by Shannon Yentzer
November 9th 2023
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Jesse Pyrch, Karen Grave-Pyrch, Shelby Santos, Herb Fricke, Tim Anderson, and Melody Shangin at AISES Conference
Maseeh College's Dean Joseph Bull and Tim Anderson, chair of the Engineering and Technology Management department were in attendance at the recent American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Conference in Spokane, Wash. AISES is a national nonprofit organization focused on substantially increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies and careers, and the theme of this year's conference was "Collect | Collaborate | IndigeNate."
As PSU's long serving AISES Chapter Advisor, Anderson said he was honored to receive this year's award for the AISES Professional Chapter of the Year Award. This distinction is presented for overall achievement by a college chapter in the promotion of the principles and goals of advancing Indigenous people in STEM fields.
"For over 25 years, the PSU AISES Lower Columbia/Willamette River Professional has members serves as a linchpin helping connect Native employees from companies, universities, and non-profit organizations in the area, " Anderson explained. "With active members from BPA's Vancouver site out to our Intel members in Hillsboro, we adopted Zoom for meetings long before COVID and found that this helped us respond smoothly and keep operating during the disruptions of the past few years. The professional chapter contributed to the fundraising for the PSU Native American Student & Community Center (NASCC) and has been a strong NASCC partner ever since it opened, attending graduation Honor Days, helping host AISES Regional Conferences at the NASCC and much more."
Anderson is one of only two Native engineering Department Chairs in the country (an enrolled a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi) and Dean Bull is the country's only Indigenous engineering dean (an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians). Together with the staff and faculty of Maseeh College and the PSU community at large, they are working to make Portland State a hub for Native American STEM studies. This award only confirms those efforts are paying off and cements the ambition to serve to Native community.