institutes of Health.
On Oct. 12, after only a year of service, the director of the Institute for Sustainable Solutions, Robert Costanza, was replaced by Jennifer Allen. Costanza’s position was changed to professor of sustainability, and Allen was named acting director.
Nationally, the Occupy movement is growing, both in number of followers and in donation dollars. As unions throw their support behind the protesters it becomes increasingly more likely that the protests will continue through the winter.
Occupy Wall Street raised some eyebrows this week after reporting they have received nearly half a million dollars—$435,000—in donations, which they expect to use on supplies that will help occupiers outlast the winter weather.
Portland State Weekend, the university’s open house, got an early start Friday afternoon with a celebration commemorating the newly renovated Science Research and Teaching Center (originally the Science Building 2 since 1971). A crowd of approximately 250 people comprised of students, faculty, administrators, partners and donors congregated in the building’s lobby to mark the occasion.
On Oct. 31, the current American Association of University Professors contract—already extended past its original June 31 end-date—will expire. The deadline looms for the Portland State administration and the full-time faculty union, which represents approximately 1,200 faculty members at PSU, as they work toward reaching an accord.
The top priority for the union is salary. In 2008, members accepted pay cuts ranging from 2 to 4.6 percent.They have taken furloughs each of the last several years, with more scheduled for this year and the next.