February 2, 2026

This week we welcome the first two of four finalists in PSU’s search for the next Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. All members of the PSU community are encouraged to participate in Open Forums, which were re-scheduled to coincide with the Campus Community Hour. 

All forums are in-person from 12:45 - 1:45 p.m. in Smith Memorial Student Union Room 333:

During the Open Forum, each candidate will give a presentation, followed by a Q&A session. Finalists’ CVs will be made available via the search website 24 hours prior to their visit.

LAIKA lights up PSU this weekend!

Break free from the darkness of the Pacific Northwest winter this weekend with the annual Portland Winter Light Festival! Co-founded by PSU professor Jeff Schnabel in 2015, the festival features light displays, events and performances throughout the city, including here on the Portland State campus where there will be three LAIKA light installations. This year’s festival theme is “All the Little Things”.

Portland Lights: Alumni Association gathering on Feb. 13

If you don’t make it out to the festival this weekend, the celebration continues the following weekend with a special gathering at the Simon Benson House hosted by the PSU Alumni Association. Enjoy warm beverages, treats, guided house tours, and a behind-the-scenes look at one of the LAIKA light installations. The first 100 guests receive light-up Viking helmets!

Portland Winter Light Festival
Feb. 6 - 7
Feb. 13 - 14
6 - 10 p.m.
(The festival runs Feb. 6-14, with most installations and events only on the weekends)

Tonight, Monday, Feb. 2, join the School of Business, Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science, and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences for a co-sponsored night of hoops and school pride as our Vikings take on Idaho State. The game features a halftime recognition of student-athletes from the sponsoring colleges and a fun Battle of the Schools showdown for campus bragging rights. Faculty and staff are encouraged to come out, connect with colleagues, and cheer on our students. A limited number of complimentary faculty/staff tickets are available, with discounted $7 tickets using code viksmbb26 in the Upper General Admission section.

The Tribal Relations at PSU series continues with a presentation from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Tribal Language Program. Learn about the program’s history, language revitalization efforts and future projects.

Tuesday, Feb. 17
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Native American Student & Community Center (NASCC)

Lab Safety Awareness Week, held each February, recognizes the successes of lab health and safety programs and highlights ways to keep PSU faculty, staff and students safe. This year’s events run Feb. 9–13. Throughout the week, enjoy refreshments and chat with staff about lab and field safety in the Engineering Building and the Science Research & Teaching Center. The week concludes on Friday, Feb. 13, with lab safety training sessions, hands-on safety demos, a liquid nitrogen ice cream party, and an opportunity to enter your lab to win a prize.

The Northwest Science Expo (NWSE) is seeking volunteers to judge STEM projects by middle and high school students. Interviews are held Monday, April 6 at Riverside High School and judges have the prior week to score their assigned category using slide decks.

Additional dates are available for qualifying fairs throughout Oregon in February and March. NWSE is funded entirely by donations from individuals and businesses.

Portland State University received $2 million in federal funding to expand semiconductor research and hands-on learning, strengthening career pathways for students and supporting workforce needs in Oregon’s “Silicon Forest.” The investment deepens PSU’s role in the region’s growing tech sector.

What is it like to be an athlete and a student at Portland State? There are late nights, early mornings and a mental mindset for success, to name just a few things. Read all about students Anna Jordan, a softball player and Business Management and Leadership major; Ava Blascziek, a volleyball player and psychology major; and Josephine Deline, an electrical engineering major and their commitment to sport and scholarship.

It’s Career Week at PSU!

The University Career Center is hosting Winter Career Week, with a ton of events designed to help students explore careers, build confidence and connect what they’re learning to real opportunities beyond campus. Students can see the schedule and register for events through the Career Week Event Catalog. This week’s event will culminate in the All Majors & Business Career Fair on Monday, Feb. 9.

Three spots left for McNair Scholars 2026

The mentorship program is seeking three talented, first-generation and/or low-income students to join the 2026 cohort. McNair is a life-changing opportunity for students who want to pursue graduate studies. Please share the application link.

Alexander Ross, senior instructor in Geography, speaks with KGW about the issues facing Oregon’s Republican party in the upcoming gubernatorial election; Andrés Holz, associate professor and director of PSU's Global Environmental Change Lab, talks in depth with CNN Chile about the wildfires ravaging the country; and Sarah Schwarz, president of the PSU Foundation, shared the university’s vision for a new performing arts center with KGW.

All week

Residual Moments | Archiving the Building: The 5th Avenue Years

Mapping Familiar Territories, Charting New Paths

Monday, February 2

Practicing Anthropology Workshop with Brad Fortier

Biology Seminar Series: Bridging Paleo and Conservation Ecology to Understand Human Impacts to Mammal Diversity

A Night of Viking Basketball

Friends of Chamber Music: Cuarteto Casala

Tuesday, February 3

Women on Weights

Open Forum: Provost Candidate A

Beginner Climb Night

Nina Mae Kellogg Lecture: “Why We Should Feel Bad for Men, or Virginia Woolf’s Incomparable Female Gaze” with Merve Emre

Friends of Chamber Music: Cuarteto Casals

Night at the Blazers

Wednesday, February 4

Politics and the Arts Forum: Identifying Concrete Steps to Strengthen the Arts in Portland

PSU Creative Writing Visiting Writers Series: Teresa Carmody and Prageeta Sharma

Thursday, February 5

Great Decisions 2026: America’s Global Role: Foreign Policy’s Next Chapter

Show & Tell Design Lecture Series Presents Mike Anderson

Open Forum: Provost Candidate B

Faculty/Staff Bowling Tournament

PSU at Fans Only

Friday, February 6

Write with the Deans - First Fridays

Feedback, Grading & Assessment: Helpful Tools and Pedagogies

Embodied Pedagogies

Music @ Midday: PSU Theater Arts Winter Musical Ensemble Sings

The Love of Music with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Winds and Brass Conducted by PSU’s Ken Selden

Saturday, February 7

Outdoor Program Service Trip

Women’s Basketball v. Sacramento State

Sunday, February 8

Portland Piano International: Tamara Stefanovich

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

Presented

Kai Hang Cheang, Joleen Mena

Published/Exhibited

William J. Comer, Talya Bauer, Sarah Dys, Berrin Erdogan, Alissa Hartig, Thea Prieto, Diana White

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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 schedule.