PSU leaning into its majority-BIPOC future

Ame Lambert, vice president for Global Diversity and Inclusion, shares remarks during the Embracing Our Majority-BIPOC Future symposium, where faculty, staff and students gathered to envision and help shape a future that reflects PSU's rich diversity (Alberto Pujazon).

Since its founding in 1946, Portland State has been many things: An institution founded to serve veterans returning home from war. A commuter campus. A home for "nontraditional" students who are older, work full-time and have children. A pathway for social mobility.

It's still those things - while also leaning into its present and future as a more racially and ethnically diverse university than it's ever been. Black, Indigenous and students of color (BIPOC) now make up half of the student body. The university holds one federal Minority Serving Institution designation as an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) and is working toward a second as an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution.

"How is this different from being predominantly white? How should it be different? We find ourselves in the midst of that grappling," said Ame Lambert, vice president for Global Diversity and Inclusion. "It is a big responsibility and a new reality, but also an incredible opportunity. We are listening, we are learning, and we're trying to grow as fast as we can so we can meet the needs of our students, our colleagues and reach our aspirations to be the premier minority-serving institution in the region."

Lambert's remarks came during a two-day symposium - Embracing Our Majority-BIPOC Future - where dozens of faculty, staff and students gathered to envision and help shape a future that reflects PSU's rich diversity.

For students like Tina Ngo, that future looks like more BIPOC administrators and faculty who better reflect PSU's increasingly diverse students and their lived experiences and needs. It means committing to ongoing assessments of its progress in fostering a more inclusive and equitable institution and embracing programs like multicultural retention services.

Davineekaht White Elk, another student, shared the importance of community and urged the campus community to take responsibility for learning about cultural traditions and differences as a way to help lessen the culture shock that many BIPOC students feel when they first arrive at PSU. She also advocated for investment in cultural spaces and clubs that provide a home away from home for those students.

"If we don't have that community, we don't have a sense of home and if we don't have a sense of home, then we're lost," she said.

Brady Roland, president of PSU's student government, said the changing demographics will require systems that actively uplift and empower all students, including expanding mental health resources that reflect students' identities, creating mentorship programs led by faculty and staff of color and ensuring that student voices drive decisions at all levels.

"Embracing this future is not just about celebrating diversity. It's about confronting uncomfortable truths, challenging inequitable structures, and committing to real change," she said. "I believe that PSU has the potential to be a model for what an inclusive, majority-BIPOC institution looks like. This is our chance to lead not just by reflecting on diversity, but by living it, and that means building a campus where students don't just survive but thrive, and a place where every student knows they're not just a number but an essential part of our shared campus story."

Lambert said embracing PSU's majority-BIPOC future is as much about focusing on traditional indicators of success for students, like graduation and persistence rates, as it is about what HSI scholar Gina Garcia calls "liberatory outcomes" - helping students develop critical consciousness, agency, civic-mindedness, a positive sense of self and a commitment to uplifting their communities.

Lambert shared a framework for how PSU can work toward achieving both kinds of outcomes, continuing the work begun as part of the 2020 Time to Act plan. At its foundation is providing for students' basic needs and holistic health, removing barriers to student success and fostering a campus environment that feels physically and psychologically safe. Then, it's about continuing efforts around PSU's current and emerging MSI designations, closing equity gaps for both students and employees, and building a shared understanding around Portland's oppressive past and PSU's role in imagining and helping create different futures. Finally, it's about building capacity to create a culturally engaging campus environment.

"We want to leverage the cultural wealth, rich cultures, rich histories and rich assets that are coming to our community and have our practices and policies recognize that our community is heterogeneous," Lambert said. "The idea is to make this real and to have that show up in our spaces."

PSU President Ann Cudd says the symposium filled her with renewed hope and optimism.

"I hope we'll look back on today as a turning point in PSU's history, a day that we were able to dedicate to envisioning a future where our majority-BIPOC student body not only persists through the myriad of challenges posed by the higher education journey, but thrives during their time here," she said. "I know that's possible because of all of you - your commitment has brought us to this point - and our shared commitment to our students and our community will carry us into a new era."