Message from President Cudd regarding PSU, Boeing and Free Speech
Dear Campus Community,
This week I received a letter signed by a number of members of the PSU community, sharing concerns about PSU’s relationship with the Boeing Company. Indeed, I have heard many students and faculty express that they would like to see PSU cut ties with the company. I initially found these demands confusing and arbitrary: PSU has no investments in Boeing but accepts philanthropic gifts from the company and, given that Boeing is a major employer in the region, many of our alumni work there. However, the passion with which these demands are being repeatedly expressed by some in our community motivates me, as a scholar of academic ethics and a university leader responsible for the well being of our campus constituents, to listen and ask additional questions.
To that end, PSU will host a forum at which these concerns can be carefully framed and debated. We will organize a two hour moderated debate in May to include faculty and student voices. I will participate in the forum, representing the perspective of academic ethics. I want to share my thoughts on the matter and model the civil discourse and spirit of open inquiry that should guide any great university.
In consideration of the strong feelings that have been expressed, PSU will pause seeking or accepting any further gifts or grants from the Boeing Company until we have had a chance to engage in this debate and come to conclusions about a reasonable course of action.
I have also heard concerns about how PSU responds to individuals engaged in protest during this fraught time and on this point I want to be absolutely clear. No one involved in a protest has been sanctioned for the content of their message. PSU has always been and will remain a place where free speech and academic freedom are treasured.
Our focus is on drawing a bright line between protecting freedom of speech and activities including discrimination, harassment, intimidation, property damage and assault. We have reasonable time, place and manner restrictions in place — these are community standards so that our university can continue to be a place for learning, teaching, working and living. We will continue to enforce our policies evenly for all campus events, including protest, and expect all of our campus community members to conduct themselves in ways that follow student and professional codes of conduct. This includes following all anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.
These are challenging times for universities, but I know that Portland State’s community is strong and that we can voice our opposition to wrongs that we see in the world while also respecting each other and our shared academic pursuits. The Building Community Through Dialogue Task Force is continuing to meet throughout the spring and will be sharing outcomes from their shared work. I look forward to continuing our conversation about how we can meet this moment and emerge as a stronger Portland State.
If you have questions please send an email to psupres@pdx.edu.
Sincerely,
Ann Cudd
PSU President