[inside student affairs]An insider’s guide for those helping students reach their goals toward optimal health and wellbeing, engagement with learning, and sense of belonging at PSU
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[notes from student affairs]
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Nominate Outstanding Students for the Presidential Awards
Time is running out to nominate student leaders for the Presidential Awards. If you know someone who has made a big impact at PSU or in the community, submit your nomination by April 11. Winners will be recognized by PSU President Ann Cudd at the Leadership Awards Luncheon on May 21. Don't miss this chance to celebrate excellence!
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Bring Your Kids to Campus Day
Services for Students with Children invites you and your family to join us for Bring Your Kids to Campus Day on Friday, April 4, 2025 from 9:30am - 4 pm. Bring Your Kids to Campus Day provides a full day of activities in which departments and student clubs host activities in locations all over campus intended to educate and entertain children. The goal is to give children a taste of what their parents do at PSU in an approachable and child-friendly way. Bring Your Kids to Campus Day is an opportunity for you to show your children all that PSU has to offer and to get them excited about university life. Learn more about the event here.
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Queer & Trans Students of Color Conference
The 14th annual Queer & Trans Students of Color Conference will be held April 12, 2025 at Smith Memorial Student Union. Registration for all is set at $12.00 with plenty of scholarships available to PSU students. Students can register here, while volunteers can sign up here. Help us promote this wonderful event, which is open to other higher education institutions so feel free to pass this information along to colleagues outside of PSU.
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Community Resource Fair
You are invited to the Community Resource Fair on Wednesday, April 16 from 11 am to 1:30 pm, located on the 4th floor skybridge between SMSU and Cramer Hall. This event is hosted by the Basic Needs Hub, WRC, QRC, DREAMer Center, and Services for Students with Children. Students can enjoy lunch while connecting with human service programs, immigration services, and social resources designed to help them build self-advocacy skills and access support beyond PSU. You can send questions about this event to basicneedshub@pdx.edu.
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[student activities and leadership programs]
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ASPSU Elections: Candidate DebatesInterested in learning more about the 2025 ASPSU election candidates while snagging some free food? Students are invited to join the ASPSU Elections Committee and PSU Vanguard for candidate debates for the 2025-2026 ASPSU Administration. These events will be held April 18-25 in Parkway North (SMSU 101) and will be available to view afterward on the Vanguard youtube channel. The full debate schedule and additional details can be found on Connect.
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Nominate Students for the Student Employment AwardsNominations are open for the Student Employment Awards. There are five individual awards you can nominate a student employee for: Incredible Service to the Community, Leadership, Outstanding Advocacy, Key Contributor, and Rising Star. The Student Employee of the Year is selected from among the finalists of each category. Please fill out the student employee nomination form by April 18. If you are able to review nominations between April 22-30, please contact Angela Hamilton at seld@pdx.edu.
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[student health and wellbeing]
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Spring into WellbeingThe Center for Student Health & Counseling and Campus Rec are excited to announce the 2nd annual Spring into Wellbeing, a week dedicated to improving the personal health and wellbeing of the campus community through activities aligned with the eight dimensions of wellbeing. The goal is to help campus community members learn how to create positive and life-long relational, emotional, spiritual, environmental, occupational, mental, and physical habits through existing PSU resources. Spring into Wellbeing will take place Friday, April 4 - Friday, April 11.
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Spring Small Group Courses at CREC
Campus Rec is piloting a new series of small group courses! These introductory courses meet for four sessions to learn the fundamentals of a specific activity. Small group courses are led by knowledgeable and experienced instructors in a supportive community environment, perfect for members new to the activity. All small group courses require registration through CREC’s member portal and are being offered at a low price of $20 for this term only as part of a trial period. Participants will be asked to provide feedback.
