Maseeh College History

1946

The passage of the GI Bill in 1946 presented the opportunity for thousands in the Portland-area to enroll as first-time students. With few local options, the Vanport Extension Center opened its doors that summer with engineering as one of the most in demand disciplines.

1948

The 1948 flood reduced the Vanport Extension Center to rubble. After temporarily moving to a shipyard, PSU moved to downtown Portland, and the applied science programs (engineering) setup shop in an abandoned grocery store at SW 6th and Mill.

1949

Dubbed "The College That Would Not Die," the school is reimagined as the Portland State Extension Center and temporarilty reloacted to the shipyards on Swan Island.

1952

After extensive repairs following its purchase in 1949, the former Lincoln High building on the Park Blocks iss rechristened Old Main in 1952 and became the permanent home of the college.

1955

PSU is finally accredited as a full university, and students and faculty celebrated with a parade from Old Main through downtown Portland and back. Until that time, Portland was the largest metropolitan area in the United States without a public four-year college.

1960

Under Dr. Harry J. White, an esteemed atmospheric scientist, the programs became their own entity, the Department of Applied Science and offer B.S. degrees in Applied Science with civil-structural, electrical-electronics and mechanical emphasis.

1973

After more than 15 years of lobbying the state, the Department of Applied Science in the College of Science became the Department of Applied Science and Engineering. In 1974, the name was changed to Engineering and Applied Science during Fred Young's first term as head of the Department.

1976

The Structural Engineering program is accredited by the Engineers' Council for Professional Development (EPCD), the predecessor to ABET, and becomes PSU's first accredited engineering program.

1982

Dr. H. Chik M. Erzurumlu, a long-time PSU faculty member, becomes the founding Dean, and the school earns accreditation for Mechanical Engineering (1982), Civil Engineering (1982), Electrical Engineering (1983), and Computer Engineering (1983).

Computer science students in a lab the 1980s.

1984

A Ph.D. program in Electrical and Computer Engineering was approved, marking the first doctoral degree in an engineering discipline offered at PSU.

1985

The School of Engineering partnered with the Portland Public School District to develop Portland MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement), a STEM outreach program aimed at preparing more women and students of color for technical fields. The program continues as Oregon MESA today.

1988

Computer Science was transferred to the School of Engineering and Applied Science from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

1995

Dr. Robert Dryden was appointed dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science and embarked on a mission to refine, reshape, and expand its role as the region’s engineering research hub.

2004

The College received an $8 million private donation from alumnus Dr. Fariborz Maseeh. At the time, this was the largest private gift in the history of Portland State University. In recognition of this gift, the school was renamed the Fariborz Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science.

exterior of the Engineering Building at Portland State University

2006

The 130,000 square-foot Engineering Building, part of the Northwest Center for Engineering, Science and Technology and home to Maseeh College officially opened.

The Dryden Drop Tower, a five-story lab facility in the building's atrium, was named in honor of the contributions Dr. Dryden made to the college.

2008

New Maseeh College Dean Dr. Renjeng Su sparks a culture of innovation that encouraged student experimentation and collaboration while providing opportunities for individuals to develop new ideas from proposal to prototype using College resources.

2018

Under Dean Dr. Richard Corsi’s leadership, the Maseeh College developed a detailed strategic vision, increased faculty hires, and grew sponsored research to advance the college’s priorities.

2022

Dr. Joseph Bull, the first Native American dean of engineering in the country, is appointed Dean of the Maseeh College. In addition to tansforming PSU into a hub for indigenous and BIPOC STEM studies, he begins a legacy determined to make Maseeh a place of opportunity, inclusion, and excellence.