May 11, 2026

Academic Affairs is hosting a Faculty Retirement Reception next week to celebrate and honor PSU’s retiring faculty for their dedication to the university and commitment to students. Academic Affairs recently published the list of 2026 retiring faculty. 

Tuesday, May 19
Smith Memorial Student Union - 327/8/9
3:30 - 5 p.m. (Drop in anytime)

Refreshments will be provided.

The Student Communications Town Hall from Wednesday, May 6, is now available for viewing. Presenters from University Communications and the Office of Student Success showcased their progress and intended outcomes with the Student Lifecycle Communications project. The initiative aims to create a unified, campus-wide strategy for timely, actionable information that will improve the student experience at PSU and, as a result, increase student retention.

That’s a wrap! PSU hosted regular Town Halls for employees this academic year on topics including marketing, financial aid, student success and more. The goals of the Town Hall series are to showcase work being done across the university to support our mission and to create connections between colleagues. How did we do? What topics would you like to learn about in the future? Whether or not you attended a Town Hall this academic year, your feedback is needed for planning next year’s lineup of employee events.

Three Finalists for the position of Police Chief, Director of Campus Public Safety will be on campus for interviews next week on May 18, 20 and 21. There will be opportunities for faculty, staff and students to meet and hear from each of the finalists. Details are still being worked out for those sessions and will be announced in next week’s edition of Currently. Information on each candidate will be released 24 hours prior to their time on campus.

This week, the Pickathon x StudentWork Pop-Up brings the spirit of Oregon’s most unique music festival to the first floor of Karl Miller Center (KMC). A celebration of creativity, sustainability and community — Pickathon is for those who know.

Stop by for a chance to win tickets to this summer’s Pickathon (July 30 - Aug 2), grab exclusive merch and experience live performances right on campus from 12 - 1 p.m. on May 16 & 23! Learn about the sustainability efforts behind the scenes, explore volunteer opportunities and connect with the creative team behind Pickathon’s 25th anniversary. Don’t miss your chance to win and jam!

Celebrate emerging artists at the opening reception of What Remains: 2026 BFA/MFA Exhibition, an exhibition of work from the 2026 graduates of the BFA in Art Practice and MFA in Contemporary Art Practice programs at the Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design.

The exhibition highlights work by 47 students across disciplines, including photography, painting, sculpture, performance, mixed-media installations, textiles, and publications.

Thursday, May 14
5 - 7 p.m.
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) in Fariborz Maseeh Hall (FMH) 110

The exhibition runs through June 6. The JSMA is free and open to the public, Tuesdays - Saturdays.

Play with Pride in Campus Rec's Pride Tournaments! First up: Dodgeball on May 14 and Spikeball on May 19. These inclusive & approachable one-day events are free for Campus Rec members, and members may bring guests for $9/person. Participants at Pride events will receive a Pride shirt, while supplies last. Register as a team or free agent.

Portland State University will host the annual Critical Race Studies in Education Association  (CRSEA) conference May 20–22 at the University Place Hotel and Conference Center. Sponsored by the College of Education and School of Social Work, the conference brings international scholars to campus for discussions on this year’s theme: “Beyond Resistance: Building Critical Solidarities and Transformative Futures.” Register by this Wednesday, May 13.

You're invited to the PSU Alumni Association's third annual Vikings on the Vine Winemaker’s Tasting on Saturday, May 30, at the Stoller Family Estate Vineyard and Winery. Enjoy tastings from alumni‑affiliated wineries, meet the winemakers, and connect with alumni and friends over delicious food, live music and scenic views. Enhance your experience with round‑trip transportation from campus or join the Vikings on the Vine Wine Club for exclusive perks, including four complimentary event tickets. 

Join PSU Anthropology and partners for the 14th annual Archaeology Roadshow in Portland on Saturday, May 30 in Gateway Discovery Park in NE Portland. Immerse yourself in the heritage of our region through pop-up exhibits and hands-on activities around this year's theme, The Archaeology of Fire & Water. Build a fire using just friction and a bow-drill, practice making stone tools, throw a replica of an ancient spear, and even have experts interpret your personal objects like stone tools, pottery, animal bones. The event is free, family-friendly and fun.