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Spring Counseling GroupsEach term, SHAC offers a variety of workshops and groups for students to attend. We address specific topics related to mental health and wellness to help engage PSU audiences. Group counseling can provide unique benefits including learning with and from peers, receiving feedback and support from peers in a counselor-facilitated setting, and learning specific skills in a group environment. For a look at this spring’s options, please visit SHAC’s website.
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[university housing and residence life]
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New On-Campus Residence Hall AnnouncedPSU is moving forward with plans for a new dormitory-style residence hall on the South Park Blocks, replacing the outdated Blackstone and Montgomery buildings, which are not financially feasible to renovate. The new building will house 550 students—double the capacity of the current structures—and is designed to provide accessible, modern housing that meets students’ needs. The building will be funded with debt financing to be repaid from housing operations and will not have any effect on the education and general fund that pays for academic operations. Investing in attractive, functional housing at the heart of campus will not only enhance the student experience but also serve as a driver for enrollment. The project is expected to be completed by Fall 2028.
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UHRL vs. UPointe Men's Basketball Game ChallengeIn winter term, UHRL collaborated with Athletics and University Pointe to increase opportunities for students to connect and boost attendance at PSU athletics events. On March 3, residential students living in UHRL and University Pointe participated in a challenge to see who could recruit the most students to attend the PSU men’s basketball game. The winning group would receive a game ball that was signed by the PSU team. In the end, UHRL won the challenge with on-campus residents making up a majority of the 419 students who participated.
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PSU Day at the CapitolJoin fellow PSU students, faculty, staff, and alumni at PSU Day at the Capitol on May 22! What is PSU Day at the Capitol? This event is a chance to advocate for funding to help make college more affordable, accessible, and equitable, as well as to advocate for legislation to support students at PSU. Make a difference by meeting with legislators and telling them your story and why an affordable college education matters to your students. Training is provided on the process and transportation to Salem will be provided if you sign up here.
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During a recent panel discussion that included college presidents, lead attorneys and heads of organizations like the Lumina Foundation, Fredrick Lawrence, former president of Brandeis University, reminded the audience of one of John Dewey's most important claims: "Democracy has to be reborn anew every generation, and education is its midwife."
Our times are troubled, both on our campuses and in the broader world. In higher education, it is our responsibility to create a context in which students develop an understanding of the world in all of its complexities. This includes helping them to learn discipline-specific skills and capabilities that will prepare them for jobs and careers, but it cannot be limited to that. It is also essential that we embrace our responsibility for helping students develop the knowledge, skills, experiences, and values they will need to become contributing citizens in an effective, vibrant, and liberatory democracy.
On college campuses, and especially in student affairs, this is our most essential mission. We create the opportunities for meaningful civil discourse and debate, opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of self and other, and to learn and re-learn our history, both those parts of our past that we celebrate and those that we collectively resolve to never repeat. We ask our students to agree to abide by our Code of Student Conduct that reflects our communities' shared values and commitment to a respectful, just learning community. We invite students into dialog and dialectic conversation, exploring the foundations of their own values and beliefs, while remaining open to the possibility that they might change their minds. We ask our students to be proud of their principles and convictions, but to consider the possibility that they might be wrong, even about their most cherished moral and philosophical commitments. At a time when there is so much evidence of profoundly concerning levels of loneliness, isolation, and anxiety, we create space for communities of people to come together and care deeply about one another's health and wellbeing. In our work every day, we create civic education that strengthens our capacity to build a better society and a better future for the world—one interaction and one relationship at a time.
A recent New York Times opinion piece admonished, "Democracy Dies in Dumbness". And yes, each hour seems to include pings from our phones and computers notifying us of a new crisis of integrity in our public world, both in the US and abroad. It can feel overwhelming, but I encourage us all to try our best not to be discouraged and to think of these bells and alarms as reminders of just how much what we do matters—bearing witness to the educational ideal that Dewey named back in 1916.
-Michele
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[office of student affairs]
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[past newsletters]
Archived issues of Inside Student Affairs and links to subscribe to other campus newsletters can be found here.
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