NEWS BRIEFS

Graphic Design Center gets new manager

Stephen Ebert was hired as the Graphic Design Center’s new manager on Thursday by the Student Publications Board, replacing former manager Christy Lee Zilka.

Ebert is currently a junior in graphic design and a senior in economics.

Zilka resigned from her position as manager to pursue a professional career in graphic design.

The GDC is a student-run graphic design business that caters to student organizations and local businesses. The Publications Board oversees the organization, along with seven other student publications that include the Vanguard and KPSU radio.

 

Obama highlights PSU alum in speech

While visiting Oregon’s Intel Corporation on Friday, President Barack Obama highlighted Portland State alum Nabil Mistkawi in his speech about the need to support education, especially students in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.

Mistkawi, a full-time employee at Intel, recently invented an environmentally friendly chemical formulation that easily prepares sub-50 nanometer (nm) process technology for advanced microprocessors manufacturing, according to an article published in the Vanguard on Aug. 11, 2010. He will be recognized for his accomplishment at tonight’s PSU Salutes awards ceremony.

“Nabil decided to go back to school and get his Ph.D. in chemistry at Portland State University…an investment in education that paid off in a big way for Nabil, for Intel, for the millions of workers and consumers who benefitted from that discovery,” Obama said.

Students from PSU’s MESA (Math, Engineering and Science Achievement) program were also invited to meet the president on Friday. According to a press release, MESA addresses the need for investments in technology and innovation, which Obama emphasized in his speech Friday and in his State of the Union address.

 

PSU earns STARS Gold rating

In recognition of Portland State’s achievements in sustainability, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) awarded the university a STARS Gold rating.

According to a press release, PSU received the third-highest score in the United States. The AASHE calculated the score based on three areas: education and research, operations and planning, administration and management.

PSU’s Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation, Community and Environmental Services, Electric Vehicles research and its University EcoDistrict plan earned the university additional points, according to the press release.

Though American University has the highest score in the U.S., PSU currently has the highest score in Oregon.

 

ASRC wins Outstanding Sports Facility Award

The National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) has awarded Portland State’s Academic and Student Recreation Center with the Outstanding Sports Facility Award.

The award will be presented on April 13 at the 2011 NIRSA Annual Conference and Recreation Sports Exposition in New Orleans, according to a press release.

The award recognizes university recreation centers for creative, innovative designs of new, renovated or expanded facilities, according to the press release.

 

Faculty member accepted into Fulbright Specialist Program

Dennis Stovall, an assistant professor in the Master’s in Writing program at Portland State and the publisher of Ooligan Press, was recently accepted into the Fulbright Specialist Program.

According to a press release, the Fulbright Specialist program awards short-term assignment grants to faculty so that they may collaborate with other universities. Stovall will join the roster of specialists for a five-year term.