We are midway through Hispanic Heritage Month, which stretches from September 15 through October 15, and PSU is marking the celebration with new activities and our ongoing effort to better serve our Hispanic students, their families and the greater Portland Latino community.
In September, I was honored to attend Noche Bella, an annual Latino Network event that PSU helps sponsor. It brings together individuals both to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in Portland and to raise money to empower the lives of Latino youth and families.
The Latino Network is one of several community organizations that PSU partners with to develop meaningful programs for Latino students including internships and educational partnerships, climate justice initiatives, economic development plans and other initiatives. Other partners include Hacienda CDC, Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber, Centro Cultural and El Grito, among others.
PSU is a proud Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution. To be a federally recognized Hispanic Serving Institution, or HSI, requires a Hispanic student population of 25% or more. PSU isn’t quite there yet but while overall enrollment has declined, we saw a 53% increase in Latino students from 2017 to 2023.
PSU is currently revitalizing its Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Steering Committee with new leadership, including Emanuel Magaña from Global Diversity and Inclusion and Tania Sanchez from Enrollment Management as co-chairs.
I am so proud of all of the new initiatives PSU has started over the last year, including the launch of a long-awaited bachelor’s degree in Chicano/Latino Studies, the opening of the DREAMER Student Center, and over the summer, the launch of new Spanish-language sessions as part of our New Student Orientation. One of the 175 Spanish-speaking guests who took part in the sessions shared the following feedback with organizers: “I just want to thank you for the incredible team that helped all the Spanish-speaking parents. It was a great help to me personally; it taught me and encouraged me greatly in learning how to help and support my daughter as she begins her university journey." These sessions reflect our ongoing commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for all families.
We don’t always get everything right every time, but as a university I am heartened to see how committed we are to continuing to try new approaches to welcoming more Hispanic students and helping them to achieve their academic goals as students of Portland State.
PSU will host its first Latine Alumni Gathering on October 10th at La Casa Latina, one of our excellent multicultural centers that provides Latine students a place to see themselves reflected, build community, and develop leadership skills. The alumni event will aim to re-engage our alumni community to support and strengthen our efforts in serving Latino students.
Speaking of alumni, I continue to meet PSU alumni everywhere I go in Portland, including Latino Network’s Noche Bella event. There, I was able to shake hands with Joaquin Lopez, City of Portland's Creative Laureate and a mental health professional with a Masters in Counseling from PSU, and Oregon State Representative Andrea Valderrama, a graduate of our Masters in Public Administration program. These leaders and so many others in our community are an inspiration to me and, I hope, to all Hispanic PSU students — past, present and future!
Photo caption, left to right: PSU Alum and City of Portland Creative Laureate Joaquin Lopez; PSU Director of Community and Civic Impact Cynthia Gomez; PSU President Ann Cudd; Oregon State Representative and PSU Alum Andrea Valderrama.