Greetings from Us to You

Greetings to you, our alumni and friends, as we end our summer term and enthusiastically approach the start of the fall term. Last year was a very productive year, with PSU enrolling over 25,000 students. Research funding for the University topped $39 million, with over $14 million for CLAS. At the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, we are looking forward to another exciting and rewarding academic year surrounded by the inspiration of knowledge and research. We are proud of our achievements, and present a selection of these for you in this issue. We will be greeted this fall with a new logo for Portland State University, which reflects the unique and distinctive qualities of this university. Although not specific to Portland State, my participation in a community-wide effort to create a future vision of Portland, called VisionPDX, demonstrates how members of your university are actively involved in the community.

I hope you enjoy this newsletter and the information it brings to you about Portland State. Thank you for spending your valuable time reading it.

Marvin A. Kaiser
Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Read about Portland State University's new logo
Find about more about VisionPDX

PSU Professor Discovers Malaria Treatment Breakthrough

David Peyton, professor of chemistry, has successfully modified chloroquine, a drug used to treat the most common strain of malaria, to overcome the resistance that the malaria parasite has developed to this drug. This will enable this beneficial drug to be more effective in it's fight against this often fatal disease. This emerging story will be covered in more depth in next month's newsletter.
Read the Oregonian article

Oregon Geographic Alliance Leads Teachers to Botswana

Over this past summer, the Oregon Geographic Alliance (OGA) led a group of Oregon teachers from grades K-12 to the country of Botswana in southern Africa, with the help of a $65,000 Fulbright grant. Teresa Bulman, professor of geography, led the group on this educational and cultural expedition, which was part of OGA's Summer Institutes program. For four weeks from mid-June to mid-July, Teresa and twelve Oregon teachers toured Botswana visiting schools, game reserves, and diamond mines. These teachers were able to gain valuable first-hand knowledge of, and insight into, this culture and its geography, which they will be able to incorporate back into their social studies and earth science classrooms.

The OGA allocates grants it receives to its continuing efforts to enhance geographic education in grades K-12. In addition to hosting the annual Summer Institute for Oregon teachers at varied locations around the world, the OGA awards grant funds to Oregon teachers to help improve geographic awareness in their classrooms, and helps promote National Geography Week in the fall with the production of an educational supplement in The Oregonian newspaper.
Read more about the Oregon Geographic Alliance

Anna-Louise Reysenbach Discovers a New Deep-Sea Microbe

Professor Anna-Louise Reysenbach, a microbiologist at Portland State University, led a team of researchers from multiple universities to an important discovery of the first acid-loving microbes living at deep-sea hydrothermal vents. The results of their study, "A Ubiquitous Obligate Thermoacidophilic Archaeon from Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents," were published in the July 27, 2006 issue of Nature. This newly discovered microbe represents the first example of a line of microbes that thrive in conditions such as these which are acidic, hot, and under significant pressure. Understanding how life evolves and survives in such extreme environments can lead to a better understanding of how life may emerge elsewhere, on other planets.
Read more about this important discovery
Learn more about Professor Reysenbach's research

Honoring Teri Mariani in the "Walk of the Heroines"

Preparation for construction of Portland's "Walk of the Heroines", an innovative park paying tribute to women who have illuminated our lives, continues in earnest. The Walk of the Heroines is a cooperative effort between the City of Portland and Portland State University's Women's Studies Department. A campaign is underway to honor PSU's own Teri Mariani within this park. Teri has spent most of her life at Portland State University, as a student, an athlete, an administrator, and coach. She has become one of the most honored and respected people on campus, giving her time and her heart to activities related to athletics and otherwise.
Read about Teri's many accomplishments
Learn how you can honor your own special heroine

PSU Certified as the Nation's First "Salmon-Safe" University

In a ceremony held August 4th, Portland State upheld its reputation as the nation's most sustainable urban university by becoming the first university in the nation to receive the coveted "Salmon-Safe" certification. This certification was earned from Salmon Safe, an independent nonprofit organization, due to the many ways that PSU integrates environmentally conscious practices into teaching, research, operations and facilities management.

The celebration began with the awards ceremony in which Peter Paquet, Salmon-Safe board chair, presented the award to Daniel Bernstine, president of Portland State University (see photo). The ceremony was followed by a reception with Salmon-Safe wines, local and organic treats, eco-tours of Portland State, and a community lecture by PSU Professor Veronica Dujon. Also in celebratory attendance were Provost Roy Koch and State Senator Ginny Burdick.
Read more about PSU's sustainability practices
What is Salmon Safe?

