News

Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education

Connie P. Ozawa

April 19, 2005

Thank you for this opportunity to speak tonight. I am a resident of Lake Oswego and a tenured, Full Professor in the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University, where I have taught since 1994. I also serve on the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) bargaining team and have listened closely to the concerns of my colleagues.

I come here to ask you simply to support adequate funding for higher education. In my ten years at PSU, I have witnessed an impressive student body and have appreciated the deep commitment of faculty and staff to providing high quality education at this public institution.

There are two aspects of “adequate funding” to which I hope you will pay close attention. I mention the first element only very briefly because I am not an expert here. This is the issue of student financial aid. State assistance for students in greatest need is a critical component of a public university, one that my colleagues and I care deeply about and believe will be even more important in the near future than it has been in the past. I urge you to maintain funding for Oregon Opportunity Grants.

The second aspect of “adequate funding for higher ed” I know more intimately. It is funding to address fair compensation for PSU faculty: I will get a bit personal here, but I am confident that my stories are replicated across the PSU campus.

Enrollment Growth = Higher Work Loads

• PSU has been the fastest growing Oregon institution of higher learning. Enrollment grew more than 23% since 2000 and now boasts the highest number of students of any Oregon campus.

• Enrollment at my School of Urban Studies and Planning increased 40% during the preceding three years. Many faculty have experienced a near doubling of the number of students in their classes.

• In my School, three of the four degree programs are at the graduate level. Along with grading more papers, more students translates into a heavier advising load, more master theses to read, and more doctoral exams and dissertations to supervise.

Growth at PSU = Stronger Reputation

• Externally funded research has also increased steadily at PSU. Faculty are publishing in journals, writing books, and presenting their work at national and international conferences. Faculty serve as editors of leading journals in their fields, conduct reviews for the National Science Foundation and other funding agencies, and serve on governing boards of professional organizations.

• In my own Master in Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) program, applications have increased 170% over the past 5 years, from about 100 to 170 applications each year. Significantly, two-thirds of these applications are from out-of-state, reflecting the strong national (and increasingly international) reputation of our program and our faculty. Indeed, high numbers of graduate program applications are a reflection of our success in all areas of the work of the academy.

I know that my program is not unlike other programs at PSU. PSU is an attractive institution for higher education, offering programs that are increasingly competitive on the national market.

However, PSU is on the brink. Faculty are dangerously underpaid.

• PSU faculty salaries are lowest among what are called our “peer” institutions, and 10-20 % lower than the average salaries at comparable universities.

• PSU faculty are paid lowest among the three top Oregon universities.

• The average pay of faculty at PSU, UofO, and OSU has gone down in 1987 dollars 14 out of 15 years between 1987 and 2002.

So what? What is the impact?

• Faculty leave PSU and go to institutions who offer a more just compensation system. My own School lost one faculty about three years ago to an east coast state institution, and nearly lost another junior faculty member last year.

• Many faculty searches FAIL because desirable candidates opt for higher paid positions at other institutions.

• Most critically, long-term faculty committed to PSU are getting worn down. In a survey conducted earlier this year, 78% of faculty say that they are experiencing STRONG to EXTREME stress because of their salary situation.

What can be done?

• Unlike other Oregon state employees, PSU faculty do not have a MERIT or STEP system. There are only two steps in a PSU faculty’s career ladder: promotion from assistant to associate professor, and from associate to full professor. I have climbed those two steps in my first ten years at PSU. For the rest of my working life at PSU, I will have no rewards to work towards.

I urge you to support our public universities with adequate funding: Reinstate the Governor’s budget items for Oregon Opportunity Grants and, most importantly, funds for Recruitment and Retention that can be used to reward university faculty for their hard work and outstanding performance.

Thank you for your time and attention.