April 11, 2025
Dear Campus Community,
As we conclude the second week of spring term I hope you're settling in well. Iād like to thank everyone for their time and participation in the Board of Trustees meetings last week. While we always hope members of the community can join us for these meetings in person, we recognize that's not always possible. This recap is intended to keep everyone informed and offer some initial responses to what we covered during the meetings.
To begin, here are some highlights from the committee meetings held on Thursday, April 3.
- Governance Committee (GOV) discussed onboarding new trustees and will be exploring a mentor program.
- Academic & Student Affairs Committee (ASAC) approved a B.S. in Linguistics & Computer Science and discussed ways to improve career outcomes for students.
- Executive & Audit Committee (EA) approved the Board calendar for the upcoming year, received an update from President Cudd on the work of the Committee on Socially Responsible Investment and Partnerships, and discussed federal funding as it relates to student aid and research.
- Finance & Administration Committee (FA) moved forward with the tuition resolution noted below and heard from the Student Fee Committee Chair and Vice Chair.
Next, we want to highlight any actions from the meetings.
- Program approval of the B.S. in Linguistics & Computer Science was adopted at the ASAC meeting. This program will now move forward to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) for final approval.
- A resolution approving 2025-26 tuition rates was recommended by the FA committee and approved by the full board.
Public Comment
During the full board meeting, we heard nine people share public comments. The key themes from the public comments related to dissatisfaction with budget management, calls for shared governance, concerns about student services, compliance with moratorium procedures, and concerns over the impact of federal funding cuts on research.
As I shared in my last message, the Board wants to move PSU into a space where annual budget cuts are no longer needed and we can invest in our campus community, most importantly our students. We are committed to fostering a culture of collaboration and open dialogue with our shared governance partners and are always open to new ideas on how we can best do this.
In the EA meeting, committee members discussed uncertainties regarding federal funding and its impact on the university in various ways, including its ability to continue certain research activities. As President Cudd shared in her remarks at this meeting, the administration monitors potential impacts and updates the campus community as things evolve. I encourage everyone to check the Federal updates webpage for resources and more information.
Public comments also addressed concerns about reduced staffing at the Native American Student and Community Center (NASCC) and compliance with academic program moratorium procedures. I have asked for a deeper review of these topics to better understand the issues that were shared, and while I can not provide an update at this time, I am looking into these concerns.
Closing
We recognize that members of our campus community express strong views about issues of vital importance to them, and we remain committed to listening, engaging respectfully, and focusing on the university's long-term needs. Moving forward, let us actively engage in constructive conversations together rather than allowing misinformation to generate division and distrust, which has led us to unproductive communications. We can more effectively address challenges when we join in a dialogue together.
As always, the Board webpage has various resources that you may find helpful, including the yearly calendar, meeting notices, meeting recordings, and other information. Feel free to utilize the Feedback form, also on the webpage, where you can share meeting feedback, general comments, or recommendations on characteristics or candidates we should consider when we have a trustee vacancy.
Benjamin Berry
Board of Trustees Chair
If you want to invite the Board to a campus event, email trustees@pdx.edu Sign up to join the Public Meeting Notice to get notified when we have upcoming meetings.