Former Portland State University president Daniel Bernstine has died. He was 69.
Bernstine was PSU’s first and only African-American president, serving during a time of rapid change at the university, and in Portland, from 1997 to 2007.
He was an understated president, but as an enthusiastic believer in the university’s role in Portland, Bernstine gave PSU a big push on its expansion path.
Bernstine oversaw PSU’s growth to the largest university in Oregon, with the addition of student housing and other building improvements to the downtown campus.
PSU doesn't have the kinds of wealthy benefactors that the University of Oregon has, with famous alumni like Nike founder Phil Knight.
At the dedication of the Fariborz Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science building in 2006, Bernstine noted PSU's approach to seek the support of donors, government agencies and non-profits, to make improvements.
Related: PSU President Wim Wiewel Announces Retirement
"[The dedication] affirms the way PSU gets things done: by working with the community, by building coalitions of support, and by always pursuing our hopes and dreams," Bernstine said. "This building happens because thousands of people said it would.”
Bernstine left PSU in 2007, to become the president of the Law School Admission Council based in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
Bernstine was succeeded by Wim Wiewel at PSU. Wiewel is retiring in June 2017, after 10 years as president. PSU named a presidential search committee earlier this month — the first step in finding Wiewel's replacement.
