Oregon Health and Science University
Oregon Health and Science University is the present-day (2003) name for a university that can trace its roots back to the 1860s. Its primary campus, Marquam Hill in southwest
Portland, was established in 1917 by the donation of 20 acres from the Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company and 88 acres from the family that owned the now-defunct Oregon Journal. In 1974, the
University of Oregon Health Sciences Center was formed, which combined
dentistry,
medicine and
nursing programs into a single center. This center was renamed Oregon Health Science
s University in 1981.
In the 80s and 90s, with support from Oregon's Senator Mark Hatfield, the university grew significantly. Research centers were founded to focus on the following areas:
- Biomedical research
- Ethics in health care
- Rural health
- Radiology
- Eye care
- Occupational and Environmental Toxicology
The university grew in other ways as well. In 1992, the longest suspended pedestrian skybridge in North America, with a length of 660 feet, opened on the Marquam Hill campus, connecting OHSU and the Veteran's Affairs Medical Center. About the same time the university opened a number of outpatient primary care facilities, first on campus (the Physician's Pavilion) and then in clinics throughout the
Portland metropolitan area.
In 1998, the university dedicated the Mark Hatfield Research Center. It also assumed control of an affiliated primate research center now known as the Oregon National Primate Research Center, located in Washington County.
In 2001, OSHU is renamed Oregon Health and Science University as part of a merger it undertook with the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology in Washington County.
With the Marquam Hill (nicknamed Pill Hill) campus running out of room for expansion, beginning in 2003 OHSU announced plans to expand into the North Macadam district of Portland, an urban renewal district lying east of the Marquam Hill site, south of the city center, and along the Willamette River. A new aerial tramway has been planned to connect the two campuses, which has the support of the city government, but has been opposed by local residents.