Thank you for coming today.
With everything that is going on in your lives and the life of our campus, I’m grateful you made the time to be here.
Portland State is at a crossroads and it’s important that we talk about it.
We are determining what kind of university we will be in the future, in what ways we will serve our students and how we will endure and continue to Let Knowledge Serve the City in all the forms that motto takes.
We have undertaken a tremendous amount of work to get us to this point and so I want to start by offering my heartfelt thanks to everyone who played a role. We now know so much about the academic programs we offer and all the units that support them — we know more than we ever have before.
The work that went into the PIVOT process was an extraordinary lift and I know it touched all corners of the university.
Receiving preliminary PIVOT recommendations three weeks ago provided me with tremendous insights across our academic portfolio. I appreciate the time and effort that went into compiling all of the information included in the PIVOT process, the information it delivers is invaluable.
However, PIVOT does not offer specifics on personnel changes, nor did it correlate directly to impacted departments.
As we considered the magnitude of the deficit we are facing, it became obvious that we would need to start by looking at changes to academic departments and it became immediately clear that we would need to begin the Article 22 process.
I know the preliminary list of potentially impacted departments we shared last week was shocking to many. Even though it is preliminary, it is a significant list.
I want to acknowledge that for many — if not all — of us, this is a painful process.
I know that behind the term “Article 22” are people who have dedicated their lives to this institution. We aren't just absorbing change — we are asking our colleagues to carry a heavy burden of uncertainty. I want to look you in the eye and say: I see that burden, and I do not take it lightly.
I am here to acknowledge all that we are going through as a community and I am here to thank you for your perseverance, for your hard work, for everything that you have done and will continue to do to support our amazing students.
We are faced with an immovable truth: There is no pathway for PSU to address its structural deficit other than by making these difficult — and, yes, painful decisions.
But we are not just aligning our expenses and revenues, we are reinvesting in our fundamental purpose. A structural deficit is a constraint on our values. By resolving it, we are liberating our ability to continue to Let Knowledge Serve.
Over the next few months we will follow the informative process laid out by Article 22 and develop a more detailed plan to address our structural financial deficit.
We will also continue to implement the changes planned through the Operational Excellence and Non-Academic Administrative Review processes. Some of these changes will take longer than others to lead to savings, but they are essential to supporting and empowering our employees and operations.
We are entering a truly transformational phase in the life of Portland State University and today I want to walk you through my vision for the future and share more about the why behind the direction we are headed.
But first I want to take some time while we’re together to process this difficult period of uncertainty.
Let’s start with a poll question.
I’d like to hear from you in real time about what you’re feeling. The first question is multiple choice.
POLL QUESTION #1:
What are you MOST worried about after last week’s announcement? (pick one)
How long this process will drag on
Losing my job or my colleagues losing their jobs
What this means for students
We won’t cut enough to have the impact we need
Other
Let’s move on to the second question — this one is a bit more open-ended.
POLL QUESTION #2 is:
In a few words, how are you feeling about change at PSU?
(Word Cloud generated)
Thank you for sharing your feelings and concerns.
Next, I want to spend some time putting last week’s announcement in context.
As we have told each other many times, PSU is not the only university struggling with enrollment. Higher education as a sector is being buffeted by political winds, market shifts and changing demographics.
At the same time, public universities in Oregon are under scrutiny — what are we delivering? how much does it cost? and how efficiently are we serving our students?
It’s a national and regional confidence crisis.
In response, we are doing the hard work of becoming a student-centered and financially sustainable university. Our budget deficit requires this of us, but so do the macro issues we face.
We are taking back control so that we can stop reacting to budget pressures and start investing in the programs we want to be known for and the initiatives that will help build pride in PSU.
When we become a student-centered, financially sustainable institution, we can deliver on the promises we make to our students and earn their trust.
That trust is essential to the future of Portland State University, it’s essential to all of us feeling fulfilled by working here together, and it’s essential to the lives of every student who invests their tuition dollars and precious time to come to PSU.
