In the Fall Term of 2023, the Maseeh College successfully launched its FUTURES initiative. Under the stewardship of the new Assistant Dean of Inclusive Innovation, Dr. Tong Zhang, this multi-phase initiative recognizes the overriding importance of relationships in supporting student success. FUTURES’ ecosystem approach includes developing cohort programming, fostering community building activities, and cultivating mentoring relationships between students and career professionals. As Zhang notes, "the FUTURES Initiative develops programming from an asset-based framework, recognizing the inherent assets that the diverse student body of the Maseeh College brings to our university and community. We know these same students will also bring innovation to the technology fields."
The FUTURES Initiative develops programming from an asset-based framework, recognizing the inherent assets that the diverse student body of the Maseeh College brings to our university and community. We know these same students will also bring innovation to the technology fields.
The first programs launched as part of the FUTURES initiative include SPARK and ACCELERATE. SPARK is a cohort program for new students in the Maseeh college, and ten students joined us this Fall. SPARK students are new freshmen, transfer students, or even students transferring from other majors at Portland State University (PSU). As a group, they have the opportunity to learn about the core aspects of building their portfolios as they start their professional journeys and interact with amazing people around Maseeh, such as Dean Joe Bull, Senior Lecturer Mike Wilson, and Professor Raúl Caul in casual, more intimate environments. This pivotal process of building relationships and connections in the university and local communities supports students’ potential as future engineering and computer science leaders.
ACCELERATE focuses on students further along with academic journeys. A program launched in partnership between Maseeh College and PDX Women in Tech (PDXWIT), a Portland-based non profit, ACCELERATE matches ten upper division and masters students from the Computer Science Department with industry professionals who coach them through career transitions. Each student receives one-on-one mentoring, focusing on resume building, interviewing skills, and securing jobs after graduation. Both of these programs will expand in the 2024-25 school year by adding more students and more programming.
Designed to meet student needs everywhere along the educational continuum, FUTURES cultivates diverse leaders in the PSU community, from pre-college to doctoral levels. Through the support of The Spirit Mountain Community Fund and others, Maseeh College will be able to restart its CyberPDX program in 2024. This program provides a residential STEAM summer camp for Native and Indigenous high school students. Maseeh College’s FUTURES Initiative was fundamental to helping PSU secure a competitive grant from the Sloan Foundation to create systemic change in doctoral education. The Sloan Centers for Systemic Change will help PSU recruit and retain Black, Indigenous, and Latino doctoral students. PSU was one of only 10 institutions, and the lone R2 institution, to be funded. This seed grant will be the foundation for an implementation grant that would support continued systemic change work while also investing in individual scholarships for eligible students. This program focuses on all five of Maseeh’s departments and five physical science departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS).
FUTURES will empower students from all backgrounds, providing the tools and experiences that will allow them to become resilient, equitable, and sustainable leaders who will shape the future of engineering and beyond. Visit pdx.edu/maseeh/futures to learn more or contact Tong Zhang, if you are interested in getting involved.