[inside student affairs]an insider’s guide for those helping students reach their goals toward optimal health and well-being, engagement with learning, and sense of belonging at PSU
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Student Affairs Annual Report
Please enjoy our 2022-23 Student Affairs Annual Report, a comprehensive digest of our division-wide efforts to advance our three key focus areas: Student Engagement with Learning, Sense of Belonging, and Student Wellbeing. Thank you to all of you who contributed data, photos, and other content which made this a compelling and useful summary of our efforts across Student Affairs in the last year.
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Equity, Belonging, and Inclusion Team
Building on core values that underpin our work in Student Affairs like equity, inclusivity and universal access, Student Affairs leadership has created a working group called the Student Affairs Equity, Belonging and Inclusion Team. This team, which will be made up of 1-2 members from each alignment area in Student Affairs, will help facilitate the development of an Equity, Belonging, and Inclusion action plan for Student Affairs. Nic Francisco, Director of the Women's Resource Center, and Chris Bullard, Senior Coordinator of the Outdoor Program, have agreed to co-chair this effort. To learn more about the team, visit the EBI webpage.
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Academic Misconduct and AI
Over the summer, a generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) task force was launched to explore considerations, strategies, and potential impacts of generative AI at PSU. AI programs produce content by pulling from a number of sources, and while it can appear to be an easy solution for academic work, there are a number of concerns that accompany the growing use of AI. At PSU, the expectation under our Code is that work students submit is their own original work, completed without the use of unauthorized materials and tools. To learn more about generative AI, visit OAI’s resource guide.
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Call for Donations to Children’s Costume Swap
The Resource Center for Students with Children is accepting donations for its costume swap through October 19! Donations of clean, gently used children's costumes and accessories can be dropped off at the RCSC in SMSU 462. We are accepting donations for costumes sized for infants to 12 years old. All costumes received will be part of the RCSC's Halloween children's costume swap, set for Friday, October 19th from 11 am - 2 pm in SMSU 333. This event is open to students, staff, and faculty. Children are welcome, and snacks, games, and crafts will be provided!
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Affordable Rents for College Students (ARCS)
In a recent newsletter, Basic Needs Navigator Lee Phillips was quoted for her promotion of a program benefitting many PSU students. Phillips said, "The Affordable Rents for College Students (ARCS) at College Housing Northwest has been an invaluable program for Portland State University students who are experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness. We are incredibly grateful to collaborate with the ARCS program, and continually see and hear from students that this program has a profound impact on their student success. Their ability to have stable, secure housing has freed them up to focus on their studies, careers, and relationships and lessens the stressors that lack of housing can bring.”
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[student activities and leadership programs]
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Party in the Park
Join the party! Hosted by the Student Activities and Leadership Programs and Campus Recreation, Party in the Park is Portland State University's annual fall quarter student engagement fair. Join us on Thursday, September 28 from 11 am - 2 pm in the PSU Park Blocks to learn about our amazing student organizations, leadership opportunities, on-campus jobs, internships, and more, and enjoy a free lunch provided by Basha's Mediterranean Cuisine. Learn more at the Party in the Park webpage.
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Food Pantry Updates
Because of ongoing construction, the PSU Food Pantry is temporarily located in the one-time Green Zebra on SW Broadway. When it reopens later this year in its permanent home (SMSU 47), it will have a larger footprint and additional space for storage and offices. Also, it will be renamed in honor of former PSU student and pantry manager Bobby Smallwood. In July, Smallwood was killed protecting others in his role as security officer at Legacy Good Samaritan. You can read about PSU’s recent celebration of Bobby’s life here.
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[student health and well-being]
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CARE. ASK. CONNECT. Suicide Prevention CourseThe National College Health Assessment 2022 data for PSU revealed that providing students, faculty, and staff with the knowledge and tools to provide support to someone experiencing a mental health crisis is essential. By participating in this one-hour self-enrolled course, you can spread awareness about suicide prevention and mental health, as well as provide support to someone who is experiencing thoughts of suicide. Take action in the fight to end suicide!
