OCTOBER 2008: AROUND THE STATE
PSU GETS RECORD GRANT
PORTLAND The
James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation in September
awarded a $25 million challenge grant to Portland State
University, the largest in the university’s history, and
the largest ever awarded by the foundation.
But that wasn’t the only milestone for the foundation.
The grant is meant to boost economic development for the
greater Portland area as much as it will boost education at
PSU.
“We are certainly interested in PSU and education as
such,” says Charles Rooks, the foundation’s interim
executive director. “But the overarching purpose of the
grant was to benefit the development of a higher quality of
living and a higher economic standard [for
Portland.]”
Rooks says the grant came from the evolution of the
foundation, whose core mission is to support the arts and
education, to be more proactive. “This grant was an
opportunity to make an education grant with a larger
impact,” he says.
The grant requires that PSU raise at least an additional $25
million over the next 10 years, and the money must be used
exclusively for sustainability research and education. PSU
President Wim Wiewell believes this is the largest grant to
support sustainability in higher education.
“The more PSU develops expertise and a reputation
nationally and internationally, we think that will help attract
more businesses to cluster close to the university,”
Rooks says. “This grant is not trying to create
some newfangled idea. It is trying to help strengthen and
expand some already excellent
activities.”
ROBIN DOUSSARD
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