Optimism from Wim

Amidst talk of federal education and student aid reform and the implementation of President Obama’s “Race to the Top” program, the university is working as hard as ever to maintain its status as a prestigious urban research institution, stated Portland State’s president during a public address.

President Wim Wiewel said in his March 16 campus update address that PSU’s commitment to service, excellence and educational opportunity has allowed the university to thrive in this time of economic, political and social uncertainty.

While it has not been an easy year for Oregon’s economy—and therein, its schools—with no hint of a rapid recovery, Wiewel remains optimistic. Over the course of the past year and a half of his presidency at PSU, the university has seen improvements in several key areas of its strategic plan.

One such area is in the implementation of the “First Steps to Success” plan, which enforces stricter admissions standards, mandates advising and orientation for new students, and requires earlier declaration of majors for advanced students, among other provisions.

The university has also taken pains to emphasize its five main goals through the strategic plan: Providing civic leadership through partnerships, improving student success, achieving global excellence, enhancing educational opportunity, and expanding resources and improving effectiveness.
   
Partnerships have been strengthened with local private and public entities, such as the City of Portland and the Oregon Sustainability Center.
   
The administration has also made attempts to improve student success by increasing student retention rates and attracting more international students, as well as through the creation of a Latino/Latina Student Success task force. The task force is identifying ways to recruit and retain more Latino students, faculty and staff, according to the Portland State Web site.
   
Several points came through in the president’s address, of which many students and community members may not be aware.

For example, the university saw an increase in donations, including its third largest gift ever—$3.9 million from alumnus Fariborz Maseeh to the math and statistics department.
   
Additionally, plans are nearly complete for a new Life Sciences building in the South Waterfront district, which would be built in partnership with other institutions, according to the PSU Web site.
   
Some of these flourishing new partnerships may include Portland General Electric, Intel, Oregon Health & Science University, Boeing and PCC Structurals. These alliances, in relation to the strategic plan, would put the university on track to meet its June 2010 goal of proposing a joint, non-profit research entity with OHSU, for example.

    PSU, according to Wiewel, is also looking to expand the role it plays in successful education from preschool through university, and is continuing to advocate at both the state and federal level for better funding for education.

“While we have been forced to rely more and more on other sources of funds because of the decline in state funding, we will continue to advocate strongly and as strenuously as we can for state support,” Wiewel said.

He also emphasized that while at times it may feel as if PSU is unique in its fiscal woes, universities across the nation are facing problems with decreased federal and state funding, pressure to improve graduation rates, and greater requirements with regards to federal accountability.

To cope with tightening budgets and potential future crises, university committees and the president are looking for policy spaces where PSU can develop a new financial model and approach to governance, which would afford the administration more flexibility, should the need arise.

“Amidst all this challenge and change,” Wiewel said, “We are holding to our course and sticking to our goal of becoming a great urban research university that provides educational opportunities for Oregonians and is a leader in sustainable development.”