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Wellbeing Coaching ProgramSHAC’s Health Promotion Department launched a new Wellbeing Coaching service in summer term. Wellbeing Coaching offers collaborative strengths-based peer coaching services, supporting students through their process and journey of behavior changes. Students will be able to connect with coaches one on one both in-person or virtually to build plans towards reaching their personal wellbeing goals. For more information and to meet the coaches, visit SHAC's website.
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Campus Rec Faculty/Staff Punch PassInterested in visiting the Rec Center without committing to a Campus Rec membership? The faculty/staff punch pass is the perfect option for you! PSU faculty/staff can purchase a 10-day punch pass for $50 ($20 savings) to visit the Rec Center as a guest. Campus Rec membership benefits not included. More info about the punch pass can be found here.
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WalktoberWalktober is a free, 31-day health promotion challenge designed to motivate and inspire the PSU community to become more active, anywhere you are. Set personal goals, enjoy friendly competition, participate in weekly challenges, and earn prizes as you get outside and increase your step count - whenever and wherever you want! Simply visit the Walktober event page to create an account and participate as an individual or team, then get walking or rolling!
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PSUF Go Viks! Night
The Portland State Foundation is holding a staff night at an upcoming PSU volleyball match, and you are invited to join! PSU’s volleyball team is off to a great start this season and take on the Weber State Wildcats on Saturday, October 14 starting at 7 pm. This event is open to PSU/F employees and their guests, and tickets through the special event group rate are $6 each. Purchase yours using this link.
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Benefits Open EnrollmentHuman Resources is hosting an Employee Benefits Fair on Wednesday, October 4 from 10 am - 2 pm at the University Place Hotel & Conference Center (310 SW Lincoln St). Stop by to get your questions answered and receive Open Enrollment assistance from benefits representatives. As a reminder, Open Enrollment takes place between October 1 and October 31 and is mandatory for all benefits-eligible employees. For more information about enrollment, visit the HR website.
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"Live on, survive, for the earth gives forth wonders. It may swallow your heart, but the wonders keep on coming. You stand before them bareheaded, shriven. What is expected of you is attention." -Salman Rushdie, The Ground Beneath Her Feet
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This edition of Inside Student Affairs marks the beginning of a new academic year and the welcoming to campus of President Ann Cudd, PSU's 11th president. I hope everyone had a great summer and is looking forward to fall.
I have been listening to podcasts the last few weeks as I prepare for the new academic year. One of my favorites is Happiness Lab, a podcast curated by Lauri Santos, the pioneering cognitive scientist who has been teaching Yale's most popular class, Psych 157: Psychology and the Good Life, since 2018. Santos' class delves into the research around what people think will make them happy (money, status, good grades) versus what science suggests actually will -- physical health (sleep, exercise, nutrition), mental well-being (community, gratitude, mindfulness) and finding meaning in everyday life.
In one episode, Santos and Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project, discuss Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's designation of loneliness as a public health emergency. Studies have shown that loneliness poses the same risk to our wellbeing and longevity as does smoking 15 cigarettes per day. Loneliness, they observe, may actually be killing us. This is a great reminder of the importance of fostering true connection with our students and each other as we start the new year.
Social connection is rewarding even for those of us who identify as introverts or who fear social interactions. Nick Eply, a behavioral psychologist at the University of Chicago who curates the podcast Why Talking to Strangers Will Make You Happier conducted a study which gave riders on mass transit incentives to interact with people they did not know. Though all of the participants predicted they would hate talking to strangers, and in some cases were morbidly afraid to do so, every participant got a happiness boost from the interaction.The world we share with our incoming students feels both fragile and threatening. We have all faced, and been changed forever by, a global health crisis, quarantines, mandated social distancing, vicious political battles, and countless other paralyzing anxieties triggered by the COVID pandemic. As we embark on a new journey together with President Cudd, it is more vital than ever that we share and take joy in our work together at PSU. In Student Affairs, we will thread wellbeing into all of our work, centering delight and positivity into our encounters with one another and with our students. And we will work with one another to achieve the single most important thing that neurobiologists, positivity psychologists, and other happiness researchers have identified as the best happiness medicine: authentic connection to each other.
Here's to new beginnings together at Portland State University!
-Michele
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[office of student affairs]
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[future editions]If you want to include something in an upcoming Inside Student Affairs, please email studentaffairs@pdx.edu. Archives of past issues can be found here.
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