Ushering in new responsibility

Now that Portland State’s Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science has named Renjeng Su as its new dean, the work of interim Dean Richard Knight is almost complete.

Knight has served in the position since July 2008 during the college’s search for a new dean to replace Robert Dryden, who retired last August.

Beginning today, Su will take over the position as permanent dean and Knight will continue his 20-plus years of involvement with Portland State by accepting the position of interim vice president of University Relations.

Knight spent most of his career as an officer at Tektronix, a company that produces test and measurement equipment for other companies. After graduating with a master’s in physics from the University of Illinois, he worked in California for eight years before he came to Oregon.

From his experience in the industry, Knight began to incorporate his knowledge into the community and especially here at Portland State.

“I was managing the part of Tektronix that was responsible for integrative circuit technology,” Knight said, “then I began doing volunteer work on an advisory board for the electrical and computer engineering department here at PSU.”

As Knight began to show an interest in the college, he also saw it grow over time.

“I later joined the industry advisory board, and that was during the time the college was identifying the need to build a new engineering building,” Knight said.

A collegiate start
From his experience and connections with Portland State over the years, Knight was tapped by Provost Roy Koch to serve as interim dean for the duration of one academic year. According to Knight, the time has been one of the most enjoyable and wonderful career experiences that he has had.

“Over the years that I volunteered with the university, I have had the opportunity to get to know quite a number of faculty and staff, so when I started, I had a base of people I could go to for advice,” Knight said.

However, Knight said there are a few things that he has to adjust to after working in only one industry for most of his career. 

“Many of the technologies that we have here are the same [as in the industry], engineers here are being prepared to do work with state of the art technology,” Knight said. “On the other hand, the breadth of work and just the sheer number of technologies are much greater than any single company ever takes on.”

According to Knight, what he also learned is that in a higher education institution the nature of the financial system is different than in a company, in the respect that companies tend to work off of a very standard balance sheet—profit loss statement, etc.—whereas in a college, the figure is less certain.

Knight said one of the difficulties the new dean will face during his first year is managing the budget.

“We’re all waiting for the legislatures to adjourn so we’ll know exactly what the budget situation will be,” Knight said.

Looking ahead
Knight will now take on another position at Portland State that is similar to the work that he has done in the past. As interim vice president of University Relations, Knight’s work will be to bring the community to Portland State.

“People from the community found it to be fascinating to see the laboratory, talk to the professors and to see our hopes and dreams,” Knight said. “For me it’s an opportunity to look at the college through the eyes of a donor and see the sort of excitement that they see when they realize great things are going on at Portland State.” 

Knight fulfilled one of his last duties as interim dean of the College of Engineering on June 23, when he welcomed 28 new international students from Vietnam here at PSU as part of Intel’s $2 Million Scholars program.

Knight said after he is done with his position as interim vice president of University Relations, he plans to continue to be active in education and pick up some volunteer work with Portland State as well as some of the support programs for K–12 students.

Knight is involved with Saturday Academy, a nonprofit that offers middle and high school students the opportunity to take science or art classes that they otherwise would not have the opportunity to attend. He’s also on the board of directors for TechStart, a nonprofit that helps middle and high school students get exposed to computer science early on to see if they might be interested in the field later in life.

Speaking of his time at Portland State over the years, Knight said he was surprised at how far the university has come along.

“I have been particularly impressed at how much it changed and advanced over the years,” Knight said. “I anticipated having an enjoyable experience but I found the institution even a greater place than I thought it was.”