Portland State's motto, Let Knowledge Serve the City—Doctrina Urbi Serviat, if you prefer the Latin—emerged in the early 1990s, but this university’s active, sustained, and significant engagement with the city and the region has been core to our identity since the first classes were offered in Vanport.
As it has been, so will it continue to be.
In the pages of this magazine, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Portland’s 1972 Downtown Plan. That plan put in place many of the aspects of downtown that we take for granted, including public gathering spaces and robust transit. It also identified PSU as Portland’s urban university; its partner in workforce development, research, and civic engagement.
In this issue, we also celebrate a 50-year relationship with Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp, a partnership that has allowed more than 5,000 PSU students to harness their energy and training to help facilitate a joyful week in which individuals challenged by disabilities can focus on their abilities in a beautiful mountain setting.
Over the decades, PSU’s commitment to community engagement has continued to grow and strengthen as we collectively face society’s challenges. Whether through an engineering capstone project solving a city transportation issue or internships focused on bringing diverse language skills to public health efforts, PSU continues to partner with our community.
PSU’s well-earned reputation for community engagement was one of the many factors that first drew me to this institution and I am gratified to be able to say that we are continuing to deepen that engagement in new ways.
As part of our Time to Act Plan for Equity and Racial Justice, PSU is actively working with community partners and affinity groups throughout Portland with the goal of co-creating shared agendas with traditionally marginalized communities to develop more prosperity, opportunity, and social mobility for the entirety of our region.
In addition, through the Community Impact Team that is based in my office, we’re reaching out to new and existing partners to find out how we can multiply the effects of our engagement with local governments, community-based organizations, and businesses throughout the region.
We have learned so much in the last few years, as individuals and as a community. There are many new challenges that we are facing that require deep collaboration and collective effort. As we have been from the start, Portland State is ready to engage.
Sincerely,
Stephen Percy
President, Portland State University