Portland State University Presidential appointment speech
PSU Board of Trustees Meeting, March 10, 2023, 10 am
Thank you, Vice Chairman Berry, and good morning everyone.
I am thrilled, honored, and humbled to be selected as the 11th President of Portland State University. To say this is a dream come true is to understate both my excitement and my hope for our collective future.
I want to start by acknowledging and thanking the Board of Trustees, especially Board Chair Greg Hinckley, with whom I have had a number of enlightening and encouraging conversations, and Vice Chair Ben Berry, who also chaired the search committee. I also want to single out Trustee Judith Ramaley, who was, coincidentally, my first Provost as I began my academic career at Kansas; it is a joy and a privilege to reconnect with and now be a successor to such a transformative president in PSU’s history. I thank all the Board members for placing their trust in me with this appointment. Similarly, I want to thank the search committee, for their up vote and the engaged, informative, open and transparent process they led. Through their efforts to introduce me to all constituents of the PSU community, I hope and believe that we can begin our collective work with a true spirit of trust and openness.
I also want to thank especially University General Counsel Cindy Starke, Clair Pinkerton from the Office of Legal Counsel and Assistant Board Secretary Caitlyn Phipps for making sure that all the backend negotiations, travel planning, visit logistics, and communications have gone smoothly.
I am grateful for the many mentors and colleagues who have supported me as I take this step away from Pitt, especially my team and colleagues in the Office of the Provost, my Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, and Pitt Board Chair Doug Browning.
Finally, I want to acknowledge and introduce you to my friends and family who have joined us here for this announcement. Bridget Burns, Executive Director of the University Innovation Alliance and longtime Portland resident, and Aaron Rasmussen, founder of Masterclass and Outier.org, and a native Oregonian. A few members of my beloved family are here, my son Alex Becker and his partner Sao Bac came in from Seattle, and my life partner, Neal Becker traveled with me from Pittsburgh.
So, what are we going to do together? We are going to continue and build on the legacy of Portland State as a producer of knowledge that serves the beautiful, progressive, creative city of Portland and through it, the state, the nation and the world. We are going to continue to open doors of opportunity for students from all backgrounds, ensuring that all of them feel a sense of belonging on this diverse, inclusive, and equitable campus, so that they can access a great education, bring their talents and ideas to the classroom, labs, and studios, and achieve the skills, knowledge, and credentials that enable them and their families to thrive. We are going to continue to stitch ourselves into the fabric of the Portland community, through our community engaged research, service learning and internships with local business and nonprofits, and through deep, thoughtful, and mutually beneficial partnership with city government.
I am joining PSU at a critical time in our history. We are just emerging from a once in a century global pandemic that coincided with a national reckoning with racial injustice against a background of extremist political divisions. Locally, as you know better than I, Portland was impacted by these latter conditions more deeply than most cities, and at the same time grapples, along with other west coast cities, with how to serve and protect a large population of unsheltered persons. Our campus has been significantly impacted by these problems, and even more so, our students, many of whom struggle with economic challenges and the legacy of oppression and injustice, but who bring great strength, courage, and resilience to the table. Finally, PSU’s enrollments have declined over the past decade, and markedly since the pandemic, to a point where we are no longer able to sustain many of the creative and innovative programs that have made our institution a national model for urban education and research. But Portland is a great city and Portland State University shines a strong beacon. I firmly believe that we can overcome these challenges, and together ignite a renaissance for Portland and Portland State. Indeed, I believe it so strongly that I am betting my future on it. I commit to you that I will stoke this flame with all the energy I have.
I believe that our first efforts, which we must begin putting in motion, must be to fully re-inhabit our campus and its classrooms, drawing on our enthusiasm for being together in person and the flexibility and cooperative spirit of our students, faculty, and staff. I cannot overstate the joy, hope, pride and energy that comes from a fully re-engaged campus with its start of semester rituals and chance encounters with new and old friends. I want that for PSU and Portland and I know we can do it.
We must do this and other great things collectively. Over the next months, as I complete my work at Pitt and make my transition to Portland, with the help of our amazing PSU staff, I will be meeting with as many administrative, faculty, staff, and student leaders at PSU as I can, as well as select external partners. In the fall we will be ready to start a broadly consultative and comprehensive strategic planning process that will result in a plan to guide us into the future. I am eager to learn about your aspirations and aggravations and share with you the strengths and opportunities that I see from the perspective of a charmed and curious outsider, which we can build on to bring more talent and energy to our campus.
I won’t prejudge the outcome of this process, but I know that we have so much to build on: a great arts and literary scene supported by a College of the Arts and vibrant humanities departments, impressive new buildings and ongoing capital projects that have benefitted from the creativity of diverse student participation and the shared purpose of community partners, one of only two state universities in Oregon with an Engineering school and the only one located in an urban environment, a leading College of Urban and Public Affairs in a city that is reinventing its governance structure. These and many more unique, differentiating features of PSU will form the foundation for the future.
I have a lot to learn about Portland State and Portland, Oregon, and believe me when I say that learning is what I love doing most — together, with diverse and talented colleagues and partners, who can critically challenge, refine, and then promote a collective vision for a bright future for Portland State, the city and state we serve, and the nation. I ask for your active, critical participation in the days ahead to bring about the future we seek, to be the change that we are looking for. In doing so, Portland State will once again be a model of innovation, creativity, sustainability, and progress for higher education in America.
Thank you for being here today and for placing your confidence and trust in me.