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College of Liberal Arts & Sciences |
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Volume 2, No. 4 | June 2007 State Funding for Higher Education
We are very pleased that Governor Kulongoski plans to sign a budget that begins reinvestment in higher education. The result is that state colleges and universities will receive an 18% increase in the operating budget. This increase is a positive step. Oregon's reinvestment in higher education begins to address serious funding issues that have resulted in Oregon being ranked 45th in the nation in state spending per student and a reduction in the education level of 25- to 34 -year olds when compared to their 45- to 54- year old cohorts. If there ever was a call to reinvest in higher education for the very future of our state, it is now. The important connection between education, innovation and high-level jobs is well documented. I hope you will join me, and our many friends who believe that access to quality higher education is the right of all our citizens, by thanking the Governor and the legislature for their reinvestment in our students and in Oregon's future. Marvin A. Kaiser PSU Professors Receive Fulbrights
Faculty members Teresa Bulman, Gina Greco, Maude Hines, and Luis Ruedas were awarded grants for the 2006-2007 academic year by the U.S. Fulbright Scholars Program. Teresa Bulman, Geography, was awarded funding for a one-month geography education program in Botswana for 12 Oregon K-12 teachers. Gina Greco, Foreign Languages and Literatures, lectured on American literature at the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Maude Hines, English, lectured at the University of Trier, Germany. Luis Ruedas, Biology, was at Katmandu University, Katmandu, Nepal. Portland State also hosted several international Fulbright scholars during the 2006-2007 academic year: Anjan Ghosh from India and Gerd Hurm from Germany, Elelna Minkova, Russia, Marjaan Moosavi, Iran, Vaishali Punjani, India, Aybuke Filiz, Turkey, Hatem Mousa, Egypt. Recipients of Fulbright Scholar awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The faculty that have been awarded Fulbrights for 2007-2008 are: Kofi Agorsah, Black Studies, Steve Xue, Speech and Hearing, and Jennifer Ruth, English. 2007 Kellogg AwardsThe Nina Mae Kellogg Awards Ceremony, the PSU English Department's annual poetry and prose writing contest, was held Tuesday June 5. This event is one of the highlights of the year in the English Department. A wonderful reception followed at the Simon Benson House. This year $17,000 in Awards were given to the winners, and the first annual Tom Bates Scholarship was awarded. The format change this year created a little suspense. There were celebrity presenters in the various categories instead of one main speaker. The finalists for each category were listed in the program and the winner was announced by a reading of a passage from their winning entry. A copy of the program with the names of all the winners is available on-line. Professor Aslam Khalil Leads Study of Methane Cycles in Flux
Environmental Science and Technology Online News has published an article highlighting the research done by Professor Khalil. His research models the sources and sinks of methane. His teams research also questions whether human activities will have much of an impact on future methane levels. Methane, which is 23 times more powerful than CO2 as a greenhouse gas, is emitted from numerous sources, including wetlands, cows, and thawing arctic permafrost. This gas is also consumed by microbes and is stored geologically, making its cycles difficult to pinpoint. Dr. Khalil's co-workers model shows the methane emission changes originating in northern latitudes and the resulting ripple affect on the rest of the globe. Sandra Freels Publishes Russian Textbook
Sandra Freels has just published a new text book, Russian in Use, An Interactive Approach to Advanced Communicative Competence, Yale University Press. This book is a four-skill language textbook intended for advanced students of Russian. The lessons provide practice using external resources: authentic reading texts, and unscripted listening exercises. The book emphasizes independent language production. Professor Freels is a lifelong student of foreign languages. She discovered her love of the Russian language in high school, and studied Russian, German and French in college. She has taught Russian continuously since 1972 and now is the Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Portland State University. She is responsible for 23 language programs, the greatest number of foreign languages taught at any institution in the state. Native American Center Celebrates Honor Day
Portland State University and the Native American Community Advisory held their Honor Day Ceremony, June 8th. This annual event has been celebrated at PSU since 1994 when five graduates were honored. Last year twenty four Native American and Alaskan Native students participated in the Honor Day Graduation Ceremony, and this year over thirty students participated. Native American and Alaskan Native graduates of PSU spoke at the event to share their experiences after graduation. The most significant part of the evening, however, was when each student was identified by their tribal affiliation and blanketed, wrapped in a Pendleton blanket, by someone who had contributed to their success. Students were draped by a parent, spouse, children, friends, or a teacher. The Honor not only goes to the graduates, but to those that supported their efforts. The graduates each took a moment to share their own experiences of their education, and took time to thank those around them that had contributed to their success. Debbie Murdock attended the event last year and said "it was one of the most significant experiences I have had a PSU". The blankets are paid for by donations. If you would like to contribute to the purchase of the blankets, you can send a check made out to PSU Foundation-NA Honor Day, and mail it to Dean Azule, NASS Coordinator, PSU, PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751. In Memoriam:
Joseph Blumel, Portland State's longest-serving president and the only one to have
come up through the ranks, died April 2 after a recent heart attack. He was 79. Caroline Stoel,, history alumna and teacher, founding member of Friends of History,
and longtime volunteer and donor to the University, died March 29. She was 92. Peter Nicholls, taught in the Philosophy Department since 1980, where he developed a
wide variety of courses in many areas of the Department’s curriculum, died February 15.
He was 63. Marian Mowry Ford, who taught English and English composition at Portland State
in the 1970s, died March 23. She was 82. Selmo Tauber, emeritus professor of mathematical sciences, died Feb. 10. He was 86.
Private family memorial services have been held.
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