As a proud minority serving institution, Portland State celebrates all of our community members and their unique cultural heritage. PSU is Oregon’s most diverse university; diversity is our strength and we aim to be known for our inclusive excellence.
Hispanic Heritage Month, officially September 15 to October 15, is a designated time on the calendar to honor every one of the roughly one in five people in our PSU Viking community who identify as Latinx. Under the broad Hispanic banner, many identities, cultures, traditions and interests thrive and are represented in different ways on our campus.
PSU is an Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution with a Hispanic student population of approximately 20%. While we have not yet met the 25% threshold to become a federally recognized Hispanic Serving Institution, or HSI, this status has taken on new significance. The federal government recently cut discretionary grant funding for HSIs and other minority-serving institutions, stating that the race-based eligibility requirements are unconstitutional. This decision, which impacted funding tied to our Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) designation, may impact our path to full HSI designation.
Fortunately, serving our Hispanic students has nothing to do with federal grants or official designations and everything to do with supporting our students inside and outside of the classroom.
Cristina Herrera chairs PSU’s Chicanx/Latinx Studies department, overseeing the region’s only bachelor’s degree program in Chicanx/Latinx Studies. This year, she’s also taking on the role of interim Vice Provost for Student Success and bringing with her a practice of supporting students by meeting them where they are, understanding the particular challenges they might be facing, and also celebrating the heritage and background they bring to PSU.
Dr. Herrera has also been active in the task force that’s been examining PSU’s general education program and I’m grateful for the student-centered perspective she brings to that work.
If you’re not familiar with the Chicanx/Latinx Studies program, now is an excellent time to watch this video and hear Dr. Herrera describe it in her own words.
So many individuals at PSU join Dr. Herrera in the effort to lift up our Hispanic students — both current and future. Summer capstone students hosted more than 90 youth and staff for a campus tour in August, working with our partners in the Latino Network. The picture at the top of the page captures a slice of that day and I hope we’ll be welcoming some of the young people on the tour to campus as students in the years to come.