Greetings Toulan School friends,
This is a time of tremendous adversity for higher education across the country. The Trump Administration has launched an attack on universities on several fronts. Academic and research programs interrogating issues of power, inequity and injustice across a wide range of disciplines have been defunded or brought under hostile scrutiny, threatening institutional values of academic freedom. Students, faculty and staff from marginalized identities - especially immigrants and trans individuals - have been made to fear for their safety, on and off campus. And closer to home for us in Urban Studies and Planning, the radical downsizing of federal agencies and programs threatens the enterprise of public service at all levels of government, from environmental protection to public transportation to affordable housing. These are facts, not political statements.
It is a moment to come together and reassert our values. I am thankful that PSU has reaffirmed its commitment to equity and inclusion on campus through the Time to Act initiative, and declared itself to be a Sanctuary Campus, consistent with Oregon laws protecting migrant communities. The Toulan School will not waver in its commitment to fostering more just and equitable communities through our teaching, research and engagement. I challenge each of us as members of the Toulan School community to find ways to support those community members most at risk at this moment.
Amid all this, Toulan School students and faculty continue to do what they do best - let their knowledge serve. Five teams of Planning Workshop students are working closely with public- and community-based clients from around the Portland metro region, on issues from community resilience to transportation safety. One of these workshop projects builds on a hands-on Planning Methods project that the 2024 incoming Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) cohort completed with The Rosewood Initiative, an East Portland nonprofit organization, this past fall.
Another ray of hope comes from our new Community, Urban Studies and Planning (CUSP) major, which has soared to over 60 enrolled majors in just two terms. This past term we enrolled the first students in our new Bachelors+Masters program connecting the CUSP and MURP, which is very exciting. Our revitalized undergraduate program is bringing fresh energy to the Toulan School.
As we look ahead to spring, the end of the school year is on the horizon. For the first time this year, CUPA will be all together - on campus - for a single graduation ceremony at the Viking Pavilion on Friday, June 13th at 1pm. Graduation is always a special occasion, but especially so when we can celebrate together as a college, on our beautiful Park Blocks campus.
In the meantime, I ask for your support for PSU Spring Day of Giving, which is coming up on April 17-18. Once again this year we are raising funds for the Tony Lamb Racial Justice Fellowship, which supports one MURP student per year to work with a BIPOC-led organization in the Portland region. The Lamb Fund is one of many impactful funds supporting students and faculty. Your support always matters, but especially at a time like now.
Sincerely,
Greg Schrock, PhD
Associate Professor and School Director