Geology Department Shares Wisdom on Success of Oregon Wines

The Geology Department shared another educational tour of neighboring wineries with their alumni one sunny day over the summer. On June 18th, they all boarded a bus to take them safely between Stoller, Elk Cove, and ElvenGlade vineyards. During the trip, Professor Scott Burns from the Department of Geology shared his sage knowledge about how the geology and soils of Oregon contribute to Oregon's world-famous reputation for exceptional wine production. All money raised from this annual fundraising event is directed to the Geology Department's Undergraduate Research Endowed Fund.
Read more about PSU's Geology Department

Nation's Premier German Studies Immersion Program Completes 49th Year

Steven Fuller, professor of German, is director of a premier immersion program for learning the German language. Called the Deutsche Sommerschule am Pazifik, this nationally recognized program completed its 49th year this summer. This program is hosted on the Lewis and Clark College campus in Portland, OR, and immerses students with German by providing an environment where they can live it and speak it both inside and outside of class for the duration of the Sommerschule. This program was featured as one of only four such programs in the nation in an article in the most recent issue of German Life (August/September 2006) entitled "Auf Deutsch, Bitte! - Total Immersion German Programs in the United States."
Read more about this program

PSU Alumni Launch Publishing Company Ink & Paper Group, LLC

Built on the foundations of knowledge gained as graduate students at Portland State University, coupled with real-world experience earned at PSU's Ooligan Press publishing house, David Cowsert, Linda Meyer, Cameron Marschall, Bo Bjorn Johnson, and Allison Collins have launched a new publishing company called Ink & Paper Group, LLC. This publishing company currently manages four unique imprints, including Gray Sunshine (nonfiction: social justice, criminal justice, community development), Sofa Ink (fiction, gift books, stipple art prints and notecards, Sofa Ink Quarterly), Chain Reaction Press (science fiction and fantasy), and Bowler Hat Comics (comic books, graphic novels, and illustrated novels). Based on the solid publishing principles learned at Ooligan Press and PSU's publishing program, this new business endeavor is sure to be a success.
Find out a little bit about the Founders
Learn more about Ooligan Press

Your Newsletter Supports PSU's Graduate Writing Program

This newsletter will now be produced for you by graduate students in the Writing Program at Portland State University. The graduate writing program, available through the English Department, offers advanced studies in the field of writing. This program leads to a master's degree in writing, with specialization tracks available in the areas of creative writing (fiction, poetry), nonfiction, technical/professional, and book publishing.
More about PSU's Center for Excellence in Writing

Please contact us with any feedback you have on the newsletter, and any ideas of what you'd like to see in future issues. We would love to hear from you.
Please give us feedback on the newsletter

Faculty/Department Notes

Correction: In the May 2006 issue of this newsletter, Maria L. Alanis Ruiz was incorrectly identified as the program coordinator for Chicano-Latino Studies. Maria is, more correctly, the Latino Community and Student Liaison for CLAS.

Barney Burke, a beloved professor emeritus of history at Portland State University, passed away on June 7, 2006. Barney spread the love of history to his students at PSU for almost 40 years. He was still teaching history courses up until a few days before his death. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him. Please consider honoring his memory by contributing to the "Bernard V. Burke Scholarship Fund", as described in "You Can Make a Difference" below.

Each year, awards are presented to student-selected Portland State faculty for their exceptional teaching. The John Eliot Allen Outstanding Teaching Awards, named after Professor John Eliot Allen who founded the geology program at PSU in the 1950's, promote and reward outstanding teaching in CLAS. John Eliot Allen's enthusiasm and expertise in the classroom excited students during his 40 plus years of activity on the PSU campus. The 9th annual John Eliot Allen Outstanding Teacher Awards were presented to 25 outstanding faculty members, in a ceremony held on June 6th. Find out more about this year's awards (PDF)

CLAS faculty received two of the top four faculty awards for excellence at Portland State University's spring commencement in June 2006. Stan Hillman, professor and chair of the Biology Department, received the George C. Hoffmann Award for Faculty. M. Aslam Khan Khalil, professor of physics and director of the Environmental Science and Resources program, received the Branford Price Millar Award for Faculty Excellence.

The members of the Faculty Senate participate in the making of policy recommendations that affect nearly every phase of University life, from curriculum and degree requirements to changes in the structure of departments and programs. The following CLAS faculty members were elected to the PSU Faculty Senate: Jacqueline Arante, Randy Blazak, Erik Bodegom, Tracy Dillon, Grant Farr, Tim Garrison, Martha Hickey, Greg Jacob, Jun Jiao, Robert Liebman, Dalton Miller-Jones, Shelley Reece, Dennis Stovall, and Randy Zelick. In addition, Dalton Miller-Jones was also elected to the Advisory Council, which serves as an advisory body to the President of the University.