What does it mean to be student centered? What steps are we taking to earn students’ trust?
Our investments in Student Success and streamlining our transfer process are two key pillars in our growth strategy — I’ll talk more about those pillars in a bit — but they are just some of the initiatives we are pursuing.
Reforming our program for General Education is a very important step toward earning student trust.
The GenEd Task Force took months studying our model and the models of other GenEd programs to develop a student-centered approach for PSU that will be easier to navigate, support a strong sense of belonging for students, as well as covering important preparatory subjects for career development.
I am grateful for the work of the task force and I look forward to seeing our next steps on reforming GenEd at PSU as directed by the Faculty Senate.
I also want to acknowledge the important legacy of University Studies, which was a groundbreaking model for general education for its time.
University Studies wove community-engaged learning into the fabric of Portland State. It helped move forward our understanding of equity and helped the university develop a shared understanding of inclusive pedagogy.
I realize that, for some, a PSU without University Studies is unimaginable. I respect that point of view and I acknowledge the pain this causes for our University Studies faculty and staff whose futures are now uncertain.
But I also believe that our way forward is not by reforming or trimming the program, but establishing a modern and intentional student-centered model for general education.
I would like to see us take the spirit of University Studies and embed it into a pathway that is more accessible for our working and transfer students.
Students were also at the center of the restructuring we announced in July that resulted in the integration of all student-facing services under the leadership of the Office of Academic Affairs and the elimination of two vice president positions.
Those changes were a first step in developing a comprehensive and student-centered ecosystem at PSU where student services are cohesively managed for optimal accessibility.
Earlier this month, we announced that Dr. Robert Williams would join us as PSU’s next Provost and that hire is also aligned with this priority. I believe his history as an academic leader at an access institution, focused on student success, makes him ideally suited for PSU at this moment.
I also want to be clear that every change we make is guided by our Future in Focus strategic plan. It clarifies our values and imperatives and provides guideposts for the pursuit of our destiny.
But the important thing is that we remain in control of that destiny.
I believe the transformational work we are undertaking and the painful cuts that are likely to accompany that transformation are necessary. It will ensure that we can operate in a way that prioritizes the success of our students while investing in initiatives that will contribute to our resilience as an institution.
In other words: We are making transformative change now, on our own terms, so that we can avoid being in a position where we are forced into making changes.
Some of you have asked why PSU isn’t asking for a bail out like the one the Oregon Legislature provided for Southern Oregon University. That answer is simple: That money came with strings attached and won’t prevent SOU from having to make more difficult cuts. I would much rather team up with all of you to chart our own path forward.
By making changes on our own terms now, we can more quickly achieve financial sustainability and regain the ability to invest in opportunities to modernize our program portfolio, create exciting new research partnerships and hold ourselves accountable to every promise we make to our students.
Our strategic plan clarifies our aspirations for the future. Our strategic imperatives include:
- Developing and protecting clear pathways for every learner: PSU is a torch bearer for the brighter futures our students aspire to.
- Leading our region in supporting the success of historically underrepresented students and engineering the end to equity gaps.
- Becoming an employer of choice. Making sure that even more of us can say we truly love our jobs because we are respected and empowered at work and engage in a culture of continuous improvement that prevails in every corner of our operations.
- And, yes, we will continue to be the most vital corner of downtown Portland that is a beacon for what’s possible when it comes to education, innovation, and the arts. As we have said so many times before Portland State and Portland must rise together — our enrollment is directly impacted by the reputation of the city.
So our Future in Focus is clear, but we know that we can not cut our way to a position of strength and a thriving future.
We are building a high-functioning academic engine and we must execute on a plan for stabilizing and growing our student population.
That plan has four pillars that we are already operationalizing and will continue to pursue.
Those pillars include:
No. 1: We must retain our students and make good on our commitment to their success.
As our Student Success team knows well: rebuilding trust with our students is the back-to-basics, step-number-one of student retention.
