Greetings Toulan School friends,
I hope that your summer has been a relaxing and restorative one. There are many things about the quarter system that I find aggravating, but the ability to enjoy the full length of Oregon’s summer before the start of classes at the end of September is definitely not one of them. So while we take in the last of our “bonus summer” (or take a cool USP class exploring Portland!), let’s look back at how last year ended and what we have to look forward to in the academic year to come.
The last academic year was undoubtedly a difficult one around PSU, but it was nice to wrap it up in June with a celebration of our 2026 graduates at the CUPA Commencement ceremony at the Viking Pavilion. Over 90 Toulan School graduates from our Community, Urban Studies and Planning undergraduate major, Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP), and Urban Studies doctoral program took part. A big congratulations to all those who graduated this year - it is a tremendous achievement for which we are quite proud. (You can see photos of the event here.)
The end of the year is also a busy and exciting time when students are wrapping up and defending their dissertations, theses and Planning Workshop projects. This academic year there were three Urban Studies doctoral dissertations defended - the culmination of many years of work for both students and their advisors. And on June 1st a full house of over 160 people watched the 2026 MURP Planning Workshop final presentations. Eight workshop teams presented on five months of work with community-based and public-sector clients in the Portland metro region. Great work, everyone!
And we celebrated the achievements of three Toulan School faculty. Associate Professor Dr. Marisa Zapata was named the 2026 CUPA Researcher of the Year for her impactful work on homelessness in Portland. Associate Professor Dr. Matthew Gebhardt was recognized as the School’s 2026 Outstanding Teacher of the Year, an award selected by Toulan School students. And Dr. Moriah McSharry McGrath received promotion to Teaching Associate Professor, effective this fall. Congratulations!
The new year to come offers some new faces and new challenges. Among the new faces is Dr. Robert Williams, who started July 1 as our new Provost and VP of Academic Affairs and will be tasked with stabilizing enrollment and charting opportunities for future growth. And the Toulan School’s own Professor Jennifer Dill stepped into the role of Interim Vice President of Research on August 1st, bringing her expertise in transportation research to drive PSU’s progress as Oregon’s urban research university.
This coming year will see PSU tackle two major structural changes. The first will be the reorganization of the university from 8 to 6 degree-granting colleges, originally proposed by President Cudd back in March. This process will be led by the Task Force on College Restructuring and Engagement (TFCRE), which will work intensively this Fall to bring a recommendation to the Faculty Senate in the Winter. CUPA is well represented on the Task Force, and I am confident that the College’s values and priorities will be elevated through this process.
The second major change is the implementation of General Education Reform, which was passed by the Faculty Senate in June and will see the replacement of University Studies with a more distributed model based in the academic units. Within the Toulan School we will be working throughout the year to adapt our undergraduate curriculum to this new model so that we can ensure students from around PSU can continue to benefit from the learning opportunities available in our department.
I hope you have a relaxing summer and I look forward to seeing you in September for the start of the new school year!
Sincerely,
Greg Schrock, PhD
Associate Professor and School Director