Applications are now open for Catalyst Immersive, the flagship program of the new Catalyst Institute, sponsored by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. Catalyst Immersive is an accelerator program composed of workshops, coaching and peer support designed to help faculty craft competitive proposals to secure external funding. The workshops run biweekly from September 25 to December 4, 2026, with continued support through summer 2027.

Apply by June 5, 2026.

In 2021, the University Research Committee (URC) conducted a survey about research, scholarship and creative activities. One striking result was researchers’ use of personal funds to finance part of their research. The University Research Committee would like to know more and solicit your feedback with this new, short survey. Please complete this survey by next Monday, May 18.

The PSU Center for Public Interest Design, housed in the School of Architecture,, Indigenous Traditional Ecological & Cultural Knowledge (ITECK), and Design Corps invite scholars and practitioners to submit proposals focused on Indigenous Public Interest Design for the 2026 Structures for Inclusion (SFI) conference, October 8-10, with presentations on October 9.

The organizers are seeking papers that address topics in Indigenous Public Interest Design, particularly in food sovereignty, land rights, land as pedagogy and sacred connection, the urban Indigenous experience and spatial justice, Indigenous design methodologies and community engagement, Indigenous knowledge systems and practices, and storytelling as collaborative past and futures.

Abstract submissions are due June 12, 2026. Selected presenters will give a 20-minute presentation, with publication to follow.

The PSU Writing Center is open for online and in-person appointments. They can help writers at any step in the process, from generating ideas to the final polish. Their website has a variety of writing resources for both students and instructors.

The Writing Center is open for walk-ins, Monday - Thursday from 12 - 1 p.m. in CH 188 and Monday - Thursday from 9 - 11 a.m. in FMH 360.

All week

What Remains: 2026 BFA/MFA Exhibition

Monday, May 11

Instructional Accessibility Drop-In Support

Tuesday, May 12

Beginner Climb Night

Demographic Decline & Environmental Change in Rural Japan

Wednesday, May 13

Make Your Canvas Course More Accessible with Panorama

Talking Community-Engaged Learning

Race and Ethnic Studies at PSU in the Moment

Two Spirit & LGBTQ+ Health Seminar Series: Displacement

CPID Talks: Partnership in Practice

OSU-PSU-USGS Water, People, and Society Seminar

Inner Mongolia Cultural Performance

Visiting Writers Series: Novuyo Tshuma and M. Mick Powell

Thursday, May 14

Instructional Accessibility Drop-In Support

Show & Tell Design Lecture Series: Winslow Studio

One Book, One Coast Book Club Discussion

USGS-PSU May Science Seminar

Attitudes and Strategies about Dating and Sex in South Korea

Walk of the Heroines 2026: Cherrié Moraga

Friday, May 15

PhD Day @ Maseeh

Music @ Midday: Brass Area

Italian Film Festival 2026 (Day 3: Life is Life)

Portland Choir & Orchestra Present: Prairie Fire

PSU Steinway Piano Series: Recital by Dmitry Rachmanov

Saturday, May 16

TedX Mt Hood Featuring Dean Joseph Bull

Comics Confluence Festival

Italian Film Festival 2026 (Day 4: Sweetheart)

PSU Steinway Piano Series: Masterclass by Dmitry Rachmanov

Sunday, May 17

PSU Steinway Piano Series: Masterclass by Susan Chan and Julie Lee

Chamber Choir and Alumni 50th Anniversary Celebration

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

People
Talya Bauer, Sarah Dys, Berrin Erdogan, Priya Kapoor, Sue Taylor, Ozcan Tunalilar, JJP Veerman

Presented
Tina Acker, Jon Holt, Kimberly Kahn, Priya Kapoor, Lisa Weasel

Published/Exhibited
Sally Guyon, Priya Kapoor, Papireddy Kancharla, Jane Kelly, Sue Taylor

Grants
Cody Evers, Jon Fink, Andrés Holz

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University Place Hotel & Conference Center

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.