While retaining students until they are able to graduate successfully is also vital for our financial health, this isn’t just about the tuition dollars — it's about the integrity of our promise. When a student chooses a PSU classroom, they are betting their future on us.
Our growth comes from our commitment to ensuring that every student who enrolls in our classes develops a clear plan for and actually reaches the finish line of a degree. Student success is our primary growth strategy because it is our primary moral obligation.
We have been working hard on ways we can better shepherd our students including our engagement with the National Institute of Student Success, whose recommendations we aim to implement.
Our Second Growth Pillar is a sustained focus on strengthening the transfer pipeline and improving the transfer experience.
As the pinnacle for our regional higher education ecosystem, we must ensure that PSU is a welcoming place for transfer students who want to achieve a four-year degree.
Transfer students are an important and vibrant part of our student population. Their stories are inspiring. Jamie Dunphy, our current Portland City Council president, started at PSU as a PCC transfer student. He majored in political science and was focused on how he could use what he was learning to make a positive impact on the world.
Transfer students see PSU as their ticket to opportunity and PSU must deliver on that promise.
More than half of our new students are transferring into PSU with some college credit. Without the proper support the process can be frustrating.
We must go beyond just cooperating with community colleges to build a seamless gateway for the most diverse, driven learners in Oregon. By perfecting the transfer experience, we ensure that PSU is the destination for the region's untapped talent.
We aren't just a university, we are the engine of Oregon’s democratic promise.
Our 3rd growth pillar reflects our intention to create a culture of ongoing program portfolio analysis that enables the investment in high-growth undergraduate and graduate programs.
Through the PIVOT process, we have been doing the hard work of aligning our programs with student needs.
This type of internal review, data-informed assessment and collaborative planning must not be a one-time event. Instead, I will work with our leaders to ensure that we create a culture of continuous improvement at PSU.
We should feel proud of the programs we offer and the way that we operate.
In addition, we should model an ability to adapt and change for our students whose future success very much depends on their capacity for resilience.
A practice of ongoing program analysis isn't about chasing trends, it’s about intellectual agility.
In order to Let Knowledge Serve, that knowledge must be alive and responsive. We are creating a culture where we can be agile in our disciplines, always ready to answer new questions our students are asking, and seek out the new challenges our researchers are solving.
Our Fourth Growth Strategy Pillar is Strengthening our civic partnerships. Such partnerships result in:
- greater opportunities for students.
- regional vitality.
- public impact research opportunities.
- elevated brand visibility and reputation.
The validation of Oregon’s Legislature last year voting to officially designate Portland State as Oregon’s Urban Research University may have been largely symbolic, but it is our north star when it comes to thinking about our partnerships and our impact.
It is also our advantage.
Civic partnerships are what distinguish us as an urban research university. It doesn’t mean we solve every problem in Portland, but it does mean our research has a front-row seat to the most complex urban challenges of the 21st century.
Our partnerships ensure that what we do has the PUBLIC IMPACT that makes a PSU degree — and our faculty research — globally significant.
Here are just a few examples among the dozens I could point to:
- Portland’s downtown was designed by PSU-educated Urban Planners and every mode of transportation in the city is influenced by our transportation research.
- Our Environmental Scientists are engaged in watershed and microplastics research across the region.
- Our Civil Engineers are working on earthquake resilience with local jurisdictions.
Behind every one of these examples are dozens of hard-working faculty and engaged students. The impact of their work is globally applicable and will create important opportunities for the next project and the next generation.
We know from the way that our enrollment challenges have reflected downtown Portland’s own challenges that PSU and Portland rise and fall together.
It’s true that PSU is the laboratory for Portland’s recovery — If the city is to rise, it will be because of the engineers, artists, and social workers in this room.
But the reverse is also true: the city is PSU’s laboratory.
We tell our story through the impact of our work.
We grow by communicating our value proposition — and again, building trust with our students by delivering on the promises we make to them.
