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Portland State University President Wim Wiewel shown in February 2012.
(The Oregonian/File)
Update: Wiewel announces surprise resignation as PSU president
Portland State University said Wednesday that its president of eight years, Wim Wiewel, will retire after the next school year ends.
In an announcement sent to students and staff, the 66-year-old said that he wanted "time to pursue other interests." He plans to take a sabbatical, then return as a part-time professor at the Portland State's College of Urban and Public Affairs.
Peter Nickerson, chair of the PSU Board of Trustees, said the school would hire a firm to conduct a national search for Wiewel's replacement. Nickerson said the board would aim to have a new president in place within a year.
During Wiewel's tenure, the school has grown from 24,000 students to 29,000, and the number of annual undergraduate degrees awarded grew 20 percent, to 5,800.
The school has also grown its campus. Nine new buildings were constructed or planned under Wiewel's oversight.
In recent months, Wiewel promoted a new payroll tax that would generate $40 million a year for the school.
It abandoned the measure in May, however, amid opposition from business leaders. Instead, Wiewel said he would co-chair a new coalition with members of the business community to find a solution that would bring in at least $25 million a year by 2019.
Wiewel arrived at Portland State after serving as provost at the University of Baltimore. Before that, he worked for 25 years at the University of Illinois at Chicago, most recently as as dean of the College of Business Administration.
-- The Oregonian/OregonLive