Dirk Iwata-Reuyl, professor of chemistry, has received some noteworthy grants to support his research. Professor Iwata-Reuyl received a $914,000 R01 research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his work on the "Biosynthesis of Hypermodified Guanosines." This five year grant started in March, 2006.
With the help of a seed grant received earlier from PSU's Milton Smith and Evelyn Kambach Fund for Emerging Technology, Professor Iwata-Reuyl also received a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase-I grant from the NIH. This six month SBIR grant, entitled "A Biocatalytic Route to Nitrile Reduction," started in August, 2006. Visit Dr. Iwata-Reuyl's website

Emeritus Economics faculty Richard Brinkman has co-published, together with June Brinkman, an article entitled "Toward a General Union: The Banyan Tree of Knowledge" in the June 2006 issue of Journal of Economic Issues. Read more about Dr. Brinkman

Susan Denning, English faculty, has published her poem "From the Naturalist's Notebook" in the Spring 2006 issue of Faultline.

English professor Mary Rechner was nominated for a 2006 Pushcart prize for her book Hot Springs, which was published by Cloverfield Press.

Professor Gerardo Lafferriere, Mathematics and Statistics, co-authored a paper "Dynamic Regulation of Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity in Electrosensory Processing," which was published in the June 2006 issue of the journal Neurocomputing. Visit Professor Lafferriere's website

Professor Sandra Freels Rosengrant, chair of the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department, has authored textbook Russian in Use: An Interactive Approach to Advanced Communicative Competence, published by Yale University Press on June 28, 2006. Read more about Professor Rosengrant's work

Susan Reese, English faculty, has published a poem "First Post-Mastectomy Appointment" in the Summer 2006 issue of Perigee. Read Susan's poem

English professor Marcia Klotz published two articles in the July 2006 issue of Rethinking Marxism, "Alienation, Labor, and Sexuality in Marx's 1844 Manuscripts" and "Toward a Marxian Sexual Politics."

Foreign languages instructor Kathie Godfrey, along with three other member universities of the American Council on Education (ACE) Internationalization Committee, were instrumental in procuring two mini-grants of $7,500 each. These grants are to encourage these institutions to develop activities to learn from each other and to accelerate the impact of internationalization at their institutions.

Eric Wynkoop, a graduate Anthropology student, received a Fulbright award to study anthropology in India over the 2006-2007 academic year. Eric is pursuing a master of arts specialization in social-cultural anthropology.

Professor Kenneth Ames, chair of the Anthropology Department, is the recipient of a $150,000.00 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant. This three year grant, which will support Professor Ames’ research on "Chinookan Households along the Lower Columbia River: Contact and Complexity," started on July 21, 2006. By analyzing the functioning of 10 Native American households over 500 years, the project will link the issue of the social, economic and ecological dynamics of the historic maritime fur trade on the Pacific Coast of North America with the issue of hunter-gatherer social complexity. Visit Professor Ames' website

Michele Gamburd, professor of anthropology, is a co-PI (Principle Investigator) on a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to study the impact of the December 2004 Tsunami on Sri Lanka. The total NSF grant, shared with other researchers on the grant, is $125,000. Read more about Professor Gamburd's work

Marion Dresner, Center for Science Education faculty, is the principal investigator for a new National Science Foundation grant, "Teaching Ecosystem Complexity through Field Science." The award is for $1.2 million over the next four years. Dresner will work with scientists in Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Arizona to help build science teachers' understanding of ecosystem complexity.

You Can Make a Difference

The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences provides the intellectual heart of an excellent education in any discipline by exploring ideas that influence, teach and expand our knowledge of ourselves, our society, our world and our future. Please consider supporting the college by making a gift to one of the following funds:

The Bernard V. Burke Endowed Scholarship Fund for undergraduate history students was established years ago, so named in honor of beloved professor emeritus of history Barney Burke. Help spread the love of history to undergraduate history students, while honoring Barney's memory, by designating a gift to this fund. Contributions to this fund can be made to the PSU Foundation.

The Dean's Fund for Excellence helps strengthen academic programs, provides scholarships for students, improves classrooms and laboratories, advances the excellence of our faculty and helps the college reach out to our alumni and friends.

The Dean's Fund for Scholarships responds to the extensive growth of promising students who seek financial assistance. Scholarship support helps the College to recruit, retain and reward the best and brightest students.

Make your investment in a bright future by giving to one of these funds.
Thank you!
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