News briefs

Wildlife conservation focus of $5,000 grant

Portland State faculty member David Johns received a conservation award from the Denver Zoological Foundation in Denver, Colo. for his work in the field of wildlife conservation.

Johns co-founded two successful conservation projects, the Wildlands Project and the Yellowstone to Yukon conservation initiative, in 1991 and 1993, respectively.

The goal of the projects is the restoration of natural wildlife habitats in the United States.

The Yellowstone to Yukon conservation initiative is working to save the habitat between Yellowstone National Park and the Yukon protected, while the Wildlands Project is working toward conservation of endangered species in North America.

“We need to pay attention to these lessons,” Johns said on the loss of wildlife habitats.

The $5,000 awarded to Johns will be given to the conservation projects he co-founded.

–Norman Dunn

How copyright law relates to students

A new website has been created to assist Portland State students and faculty with their copyright questions after the university made changes to copyright policy in order to make it easier to understand.

The website, created by a group of on and off-campus representatives, was created to make sure existing copyright policy aligned with continually changing laws, said university librarian Helen Spalding.

“The website points out what the law has to do with students,” she said.

The new website, http://www.lib.pdx.edu/copyright/, was initiated by a campus wide effort to update and review existing policy, Spalding said. The website contains the policy and a frequently asked question section.

Members of Portland State faculty, the Oregon Institute of Technology and Clean Copy, a local copying business, are part of the group that created the website. Spalding said the group has also recommended Portland State hire a full-time copyright advisor and committee to oversee copyright issues. She also said student with questions involving copyright issues “always start with the library reference desk.”

–Talmage Garn

Rules and regulation guide for student housing now online only

Students who live on campus will no longer be given printed copies of the University Housing Handbook, the guide which details the rules and regulations for living in dormitories and residence halls. Instead, the manual will be offered through the Portland State Housing Department’s website.

Janett Matthews, assistant director of Residence Life, which oversees student residents, said that the decision to stop distributing a printed version is part of an effort to make PSU a paperless university.

Printed copies of the guide are still available in the Residence Life and University Housing offices, both located on the second floor of the Broadway Housing Building.

–Robert Seitzinger

Firm conducting presidential search on campus Friday

The Presidential Search Committee, seeking to replace former Portland State President Daniel Bernstine, is hosting an open forum meeting with Boston-based search firm Isaacson, Miller, Oct. 19.

The meeting will begin Friday at 1 p.m. in Room 327 of Smith Memorial Student Union, and search committee staff member Ryan Hagemann said that the meeting is open to all students who want to meet with search firm representative David Bellshaw. It is common for search committees to work with large search firms and the meeting is an opportunity to give the firm a feel for the university, Hagemann said.

Isaacson, Miller has been working with search committees since 1982. About 41 percent of their selected candidates are women and 25 percent are people of color, according to the firm’s website.

–Robert Seitzinger