April 20, 2026

Portland State is hosting the Portland Fire — our city's new WNBA team — this week for their inaugural training camp at Viking Pavilion. PSU, as the Fire's Official Higher Education Partner, is serving as their primary practice site until their permanent training facility opens later this year. Read more about this exciting partnership on PSU News.

PSU President Ann Cudd wrote about the significance of Portland's new WNBA team and other history-making women connected to Portland State in her most recent blog post.

The final Administrative Briefing for the 2025-2026 academic year is this Wednesday, April 22 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in ASRC 515 and online. Topics include updates on financial sustainability initiatives, commencement and upcoming placemaking opportunities at Portland State.

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions and comments ahead of time. If you didn’t get a chance to submit a question or RSVP, you can still attend in person or virtually and participate in the Q&A.

A Zoom link for the briefing will be shared in an email to faculty and staff on Wednesday morning and a recording will be shared in Currently the following Monday.

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) currently offers Foxit PDF Editor licenses to departments as a pass-through cost. In support of PSU’s response to digital accessibility, OIT is offering Foxit PDF Editor to PSU employees at no cost during this one-year pilot program. A PDF editor tool is required to validate and remediate most PDFs for digital accessibility. PSU employees are invited to request a license via the software install form, valid through March 15, 2027.

You are encouraged to learn more about digital accessibility at PSU. Additional tools to support accessibility for instructors are also forthcoming this spring from the Office of Academic Innovation (OAI). For more information, reference the OIT Blog Post: Foxit PDF Editor Pilot for PSU Employees.

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) has awarded Portland State University $1 million to strengthen Oregon’s semiconductor talent pipeline. The funding is part of a broader $8.5 million investment from the state’s Semiconductor Talent Sustaining Fund, aimed at connecting Oregonians to high-wage, high-demand careers in the growing tech sector. Read about how PSU will benefit from the grant on PSU News.

The PSU Alumni Association is hosting the fourth annual Serve the City Day, a family-friendly time to "serve your city" through volunteering and connecting with alumni and the PSU community. The event offers your choice of two volunteer projects followed by a complimentary lunch and volunteer fair.

Welcome to the 3rd Annual Spring into Wellbeing week! From Monday, April 20 - Friday, April 24 the SHAC Mind Spa and Nap Rooms are open for all faculty and staff to use (these are usually student-only spaces). In addition, Campus Rec is opening their facilities to all NON-Member faculty and staff to enjoy a free pass all week. Come relax, unwind and recharge in wellbeing spaces. 

The School of Public Health invites the PSU community to Stats & Stanzas 2026: Living Room, an immersive evening where data-driven research meets the transformative power of creative storytelling. This year’s theme explores the “living room” as a vital space for health, equity and belonging, translating public health statistics into moving poetic performances. Celebrate the human stories at the heart of our shared mission to serve our city and its people.

Friday, April 24
6 - 9 p.m.
Hilton Downtown Portland

Get together with women, non-binary and trans folks for a fun community hour playing a different sport each week! Drop-in to Campus Rec on Wednesdays from 5:15 - 6:15 p.m. and enjoy playing volleyball, basketball and pickleball. Free for Rec Center members; $9 for guests and faculty/staff. This is a nonbinary and trans-inclusive space, everyone is welcome.

Beans to Phin is back to fuel your days with authentic Vietnamese coffee! PSU alum Emily Nguyen is on a mission to bring Vietnamese culture to the community as she works toward opening her own brick-and-mortar café. Enjoy special drinks inspired by her recent trip to Vietnam — each cup crafted with tradition and bold flavors. Don’t miss out on this limited-time experience!

April 22-24, 29-May 1
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Karl Miller Center (KMC) Atrium

PSU faculty, staff and students are invited to take a one-credit, five-week course examining how race, racism and racialization are constructed in relation to U.S. Muslims and Arabs, including Arab Americans and immigrants from Middle Eastern and South Asian communities. It looks at the appearances and broader political and social implications of Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism. The course encourages critical reflection on our own assumptions and how they may inadvertently reinforce the racist rhetoric and policies we seek to dismantle.