PSU has historically underinvested in marketing, we spend about a third of what other universities of our size spend on recruitment and brand building. We must find a way to invest in making sure our region understands the value of PSU.
I remain a fervent believer in the promise of PSU — I hope that all of you do so as well.
PSU leads the Northwest in the social mobility we offer our students. We change lives.
And we serve the most diverse student population in Oregon.
That diversity is our STRENGTH, pure and simple. It adds richness to our campus life and depth to our classrooms and labs and it is incumbent upon us to ensure that all of our students can thrive at PSU.
In addition to building trust with our students, I understand that it’s also imperative that I build trust with all of you.
The best way I know how to do that is being in front of you, sharing what I know, and being transparent about why we’re doing what we’re doing.
That’s why I want to share with you my vision for how to position PSU to confidently emerge from this transitional period with a new structure that will reduce administrative overhead while better positioning the university to serve our city, our region and the world through teaching and research.
After consultation with our deans and as part of the many conversations that we’ve had through the PIVOT process, I am working to pursue a future state of PSU that would have six degree-granting colleges instead of eight.
Now there is still a long road yet for any of this to take place, including a process for approval with our Faculty Senate, but let me share a vision for what it could look like.
This is not just about rearranging for efficiency — this is about a new architecture for impact.
First, we would create a powerhouse for applied sciences by migrating natural sciences and math programs to what is now the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Under a new banner, that college would focus on applied sciences and research that focuses on the urgent urban issues of our time, including the development of resilient infrastructure, smarter grids, cleaner energy, better transportation and finding new frontiers in bioengineering and the life sciences.
Similarly, a new college encompassing education and human development would focus on the life course of children and families, studying and supporting human flourishing from early childhood through adulthood. Encompassing the College of Education, the School of Social Work and Speech and Hearing, this collection of programs and the practitioners it educates would be a center of service for our region’s families.
A new college focused on social sciences and humanities would break down the silos between the humanities and social policy — because you cannot solve urban problems with data alone, you need the context of history and culture.
This new model will create synergies across the social sciences and humanities and integrate many of the research and service centers currently in CUPA with important social sciences research currently housed in CLAS, creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary research and teaching across cultural and scientific perspectives.
These three new colleges would join our successful School of Business, our unique School of Public Health and our dynamic College of the Arts in granting degrees, teaching our students and energizing our research portfolio.
The School of Business exemplifies the advantages of learning in our urban community, with close links to employers, and dedicated career services.
The OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, which celebrates its 10th birthday this year, is a pioneering partnership with Oregon’s medical school and serves our students and the community with deep partnerships.
And our College of the Arts is one of the cornerstones of Portland’s arts economy — an important growth strategy as we bring back Portland’s vibrancy through visionary projects including our Performing Arts and Culture Center partnership with the city.
I would be remiss to not also mention our Honors College. While not a degree-granting college, Honors is an exciting source of potential growth for PSU and makes us a destination university for students seeking an intensely intellectual educational experience. Our Honors students are engaged in important research, studying on multiple continents and producing a thesis their senior year. It’s another exciting direction for growth at Portland State.
Again, there are many conversations and processes that would need to play out before any restructuring of our schools and colleges would take place.
But I believe that in order to be competitive, we must double down on where PSU is most successful and continue to innovate — filling talent pipelines, making good on our commitments to students and community partners, and building on our legacy of Letting Knowledge Serve.
These are challenging times, but I remain fervently optimistic about the future of Portland State, that’s because I know the talent and perseverance that is sitting in this room right now. I believe we can work together to create a stronger PSU.
We are at a crossroads, yes. But we are the ones holding the map. We are choosing a harder path now so that the students of tomorrow have a clearer one. We are protecting our institutional autonomy because we are the experts in letting knowledge serve the city of Portland, Oregon.
I hope what I have shared has been helpful in understanding what direction I see us heading.
I would like to refine our map with your input and I welcome your questions.