Excerpts from Sam's speech to the PSU Ferdinand Society

By Jane Ames

PSU is a real-world university; it really reflects Portland and truly serves the city. I’m a good example. My background:
I lived on my own in high school, and paid my own way through my first round of college. I quit college when I got a job with now Congressman Peter DeFazio. I was 38 when I started at back at PSU. I went back to college because I do not like to leave stuff undone.
I also went back to college because PSU made it possible for me to hustle up here from City Hall during the day and after work…
Attending classes for two years at PSU allowed me to finish my degree at the U of O – but I will always be a Viking at heart.

PSU doesn’t have to wow people with statistics on diversity… just walk around the campus.
Nearly everybody is represented.
And because everyone is expected to be here,
everyone is pretty well accepted as belonging here.

According to a Fall 05’ survey on perceptions of PSU, that dedication to diversity is one of the qualities students, faculty, and staff identify as something that sets PSU apart from other institutions.

I am grateful for PSU's mission: "Let Knowledge Serve the City".

The educational opportunities you provide and the academic excellence, including research, that you perform are often where the conversation concludes about how universities serve. But at PSU, another large category of impact exists: public and community service and engagement.

Currently, our economic development plans do not set attainable, measurable goals. Our cities and counties are pulled in different directions and, as a result, we get muddled outcomes. Meanwhile, our cost of living is increasing; our median family income is declining. The economic challenges facing our region are not unique but our lack of urgency to deal with them is unique!

I also think we need to turn PSU’s motto around and
Let the City Serve Knowledge.
I have a responsibility to serve you as a City Commissioner.

I asked Mayor Tom Potter to create the position of Higher Education Advocate and I asked to be appointed to the job. He did and I am.
So, I am responsible to help PSU serve Knowledge to the city through its teaching, research, and civic engagement. I bring passion and ideas to this new role:
I plan to launch a Knowledge City Strategy:

1. “Knowledge Cities” are characterized by a significant investment of community resources in research, education and training. (We clearly have to work on this. Sunday, Feb. 12th’s Oregonian article on "Two States, Two Directions" pointed out the dismal Oregon Higher Ed spending level of $613 million, compared to Washington’s $1.53 Billion.) And our current K-12 funding crisis reflects our long standing battles over school funding.

2. Knowledge Cities engage in knowledge-driven community development: development that provides both direct and indirect benefits to individuals, communities and institutions.

3. Knowledge cities rely on a critical skill base in the business and legal sectors;

4. And in research excellence in social and life sciences, as well as technology;

5. They build, and build on an entrepreneurial culture linked to local and global expertise and enterprise;

6. They depend on efficient and accessible infrastructure to facilitate the flow of people, goods and information.

Please click here for the entire text of Sam's speech to the Ferdinand Faculty Club.