December 15, 2025

Monthly updates on Bridge to the Future, 
PSU's plan for financial sustainability

Welcome to the second Bridge Bulletin, part of our effort to keep the campus community informed about our values-aligned effort toward a more vibrant future for Portland State. 

We are a university in transition and there’s no denying we will be making challenging decisions in the weeks ahead as we plan what we want to do in the future, and what we’ll have to stop doing in order to achieve our goals — past decisions may have been right for PSU at the time, but we are responding to a changed landscape. 

All of our processes — including both tracks of PIVOT, the Non-Academic Administrative Review, Operational Excellence and General Education Reform — have their own criteria to support decision making and a collective process for using those criteria to make recommendations to the President. While those recommendations and ultimate decisions will be supported by data, there is no mathematical formula — in the end it will be a judgement call. And while I as the President will own the decisions, I won’t be making them in a vacuum. I’ll be advised by my leadership team and all decisions will be an iterative process, based on evidence put together by people who have been engaged in our process across the campus community. 

I remain optimistic that together we will create a stronger university and I am grateful for the time and effort that so many of you have invested in this process. 

- Ann Cudd, President

Since mid-November, the implementation team has concentrated on aligning Operational Excellence and PIVOT Track 2 to ensure complementary efforts. The team drafted a preliminary set of FAQs to guide units on how these initiatives intersect. In addition, a key focus has been solidifying support for staff, with PSU Center for Executive and Professional Education (CEPE) Change Management workshops now officially scheduled for sessions beginning in January. 

Key Area Updates:

Finance: Business Process Analysis (BPA) for PCards is underway, with invoice analysis scheduled as the next step. Work on implementation of software to support service request and fulfillment management is at an early stage.

Human Resources: The team is engaging in relationship-building meetings with business units and deans while finalizing training for the new leaves process, set to launch in the first quarter.

MarComm: The interim Chief Marketing and Communications Officer continues to work with UCOMM and the Vice President for Public Affairs on the implementation plan, including partnership agreement details, position descriptions, and timelines. 

To learn more about the specific changes in each of the areas, please see the slide deck from October’s Town Hall here: Operational Excellence Townhall 10.22.2025

Next Steps: The team is finalizing the participant list for the CEPE Change Management workshops. Leaders in each of the key areas will continue to meet with various business units to socialize the changes related to Operational Excellence and hear more about the operations in the individual units. The website is also being updated to reflect the current stage in the process and will include more detailed information about each of the three focus areas.

-Andria Johnson, Vice President of Finance and Administration

PIVOT is Academic Affairs' and Research & Graduate Studies' comprehensive assessment of PSU's academic programs and support operations. 
Track 1: Academic Program Optimization

Academic programs have submitted their self-studies and now deans’ offices are engaging with units to develop initial observations about programs. The Provost, Vice Provost for Academic Budget and Planning, and Vice President for Research & Graduate Studies are also reviewing all programs. All of these academic leaders will collaboratively develop preliminary classifications for each program (Grow, Sustain, Revitalize, or Sunset) using the Program Classification Framework, and share classifications with units for clarification and feedback before they are finalized in January. 

Track 2: Assessment of Academic Support Units, Centers/Institutes, and Administrative Structures

To allow adequate time for thorough assessment as the fall term concludes, we've moved the Track 2 self-study deadline to early January 2026. We are continuing to prepare and package data for the draft Unit Vitality Profiles, which will be shared with each unit’s designated points of contact soon. Once self-studies are submitted, a core review team, consisting of representatives from OAA, RGS, and FADM, will synthesize data and responses from the Unit Vitality Profiles, to support the development of preliminary classifications. 

Engagement

Please visit the PIVOT website, where we keep all updates on project progress and engagement efforts. The Office of the Provost also recently shared a guide for Supporting Students Through Change with academic employees to help with responding to students’ questions and concerns.

- Shelly Chabon, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

The Non-Academic Administrative Review (NAAR) has entered the self-study phase. The self-study offers non-academic programs an opportunity to provide qualitative insights and contextual information that complement quantitative data. Together, the qualitative and quantitative data provide Program Vitality Reports (PVRs) that will be used to classify non-academic programs into planning categories that help the administration decide how to adjust the unit’s budget as we work toward closing the structural budget deficit. 

Unit leaders are currently working on their self-studies, to be completed by Dec. 19. Part of the self-study is identification of key internal partners that will receive a questionnaire in January asking for feedback regarding the impact of the services provided by the unit. That feedback will be incorporated in the Program Vitality reports and will influence the recommended classification. In early February, units will develop budget scenarios that describe financial impact as well as impact on target population and institutional risk, mission fulfillment and mitigation strategies. These scenarios will be incorporated into a draft report with recommendations that will be forwarded to the President’s Cabinet by mid-February.

- Sheila Martin, Chief of Staff and Vice President for Public Affairs

These questions were submitted over the last month through the Feedback Form on the Bridge to the Future webpage. In some cases, they have been edited for clarity.

Athletics has historically used both auxiliary and E&G funds. Are there current plans to reduce or phase out Athletics’ reliance on E&G funds as part of addressing the overall E&G deficit?

There aren’t any current plans. Where we can, we plan to offset E&G funding through philanthropic support, ticket revenue, sponsorships and media contracts.

What is the representation of adjunct faculty or members with non-academic experience in budgeting and planning on the Bridge to the Future steering committee? 

The Bridge to the Future Committee includes the University’s Assistant Controller, who has significant budget and planning experience, at PSU, and other colleges and universities, and in the private sector. The steering committee includes a representative from the Faculty Senate Advisory Council. Adjunct faculty have representatives on the Faculty Senate. 

Faculty Senate: Jan. 5 & Feb. 2
Connect with the Provost: Various opportunities
Administrative Briefing: Feb. 11
Budget Forum: Feb. 18 (time TBD)