February 20, 2023

News

Feedback sought for Jason Washington memorial

The Jason Washington Art Committee requests your feedback regarding the installation of a memorial art piece on the PSU campus. Jason Washington was fatally shot by campus police in 2018 and the memorial will fulfill the wishes of his family in its settlement agreement with PSU.

Earlier this month, the committee announced that PSU will host an artist-in-residence during the 2023-24 academic year to create a biographical piece on the life of Jason Washington. The purpose of the committee’s survey is to help the artist get a sense of the campus community's awareness, engagement, and needs regarding this tragic event in PSU's history. The survey is also intended to foster conversations and engagement around campus regarding racial justice and gun violence.

Lobby for state funding on PSU Lobby Day

Portland State students, staff, faculty and alumni are invited to the Simon Benson House or via zoom on Wednesday, March 8 to let state lawmakers know about the unique role the university plays in Oregon. This year’s Lobby Day is “hybrid” as the state capitol is under construction but aims to meet with legislators about the pressing need to keep a college degree affordable and continue to fund needed student resources at PSU. Training and preparation is provided along with food and PSU swag at the event; you will be contacted shortly after you sign up. Register for PSU Day at the Capitol.

Spring child care reservations open March 6

Are you looking for just a few hours of care for your child? Little Vikings Child Care was created just for you! Little Vikings provides flexible, hourly, walk-in and reserved childcare. PSU students, staff and faculty can reserve care for the entire term, up to 5 hours per day and 20 hours per week. Registration for 2023 spring term opens March 6 at 8:00am! Visit the Little Vikings website for more information. Questions? Email: lvikings@pdx.edu.

Host stations needed for Bring Your Kids to Campus Day

It’s time to start planning for PSU’s Bring Your Kids to Campus Day! After a 3-year hiatus, this event is back and is sponsored by the Resource Center for Students with Children. This is a day-long, campus-wide celebration inviting students, staff, faculty and their children to campus for events and activities. This year it’s happening on Monday, Apr. 10 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If your department is interested in hosting an event station, fill out a participation form.

Priority Access Now Available in OIT High Performance Computing (HPC) Cluster

It is now possible to reserve priority access in OIT’s Coeus HPC cluster. In addition to the Free access tier, there is now a Priority access tier making it possible for researchers to reserve dedicated computer time for their funded research needs. Details are available in OIT’s description of the High Performance Computing (HPC) Clusters service, including a link to the HPC Priority Access request form where researchers can engage with OIT to assess their HPC requirements in order to include funding for Priority access in future research grant proposals.

News Briefs and Announcements:

Demo Days are back! Oregon MESA (a program in MCECS) will host 200+ students to pitch their climate justice focused inventions, along with other exhibitions, on Saturday, Feb. 25 in North Portland. Register to attend.
Register now for the Internationalization Council’s Hybrid Faculty Workshop on Promoting International Student Success on Thursday, Feb. 23 from 12 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.
The Becoming Radically Inclusive conference is in Ashland on April 26-28. Registration is open for professionals in academic environments to collaborate on inclusive work.

PSU in the News

Jennifer Dill, director of PSU’s Transportation Research and Education Center, talked with the Oregonian about inequities in tolling; Elliott Gall, associate professor in mechanical engineering, spoke with the Guardian about air quality at home; and vaping-expert Robert Strongin explained to the Oregonian why recent cannabis recalls show more oversight is warranted.

Accolades

People

Scott Burns, Jacen Greene, Matt Kaufman, Maura Kelly, Joleen Kremin, Marisa Zapata

Presented

Óscar Fernández, Shirley A. Jackson, Susan Kirtley, Marta Stelmaszak, J.J.P. Veerman, Erica Wagner, Marisa Zapata

Published/Exhibited

Christine Cress, Manjusha Gupte, Jon Holt, Dara Shifrer, Jack Straton

Grants

Tina Burdsall, Óscar Fernández, Ariana Jacob, Alejandro Segura

Events

Additional Links

Currently is Portland State University’s weekly faculty and staff newsletter. It is published online every Monday during the academic year by University Communications. News items should be emailed by noon the Tuesday before publication. See the Currently website for submission guidelines and schedule.