The Community: The Portland metropolitan area, with a population of approximately 1.65 million in 1994, is the largest urban center in Oregon and is located in one of the most attractive geographic regions in the country. The area offers a wide variety of cultural and professional opportunities, and is home to more than two dozen institutions providing a variety of postsecondary educational opportunities.

The University: Portland State University has its roots in the Vanport Extension Center established in Portland in 1946. It moved to its present downtown location on the South Park Blocks in 1952, and achieved four-year independent status in 1955 as "Portland State College". With the authorization to grant doctoral degrees, the institution achieved full university status, and the name was changed to "Portland State University" in 1969.

Portland State University is administered by the State Board of Higher Education through the Chancellor's Office, as are the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, three regional institutions (Eastern Oregon State College, Southern Oregon State College, and Western Oregon State College), and two specialized institutions (Oregon Institute of Technology and the Oregon Health Sciences University). In Fall 1994, Portland State University enrolled 14,426 students. Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment increased 4.4% from 9,451 in Fall 1993 to 9,868 in Fall 1994. Approximately 60% of Fall 1994 students were admitted undergraduates in traditional bachelor's degree programs, 6% were post-baccalaureate students (students with a baccalaureate degree working toward a certificate or second baccalaureate degree), 20% were admitted graduate students and the remaining 14% attended as non-admitted part-time students. The University's enrollment reflected its urban location; although individuals were enrolled from almost every state in the union and from 80 foreign countries, most students (76%) came from the six-county (Clackamas, Columbia, Marion, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill) metropolitan area. An additional 1,392 students were enrolled Fall Term 1994 in credit-bearing courses offered through PSU's School of Extended Studies.

The major academic units of the University are the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Schools of Business Administration, Education, Engineering and Applied Science, Fine and Performing Arts, Urban and Public Affairs; and the Graduate School of Social Work. From the beginning, the University has encouraged innovative curricula at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Revised General Education requirements, including interdisciplinary Freshman Inquiry courses, were implemented in Fall 1994. In response to public interest and needs, interdisciplinary doctoral programs were established in Urban Studies (1969), Environmental Sciences and Resources (1970) and Systems Science (1970). Doctoral programs have since been approved in Electrical and Computer Engineering (1984), Educational Leadership (1985), Social Work and Social Research (1989) and Public Administration and Policy (1989).

The University has created a number of special centers and institutes appropriate to its urban setting. These include the Center for Black Studies, the Center for Population Research and Census, the Center for Public Health Studies, the Center for Science Education, the Center for Software Quality Research, the Center for Urban Studies, the Institute for Portland Metropolitan Studies, the Institute on Aging, the Middle East Studies Center, the North Pacific Applied Research Center, the Portland Educational Network, the Regional Research Institute for Human Services, and the Transportation Studies Center.

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