This letter was so well written, I just had to post it:
Letter to the editor: Portland State needs to commit to excellence
http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2014/02/letter_to_the_editor_portland.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A letter to the editor sent from Ryan Borde of Albany:
I have thought long and hard the past several months about writing this letter to the editor, but after reading John Canzano's article in Saturday morning's sports section I felt it was time to finally send something in. I spent close to four years working in the athletic department at Portland State University from 2008-2012 and saw firsthand the struggles that the university and the athletic department face on a daily basis. I had been fortunate enough to work at the University of Washington prior to coming to PSU, so I was used to doing things at a certain level of excellence.
Reaching a level of excellence was a constant struggle at PSU. Whether it was finding money to redo the athletic department website, which was severely outdated and which my department (media relations) was in charge of, or finding money to renovate the aging facilities, it was a daily struggle for everyone in athletics. And what made it even more of a struggle was the lack of support from the administration of the University. There is such a huge disconnect between the administration, athletics and all of the departments at the University, and it is very disheartening.
If PSU President Wim Wiewel thinks that athletics aren't an important part of his university than he is sorely mistaken. I was a student-athlete in college and of course I write this letter from the viewpoint of someone that firmly believes athletics do have a place on college campuses. They teach young men and women valuable lessons that they will carry on with them for the rest of their lives. Additionally I am a strong believer that a successful athletic department can only help the overall profile of the University. Case in point: all you have to do is look several hundred miles northeast of PSU's campus to Spokane and Gonzaga University and see what the successes of its men's basketball program has done for the university as a whole. Multiple articles have been written detailing how the University's academic profile and financial contributions from donors have increased due to the Zags success in basketball over the past 15 to 20 years.
Over my last couple of years at PSU our employees would walk into the monthly meetings with Director of Athletics Torre Chisholm and would joke about what cuts were coming next. While many of my fellow ex-coworkers had smiles and laughed about the predictions, each of us was scared for our jobs and for each of our departments because we knew cuts were looming. Granted, things like this will happen and it is a part of life. With the way the economy was going it was to be expected that cuts would be made. But my point of writing this article is that President Wiewel and the administration of PSU are severely disconnected from the athletic department and it is something that needs to be corrected immediately. I would only hope that this letter would make it to the desk of President Wiewel and he would take it to heart. This is not an attack on him. I've seen him attend games and talk with people and he is an extremely likeable person. This is more of a challenge.
There are many, many great people that work their butts off on a daily basis for the athletic department at PSU who are not only making the athletic department a better place, but making the university as a whole a better place. People like Mike Lund, who was my mentor and has worked at PSU since the late 80s, and who is constantly proudly promoting the Vikings. People like head athletic trainer Jim Wallis, who has to work in a training room that is smaller and in worse shape than what I had as a student-athlete at NCAA Division III Pacific Lutheran. People like strength and conditioning coach Scott Fabian, who has to deal with extremely aged equipment, cramped spaces and cracked floors, yet shows up everyday ready to make the Vikings better and because of his attitude is well liked by the student-athletes he trains. These people, the people of the athletic department and the people of the university deserve better. It's time to become ONE, President Wiewel, because at the end of the day, everyone on the Park Blocks is a Viking. But right now, there is no sense of community at PSU and that beautiful campus and it's students and employees deserve so much better. Take a trip to Spokane sometime and see first hand what a successful athletic department can do for a campus. Those people are proud to be Bulldogs ... Portland State University has tremendous potential academically and athletically, and you're it's leader. Make the people of the Park Blocks proud to be Vikings by uniting them and supporting each and every department equally.
Ryan Borde
Albany, OR
Letter to the editor: Portland State needs to commit to excellence
http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2014/02/letter_to_the_editor_portland.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A letter to the editor sent from Ryan Borde of Albany:
I have thought long and hard the past several months about writing this letter to the editor, but after reading John Canzano's article in Saturday morning's sports section I felt it was time to finally send something in. I spent close to four years working in the athletic department at Portland State University from 2008-2012 and saw firsthand the struggles that the university and the athletic department face on a daily basis. I had been fortunate enough to work at the University of Washington prior to coming to PSU, so I was used to doing things at a certain level of excellence.
Reaching a level of excellence was a constant struggle at PSU. Whether it was finding money to redo the athletic department website, which was severely outdated and which my department (media relations) was in charge of, or finding money to renovate the aging facilities, it was a daily struggle for everyone in athletics. And what made it even more of a struggle was the lack of support from the administration of the University. There is such a huge disconnect between the administration, athletics and all of the departments at the University, and it is very disheartening.
If PSU President Wim Wiewel thinks that athletics aren't an important part of his university than he is sorely mistaken. I was a student-athlete in college and of course I write this letter from the viewpoint of someone that firmly believes athletics do have a place on college campuses. They teach young men and women valuable lessons that they will carry on with them for the rest of their lives. Additionally I am a strong believer that a successful athletic department can only help the overall profile of the University. Case in point: all you have to do is look several hundred miles northeast of PSU's campus to Spokane and Gonzaga University and see what the successes of its men's basketball program has done for the university as a whole. Multiple articles have been written detailing how the University's academic profile and financial contributions from donors have increased due to the Zags success in basketball over the past 15 to 20 years.
Over my last couple of years at PSU our employees would walk into the monthly meetings with Director of Athletics Torre Chisholm and would joke about what cuts were coming next. While many of my fellow ex-coworkers had smiles and laughed about the predictions, each of us was scared for our jobs and for each of our departments because we knew cuts were looming. Granted, things like this will happen and it is a part of life. With the way the economy was going it was to be expected that cuts would be made. But my point of writing this article is that President Wiewel and the administration of PSU are severely disconnected from the athletic department and it is something that needs to be corrected immediately. I would only hope that this letter would make it to the desk of President Wiewel and he would take it to heart. This is not an attack on him. I've seen him attend games and talk with people and he is an extremely likeable person. This is more of a challenge.
There are many, many great people that work their butts off on a daily basis for the athletic department at PSU who are not only making the athletic department a better place, but making the university as a whole a better place. People like Mike Lund, who was my mentor and has worked at PSU since the late 80s, and who is constantly proudly promoting the Vikings. People like head athletic trainer Jim Wallis, who has to work in a training room that is smaller and in worse shape than what I had as a student-athlete at NCAA Division III Pacific Lutheran. People like strength and conditioning coach Scott Fabian, who has to deal with extremely aged equipment, cramped spaces and cracked floors, yet shows up everyday ready to make the Vikings better and because of his attitude is well liked by the student-athletes he trains. These people, the people of the athletic department and the people of the university deserve better. It's time to become ONE, President Wiewel, because at the end of the day, everyone on the Park Blocks is a Viking. But right now, there is no sense of community at PSU and that beautiful campus and it's students and employees deserve so much better. Take a trip to Spokane sometime and see first hand what a successful athletic department can do for a campus. Those people are proud to be Bulldogs ... Portland State University has tremendous potential academically and athletically, and you're it's leader. Make the people of the Park Blocks proud to be Vikings by uniting them and supporting each and every department equally.
Ryan Borde
Albany, OR
