Portland State wouldn’t be the same without the PSU Advocates, a network of tireless alumni and supporters who promote the University whenever and wherever they’re needed. Indeed, PSU might not even exist. Here are four times the Advocates came together to shore up PSU against threats both existential and symbolic—and helped the University gain recognition in its own right.
1. Surviving “a big threat”
Pat Squire had just started her new job as executive director of the PSU Alumni Association in 1989 when she found out she had to act fast to protect PSU. A commission on the future of higher education in Portland, appointed by the governor, was considering dividing PSU between the University of Oregon in Eugene and Oregon State University in Corvallis.
In its early years, PSU often took a backseat to UO and OSU, which some considered to be the two premier state universities. But this, Squire said, was “very clearly a big threat.”
“The idea was to divide up the new kid to the more established universities,” she said.
The newly-formed Advocates lobbied hard for more than a year to keep—and strengthen—PSU. New Portland State President Judith Ramaley, inaugurated in 1990, negotiated a compromise that backed PSU as a full urban university and encouraged greater collaboration among all the colleges that serve Portland.
The Advocates were united behind PSU’s new motto—Let Knowledge Serve the City—and ready for the next threat to its existence, which came only five years later.
2. Engineering success
UO and OSU were still eyeing Portland—and PSU—for expansion. In 1995, a proposal again surfaced for UO and OSU to take over PSU. Alumni came out of the woodwork to support the Advocates, who swung into action, pressuring lawmakers for a more-thorough study of higher education issues. After the study, the Chancellor instead recommended merging PSU’s engineering school with OSU and giving some of its graduate business programs to UO.
The Advocates launched letter-writing campaigns, gained editorial support from major newspapers, sponsored ads highlighting outstanding alumni, and won over key decision makers. They also created a fact book to show the University’s importance to the Portland area.
“Our strength was knowing who to reach out to,” said Joan Johnson ’78, a lead volunteer. “We went wherever we could make an impression or had friends. We ran a tough campaign.”
Johnson and other PSU supporters filled the board room in Portland for the final vote. When the vote went in their favor, she “could have screamed,” she said. “If they had split us up [as originally planned], PSU would have been like a community college.”
3. Saving the sign
Every time you see the iconic “Portland, Oregon” sign in lights next to the Willamette River, you can thank the Advocates that it doesn’t say “University of Oregon.”
In 2008, UO moved its Portland programs into a historic building in Old Town with the landmark Oregon-shaped sign on top. UO wanted to put its own name on the sign, but some Portland residents thought it was a step too far for the Eugene-based university.
The Advocates didn’t want to start a turf war between PSU and UO, so they worked as individuals to “Save the Sign.” They met with city leaders, testified at meetings, and spread the message to 30,000 supporters on Facebook.
“When it got on Facebook, that was a godsend,” Johnson said. “Suddenly we had all this backing.”
The city settled on a compromise, “Portland, Oregon,” as the message to light the way across the river into downtown.
4. Funding the future
The Advocates have been behind all of PSU’s legislative victories for the past three decades. They helped keep tuition as low as possible, protect grants for low-income students, and transform the campus with modern, sustainable buildings. They helped win funding for the Urban Center Plaza, the Campus Rec Center, Karl Miller Center, Viking Pavilion, Fariborz Maseeh Hall, and the brand new Vanport Building, among others.
The late Debbie Murdock, PSU’s longtime government relations leader, played a big role in the group’s successful strategy until she died of cancer in 2007.
Over the years, the Advocates began to work more closely with students, faculty and—despite past rivalries—other Oregon universities to rally together for state support of higher education. That collaboration and support will continue to be important as all the public universities adapt to the challenges of COVID-19, Squire said.
“PSU has gone through some struggles, and we’ve proven we’re resilient by overcoming them,” she said. “It’s not easy, but we can do it again.”
Sign up to become a PSU Advocate at pdx.edu/alumni/advocates or by texting PORTLANDSTATE to 52886.
—SUZANNE PARDINGTON EFFROS