OHSU and PSU enter strategic alliance

Though they have collaborated in the past, Oregon Health and Science University and Portland State University have developed a formal alliance to meet the growing demands of the Portland region.

On Tuesday, the Strategic Partnership Task Force—formed by PSU President Wim Wiewel and OHSU President Joe Robertson—heard testimony on its recommendations for partnership from faculty, students, elected officials and community members. For the most part, it received a positive response and the process of formalizing the alliance will move forward.

“I firmly believe that the strategic alliance and the steering committee you envision will allow us to expand the educational research and collaboration between the two institutions,” said Kevin Reynolds, a PSU chemistry professor and vice provost for academic fiscal strategies and planning.

The alliance will include joint faculty appointments, using shared facilities and collaborating on research endeavors to build a research portfolio of more than $450 million per year. The universities also plan to establish a joint School of Public Health.   

“This is a process that’s already started, that is ongoing,” said PSU Foundation board member Susan Alterman.

In the past, OHSU and PSU have collaborated on numerous projects, including the construction of a life sciences complex to be built near the south waterfront. Additionally, when OHSU’s Advanced Imaging Research Center needed a chemist, it hired an individual that could fill positions at both universities.

“I think we’re doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons,” Robertson said.

ASPSU President Katie Markey commended the task force for its work, but raised questions about the funding for the initiative. She cited page 19 of the report, which states that the initial investment for staffing, facilities and new projects would come from existing resources.

In addition, Markey said the task force’s report read more like a “marketing plan” that lacked detail and substance.

In response, Wiewel said that the report is not intended to be a final product, but the first step in forming the alliance. As the report states, the next step is to create a steering committee—comprised of representatives from both universities and community members—that will oversee the alliance and ensure that the details are worked out. According to the report, the steering committee will also establish a timeline for completion and propose partnership initiatives.

Wiewel also said that the alliance would not require any new money, as the universities have roughly $2 billion between that can be used for forming partnerships.

“The number-one recommendation is to develop an OHSU/PSU strategic alliance with a clear business model,” Robertson said. “There’s a clear understanding that we have to do this in a financially responsible manner.”

According to Wiewel, the formal alliance would require less funding than a full merger, which was also considered by the task force.

At the hearing, State Representative Mitch Greenlick argued in favor of a full merger; he said that it would be the only way to bring a world-class university to Portland. Since 2005, Greenlick has been pushing to withdraw PSU from the Oregon University System and gradually merge it with OHSU. An independent governing board would then oversee both

institutions.

“My proposal would pull Portland State out of the university system and give it a safe harbor,” Greenlick said. “I think that anyone that has thought about it thinks it is inevitable that these two institutions will become a single university.”

At the next legislative session in February, the Legislature will receive a proposal from the Oregon State Board of Higher Education for a new governance structure of OUS. If passed, the legal status of OUS schools could change from state agencies to public universities, therefore giving each university within the system more control over its revenues and costs.

If the proposal is approved, the board will then reevaluate each university’s relationship to OUS, according to board member David Yaden. Potentially, PSU could pull out of the university system and merge with OHSU. However, Wiewel said that this is not being considered for the time being. He and the six other OUS university presidents have already signed on to the board’s restructuring proposal.

Commenting on the evaluation of OUS universities, Yaden said, “It will be very a thorough-going, hard look at the opportunities, potential and particular circumstances of each university.”

“But it’s going to take some time to do that right,” he said. “Therefore, as a board, we felt it very important to do this in two steps, and not to fracture over every university scrambling for its own particular status outside of this orderly process.”

Greenlick also pointed out that there are numerous institutional barriers that the alliance will need to overcome, especially when establishing course schedules and covering indirect costs. In order to work through these issues, the task force recommends creating models for handling faculty salaries, credit transfers and tuition differences.

For a full copy of the task force’s report, visit www.pdx.edu/president/. ?