News

Gov. Barbara Roberts recently agreed to give her large collection of personal papers to the PSU Library. The collection spans her more than three decades of service to Oregon including news clippings, photos, campaign material and all her speeches. The collection will be held in the special collections section of the PSU Library. Librarians and archivists are currently organizing the material for public viewing late next year.

As a pioneering advocate for children with disabilities, a diligent and respected member of the Multnomah County Commission, Parkrose School Board and the Oregon Legislature, and as Secretary of State and Oregon's first woman governor, Robert's papers will be valuable to scholars, Oregon residents, and a major addition to the Portland State University archives and collections.

"We are honored and very pleased to receive this valuable historical record from Governor Roberts-a respected political leader, a trailblazer for women and an advocate for the underserved," said University Librarian Helen H. Spalding.

Roberts began her career in public service as an advocate for children with disabilities in 1969. Over the next two decades she served on various boards, including Mt. Hood Community College and the Multnomah County Commission before her 1980 election to the Oregon House of Representatives. During her second term, she became Oregon's first woman House Majority Leader. In 1984 she was elected Secretary of State and reelected in 1988. Roberts became Oregon's first woman governor in 1991, one of the first ten women governors in the United States, and completed her term in 1995. From 1995-1998, she was the director of Executive Programs for State and Local Government Leaders at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. In 1998 she joined PSU's Mark O. Hatfield School of Government's Executive Leadership Institute as Associate Director of Leadership Development.

PSU Library
PSU Library supports the information, research, teaching and learning needs for over 25,000 students at Portland State University and 1,800 faculty members, covering over 125 undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees as well as graduate certificates and continuing education programs. The PSU Library has over 1.3 million volumes, and subscribes to more than 8,000 journals and 6,000 electronic journals, and serves as a major research resource to the region. In addition, PSU's Library is the regional depository for U.S. Government Information and is a member of the Orbis/Cascade Alliance library consortium.

# # #

For Immediate Release (#05-152)

Source:Charles Johnson (503-725-8918)
Development Director, PSU Library