News

Portland State University's Diversity Action Council (DAC) has awarded seven "mini-grants" totaling $7,000 for faculty and staff projects that advance diversity at PSU.  The awardees will be honored and will discuss their projects at a campus forum Wednesday, May 18, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Multicultural Center, Smith Memorial Student Union room 238.

The DAC is an advisory committee of faculty, staff, and students that works closely with the university's chief diversity officer and executive director of Diversity and Inclusion. Their role is to foster equity and social justice by guiding PSU programs, policies, and decision making so that the university works in conjunction with its diverse constituents.

Each academic year the DAC sponsors research and special projects through its mini-grant program. Faculty and staff are invited to request funding by submitting abstracts of diversity related projects and research. This year, the DAC awarded mini-grants to the following:

Awardees:  Swapna Mukhopadhyay, Graduate School of Education, and Ann Sitomer, Mathematics- Portland Community College Cascade Campus

Amount:  $1,500

Project:  The sixth in an annual seminar series titled "Addressing Diversity: Alternative Forms of Knowledge Construction Process in Mathematics and Science"

Awardees:  Paulette Watanabe, Perla L. Pinedo, and Enrique Farrera, Diversity and Multicultural Student Services  & Stephanie Stokamer, Graduate School of Education

Amount:  $1,000

Project:  Support for Gaining Access and Networking for Academic Success (GANAS) and service learning programs at PSU

Awardees:  Jack Corbett, Theresa Kaimanu, and Masami Nishishiba, Public Administration, Urban and Public Affairs; and Gigi Harris, School of Government, Urban & Public Affairs

Amount: $1,000

Project:  Bringing Dr. Ramona Perez, a nationally recognized authority in diversity program management and training, to Portland to consult on a program in nonprofit management and global leadership

Awardee: Pauline Jivanjee, School of Social Work

Amount: $1,000

Project:  A public presentation on the social determinants of health among Mexican immigrants in the U.S.

Awardees:  Claudia Meyer, M.S., Christina Gildersleeve-Neumann Ph.D., Shelly Chabon, Ph.D., Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences; and Julie Esparza-Brown, Ed.D., School of Education

Amount:  $1,000

Project: Development of a community-based, interdepartmental course to prepare graduate students in speech-language pathology to develop expertise in assessing and serving bilingual populations

Awardees: Shelly Chabon, Ph.D., and Claudia Meyer, M.S., Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences; and Jenny Stenseth, M.A., Intensive English Language Program (IELP), Department of Applied Linguistics

Amount: $500

Project: Development of a program to assist adult non-native English speakers in improving their oral communication skills

Awardee: Melanie Dixon, African American Student Services Coordinator, Diversity and Multicultural Student Services

Amount:  $500

Project: A Black United Scholarship workshop and a diversity and multicultural student services family appreciation dinner