News
The Oregon University System has named Michael Reardon as interim president of Portland State University while a national search is conducted for the University’s next president. With an extensive and distinguished career at Portland State covering four decades, Reardon brings a depth of academic experience to this new assignment.
Michael Reardon retired in 1999 after more than 40 years of service to Portland State. He served seven years as provost and vice president and again as interim provost and vice president for the 2004–05 academic year. His career at PSU began in 1964 as a history professor, and later he was the department chair. In 1977, he became the director of the University Honors Program and in 1987 was appointed vice provost of Academic Affairs. Among his many achievements, Reardon was an early pioneer of international advancement and recruitment and still remains instrumental in today’s international recruitment and alumni outreach efforts.
Reardon has been recognized for his teaching and administrative leadership, most recently receiving the Distinguished Faculty Career Award in 2006. He is also the recipient of the George C. Hoffmann Award for Faculty Excellence and the Mosser Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Nationally, he received a PEW Leadership Award for Transformation of Undergraduate Education and a Kellogg Award for Leadership in Institutional Transformation.
The search committee will work with a national search firm to identify a new president as soon as possible in 2008. The committee is chaired by Board member Jim Francesconi and includes the following members of Portland State:
* Scott Dawson, dean, School of Business Administration
* Sandra Freels, professor and chair, Russian Studies
* Rick Hawkins, president, PSU Foundation
* Jun Jiao, professor of Physics
* Debbie Murdock, Government Relations
* Marc Nisenfeld, Science Support Services
* Steve Reder, professor and chair, Applied Linguistics
* Rudy Soto, president, Associated Students of Portland State University
* Angela Wykoff, PSU Alumni Association
Community members serving on the search committee include:
* Norman Daniels, Joe’s (formerly GI Joe’s)
* Preston Pulliams, president, Portland Community College
* Danny Santos, policy advisor, Office of the Governor
* Steve Stadum, chief administrative officer, Oregon Health & Science University
* Charles Wilhoite, commissioner, Portland Development Commission
Representing the OUS President’s Council will be Ed Ray, president, Oregon State University.
For more information about the search committee and its process, contact Diane Saunders, OUS director of Communications, at 503-725-5714. For information about Michael Reardon, contact Joan Barnes, University Communications, at 503-725-3773.
Portland State University
Portland State University serves as a center of opportunity for about 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Located in Portland, Oregon, one of the nation’s most livable cities, the University’s innovative approach to education combines academic rigor in the classroom with field-based experiences through internships and classroom projects with community partners. PSU’s motto, “Let Knowledge Serve the City,” inspires the teaching and research of an accomplished faculty whose work and students span the globe.
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