The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is committed to advancing a culture of inclusion where all of our students, staff and faculty can feel safe, belong and thrive. We have taken some important first steps, but real work remains to be done.
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Academic Programs
Our college is home to most of the academic programs at PSU that focus on the study of race, ethnicity, indigeneity, language, religion, gender and sexuality.
Race & Ethnic Studies Requirement
Starting Fall 2022, all Portland State undergraduate students must fulfill the Race and Ethnic Studies requirement (RESR) to earn their bachelor's degrees. The new requirement, spearheaded by faculty members in our college, ensures students are equipped with an understanding of how historically rooted and ongoing racism affects institutions in Oregon, the U.S. and the world.
Students: How to Fulfill the Requirement
- First- and second-year students (fewer than 90 credits):
- Students will satisfy the requirement by completing two RESR designated courses (a minimum of 3 credits each) with a central focus on race, ethnicity and systemic oppression.
- One course must focus on the U.S. experience; the second course must center the experiences of groups under European and U.S. colonialism and imperialism beyond the United States.
- One of the courses taken must be taken within the School of Gender, Race and Nations or be cross-listed with one of the SGRN units: Black Studies (BSt), Chicano/Latino Studies (ChLa), Indigenous Nations Studies (NAS), or Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WS).
- Transfer students (90 or more credits):
- Students will satisfy the requirement by completing one RESR designated course (a minimum of 3 credits each) with a central focus on race, ethnicity and systemic oppression.
- The course taken by transfer students does not need to be offered within SGRN or cross-listed within one of its units.
- The courses taken to fulfill the requirement may also fulfill major, minor, University Studies and/or elective requirements.
- See a full list of RESR-designated courses on Advising's website.
Faculty: How to Propose a Course
- The Race & Ethnic Studies Requirement Committee is accepting submissions for AY 24-25. The deadline for RESR course submissions is Jan. 26, 2024.
- Guidelines/Criteria for Submission:
- A complete syllabus
- A justification that explains why and how the course satisfies the curriculum and pedagogy of the RESR. For example, a course meets this requirement when it provides clear tools of analysis that explain the organization of societies by the idea of racial and ethnic difference, and the inequalities, conflicts, and social justice agendas that result from it. The committee encourages faculty to demonstrate clear ways students engage with course content related to race and systemic oppression throughout the term.
Disaggregating Data
We are working closely with each of our departments to disaggregate data at the course level and use that information to identify and address equity gaps. At the end of each term, department chairs receive a summary of course completion rates for each course, disaggregated by race/ethnicity and legal sex. The data empowers department chairs and faculty to critically examine and interpret student data to identify possible equity gaps and subsequently identify and implement interventions to address said gaps.
Inclusive Pedagogy
Inclusive Excellence CURE Fellows
We are working to bring inclusive science pedagogy to scale through course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), which make research more accessible by offering research opportunities to more students who otherwise would not have the opportunity.
Our pilot Inclusive Excellence CURE Fellows program, launched in Fall 2021 with funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Student Experience Project, engages a group of faculty in developing inclusive teaching practices, understanding our students through data, and ultimately designing, developing and implementing their own CUREs. CURE research topics can be rooted in their ongoing research agenda, present a chance to pilot a new research direction, or be conducted in collaboration with a community partner or "client."
Graduate Assistant Training
As part of our efforts to build an equity-driven, inclusive mentoring and learning environment for our undergraduates, we developed Pacific Northwest-informed training for nearly 200 graduate assistants in our college. CLAS GAs are responsible for delivering curriculum, both as teaching assistants and as instructors of record. What they learn in this training can impact nearly every undergraduate student at PSU. The DEI and pedagogy training consists of three workshops:
- Decolonizing to Create Affirming Learning Spaces: Indigenous Values
- Building a Reflexive Teaching & Scholarly Practice
- Inclusive Pedagogy Training
Hiring Practices
As part of our commitment to build a diverse and inclusive college community, we are intensifying our efforts to recruit and retain a diverse faculty and staff workforce.
Search Process
- Search Advocate: We require search advocates for all tenure-track faculty searches, and recommend them for all other searches.
- "Toward More Inclusive Hiring": We require that the hiring manager and all search committee members take this training at the outset of the hiring process.
- Inclusion Statement: We require that all applicants submit a statement that describes their professional skills, experience, and/or willingness to engage in activities that would enhance our campus equity and inclusion efforts.
- Job Ads: For national and/or regional searches, we require at least one paid advertisement that targets a diverse audience.
Cluster Hires
Moving forward, we will be encouraging collaboration across our college to develop tenure-track cluster hires that strategically serve multiple departments. Recent examples include thematic cluster hires in the School of Gender, Race and Nations (Fall 2021), and Computational Science for a Sustainable Future (Fall 2022).