I've got to give Canzano credit where credit is due. He is right on the fundamental approach. David Hersh has brought connections that have led to quality bells-and-whistles, but they have not had the effect on attendance, which is the core issue right now. Keep what he has brought, but now work on building the pride of the vast number of Portland State alums.
This has got to come from the top. Presidents of Portland State, in the modern era, have made their mark and added quality and value to the university, this is also good. But the main issue is changing the perception of Portland State University, especially among the alumni.
Right now, many are even reluctant to admit they are Portland State grads and many local Oregonians desire to distance themselves from the university, much less overtly show support for its athletics programs. Why?
The
perception is one of near-embarrassment. What? You couldn't make it into Oregon or Oregon State? What? You're in Portland but you cannot afford to go to Reed, Lewis & Clark or one of the other private universities? Right now, the university fills a niche but also has an
image of something that you want to wipe off from the sole of your shoe. Why?
Many in the state want They want Portland to have a public university that acts merely as one
mediocre and marginally acceptable.
But is it really that way? Is that the fair
perception of Portland State or a realistically accurate one? No.
Don't our engineering grads get hired by places like Boeing, HP, and Intel? Yes. Don't our MBAs and business graduates get hired up by quality corporations, firms and small businesses? Yes. Don't many start their own businesses? Yes. Does this mean it lacks value as a higher educational institution or that the academics are not worthy of respect? No.
Do many PSU grads have difficulty getting hired after graduating? Yes, but so do many from other universities who major in several of, say, the arts and sciences. This does not indict the quality of the university, however.
Aren't PSU accounting major graduates sought after? Yes. Isn't the CPA program celebrated? Yes. Urban and regional planning? Yes. Audiology? Yes. Social work? Yes.
So Portland State has unquestioned areas of excellence within it. Are these being expounded and asserted to Oregonians?
The president usually serves for 10 years. With the remaining time he has, I would recommend WW begin a program to expound and assert these areas of excellence. It is a matter of the university's self-assertion of its own accurately positive image.
Portland State needs to start a
public relations campaign of accurate perception to simply show that it does indeed produce quality professionals, to erase false current perceptions and to build the pride of all of its graduates. The areas of excellence cited should give those graduated in those areas a sense of the kind of pride that needs to be generated among PSU alums. Then, areas that are not yet considered areas of excellence will need to begin their individual campaigns to become areas of excellence themselves.
He also needs to find means of unifying the university as a whole and not allow it to be fragmented and divided. Less time and investment needs to be applied to small sectors and instead needs to be applied to the university as a whole. How?
o Define the university's boundaries as clearly as they can be;
o Cooperate with the city to create a sharper "sense of place" between what is the unversity and what is not;
o Heal the rifts and wounds between disparate groups within the administrative infrastructure;
o Come up with a "snappy answers to stupid assertions" coming from the university's enemies (i.e. fight back); purchase radio spots to instill pride in PSU graduates (not weak bases, but unretuable ones);
o Gain PSU alums as Portland Mayor, Oregon State Representative, Oregon State Senators and Governors.
o Work cooperatively with the City's Development Commission to develop all areas contained within their vision for the university;
Many other bases abound. Think, what CAN we do? And do THAT. Pride in the university is the core factor that will raise alumni interest in their alma mater. The alternative is disservice to them. A great way to show that one has pride in one's university is to go to the games.
If a minority of Oregonians desires PSU to be perceived as some kind of a loser, then a healthy PSU would respond by getting fighting mad, rising up and proclaiming:
lest it remain a reticent door mat for other Oregon colleges to sneer at as if it were some kind of scapegoat of Oregon's higher education. All based on a false perception, campaign of deceit.
