Greetings. As students return to campus and campus activities increase, I look forward to welcoming you all to the start of the 2022-23 academic year at Portland State.
I share the excitement I have heard from so many of you about seeing students in person in larger numbers. While the pandemic continues to shape our behaviors and inform our campus-wide health decisions, PSU has moved out of the phase of constantly reacting to the pandemic to a place where we are developing robust policies that support students and employees in more flexible working and learning environments. I believe that we have learned a great deal in the past two years, and I remain in awe of the work that all of you have done, not only to adapt to the circumstances created by the pandemic but to use those circumstances as an opportunity to think differently about our day-to-day working and learning environments. In recognition of that increased flexibility, I share several resources that may be of value to you. Academic Affairs Covid-19 Teaching Resources webpage has been updated for fall term, and still includes links to university resource webpages, information to support classroom instruction, and an updated syllabus statement. The webpage also contains an Academic Affairs Principles for Staff Remote Work memo that was updated for fall term, but the principles for staff remote work remain the same. I will share additional campus information in the next Provost Newsletter, scheduled for the first week of October.
I look forward to continuing our efforts to enact our university commitments to racial equity and justice. Like last year, this year's entering first-year class is the most diverse in PSU’s history, with nearly 60% of first-year students identifying as diverse. PSU was also recently recognized as an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution. These changing demographics underscore our need to prioritize our ongoing efforts to ensure that we address equity gaps in our students’ experiences. I am extremely pleased to share that, over the summer, PSU was invited to participate in the Student Success Equity Intensive, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and managed by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. With our cohort institutions, the project is committed to improving equitable student success for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and low-income students. Under the leadership of Erica Wagner, Vice Provost for Student Success, and Lindsay Romasanta, Assistant Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion, this work will engage folks across campus in tackling equity gaps in student success.
I honor and am committed to actively supporting the leadership of Vice President Ame Lambert as we work to implement the Time to Act: Plan for Equity and Racial Justice. This expansive plan asks all members of the PSU community to identify our roles in impeding or advancing racial justice and equity. I also want to highlight the important work that took place this summer in the inaugural Race and Ethnic Studies requirement faculty training workshop. I thank all of the faculty who designed and led that workshop, as well as those who participated in it. All of these activities are the kind of work that will enable PSU to enact our commitments and provide models for other institutions to support racial equity as a fundamental component of student success.
This year remains one of challenges as well. As a key part of the city of Portland’s efforts to enact our commitments to communities, PSU will continue our efforts to address challenges in place-making. We will also continue our ongoing efforts to achieve financial sustainability. With lower-than-expected enrollments this year, PSU continues to face challenges in what it means to be an institution that has 20% fewer students than ten years ago. As we adapt our resources to a smaller student population, we are committed to remaining innovative and transparent in engaging our campus community in the changes that result.
I look forward to being in touch with all of you in the days and weeks to come.
Best,
Susan Jeffords,
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs
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