Course information: WLL 199/CRN 65212
Tuesdays, 5:30 - 7 p.m. (Online)
April 28 - June 2

Email the Registrar's Office directly at registrar@pdx.edu to add this class. Remember to send the request from your pdx.edu email and include your PSU ID number!

There is still time to register for this Friday’s virtual workshop, “Recognizing Anti-Palestinian Racism and Creating an Environment of Understanding”, designed to help participants identify anti-Palestinian racism and understand how these patterns of exclusion harm the integrity of the entire community. The Institute for the Understanding of Anti-Palestinian Racism (IUAPR) will host the 90-minute, interactive workshop specifically created for PSU faculty and staff. 

Friday, April 24
12 (noon) - 1:30 p.m.

Please take a few minutes to fill out the completely anonymous pre-workshop survey.

Summer term is an excellent time for our students to fast track their way to the finish line or get the credits they need to stay on track. Send students to the Summer at PSU webpage, which has information about financial aid, connecting with their advisors, registration deadlines and the link to the summer class catalog, which was published today.

Spring Career Week starts today and runs through Friday, April 24, with the Spring All Majors & Accounting Fair on April 23. Please share the Career Week events catalog with your students!

The Financial Wellness Center is hosting a financial literacy scavenger hunt for students next week, from April 27 to May 1. Let students know they can drop in to the FWC (FMH L130) to pick up their materials and instructions for play. Students who complete the hunt have the chance to win a $500 scholarship!

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program — one of the world’s most prestigious scholarships — is now open for applications. Please tell graduating seniors, alumni and Masters or PhD students in any field about the Getting Started with Fulbright info session on May 4. Perfect GPA not required — just a clear sense of purpose.

Research Assistant Professor Paul Manson talked with the Oregonian about local elections; Kathleen Conte, assistant professor in the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, shared findings with KGW that examines barriers preventing people experiencing homelessness from finding permanent housing; Professor of History Catherine McNeur discussed laws concerning dogs implemented in 1800’s Manhattan with New York Magazine’s Curbed; and Chris Shortell, professor of political science, spoke with Jefferson Public Radio about efforts to flip Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District.

All week

A Different Kind of Here: A Friendtorship Project

Mapping Familiar Territories, Charting New Paths

Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize Exhibition

Monday, April 20

Biology Seminar Series: The Natural History and Evolution of Trapdoor Spiders and Relatives

Tuesday, April 21

Instructional Accessibility Drop-In Support: Virtual Session

The Black Bag Speaker Series Presents: Pharaohs to Black Cowboys

Japan in Uncharted Demographic Territory: A Presentation by Professor James Raymo, Princeton University

Wednesday, April 22

Reading Community-Engaged Learning (CEL)

Sex, Relationships & Community: A Panel Discussion | Two Spirit & LGBTQ+ Health Seminar Series

Sociohydrology for Water Just Futures: Joint OSU-PSU-USGS Water, People, and Society Seminar

Thursday, April 23

Show & Tell Design Lecture Series Presents Nishat Akhtar

Artist Talk: Tatiana Parcero

Friday, April 24

Music @ Midday: Jazz Area

Instructional Accessibility Drop-In Support: Virtual Session

Saturday, April 25

SAXlandia

PSU Opera Presents: Così fan tutte

Sunday, April 26

PSU Opera Presents: Così fan tutte

Find more events at: PSU Events, OAI Events, Viks Athletics

People
Melissa Haeffner, Andrés Holz

Presented
Kai Hang Cheang, Melissa Haeffner, Gerry Sussman, Nahlee Suvanvej, Lauren Vega O'Neil

Published/Exhibited
Anita Bright, Micki M. Caskey, Melissa Haeffner, Stan Heister, Papireddy Kancharla, Jane Kelly, Jesse Locker, Mary Marshall, Jennifer R. Perlmutter, Andrew Santa Lucia

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CURRENTLY is a weekly newsletter for the employees of Portland State University, published by University Communications. News items, events and accolades should be sent to currently@pdx.edu. Deadline is noon, the Tuesday before publication. See the Currently website for submission guidelines and publication schedule.