HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF GATHERING SPACE, BUILDING COMMUNITY
New Cultural Resource Centers: Grand Opening Celebration
Date: Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016 from 5:00-10:00pm
Location: SMSU Ballroom
Join us as we celebrate the opening of our two newest Cultural Resource Centers: the Pacific Islander, Asian, and Asian American Student Center and the Pan-African Commons!
Name Reveal of Our New Centers
Date: Monday, October 17th, 2016 from 12:00-1:00pm
Location: Multicultural Student Center, SMSU 228
(Spring Term 2016 - Timeline & Voting Information.
AAAB Naming Session II Gathering Space: Building Communities
Date: Wednesday, October 12th, 2016 from 4:00-6:00pm
Location: SMSU 236
Be a part of continuing conversations to search and identify the name of the new African, African American, Black Student Resource Center. Notes from 10/12/16
AAAB Lunch Gathering Space/Naming Session I Gathering Space: Building Communities
Date: Wednesday, October 5th, 2016 from 12:00-2:00pm
Location: African, African American, Black Student Resource Center
Join us welcome each other in the new school year, the new centers, and have initial conversations about the next steps in the naming process for the African, African American, and Black Student Resource Center. Notes from 10/5/16
New Center Naming Update
Date: Thursday, July 7th, 2016
After the announcement of two new additions to the Cultural Resource Centers (CRC) in December of 2015, the CRC team has been busy taking thoughtful steps towards opening new student resource centers for the Asian American/Asian/Pacific Islander and African American/African/Black communities. We created the Gathering Space: Building Community Program in order to implement this opening of the centers and our ongoing expansion. Students, working with CRC professional staff, crafted a timeline, coordinated outreach strategies, and held visioning sessions (all available below) to help usher in our new spaces with a strong student-centered foundation. One of these pieces included the naming of the new centers, a process that began in April 2016 and culminated in a naming workshop on June 10th, 2016. At that time, two names were chosen: Pan-African Community Student Center and the Heart of Asian American, Asian, and Pacific Islanders Student Center.
The Cultural Resource Centers are dynamic spaces that strive to create a student-centered inclusive environment that enriches the university experience. As such, our staff are committed to listening to the feedback of our stakeholders and make adjustments to our work when necessary. After the names of the centers were announced, concerns were raised. One of those concerns centered on the desire to include more students in the naming process. To honor our collaborative student-centered approach, we have chosen as a team to revisit the naming process to include the voices of our newly hired professional staff as well as a more robust pool of students and university stakeholders. In August, our team will be reaching out to the university community to begin these conversations. We look forward to collaborating with you. We will be communicating updates through our website and newsletter. We encourage you to sign up for our newsletter and visit our website for further updates. We appreciate your support, patience, and grace as we move into this exciting new chapter for the Cultural Resource Centers and thank you for sharing this news with your networks.
Sincerely,
Cultural Resource Centers
cultures@pdx.edu
Staffing Updates (Summer 2016)
Thank you to all who contributed to the search for the new Program Coordinators of our new centers. Please help us welcome our new team members:
- Pacific Islander, Asian, & Asian American Student Center Program Coordinator: Makerusa "Mak" Porotesano
- Pan-African Commons Program Coordinator: Shanice Clarke
Cultural Resource Centers AAAPI Naming Session II Gathering Space: Building Communities
Date: Friday, July 1st, 2016 from 12:30-2:30pm
Location: Multicultural Student Center
Join us to discuss the new Cultural Resource Centers for African American, African, and Black students and Asian American, Asian, and Pacific Islander students scheduled to open Fall 2016. Notes from 7/1/16
Cultural Resource Centers Naming Session Gathering Space: Building Communities
Date: Friday, June 10th, 2016 from 12:00-1:00pm
Location: La Casa Latina (LCL)
Join us to discuss the naming of the new Cultural Resource Centers for African American, African, and Black students and Asian American, Asian, and Pacific Islander students scheduled to open Fall 2016.
Cultural Resource Centers Open Forums Gathering Space: Building Communities
Date: Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016 from 12:00-1:00pm
Location: Native American Student and Community Center (NASCC)
Join us to discuss the new Cultural Resource Centers for African American, African, and Black students and Asian American, Asian, and Pacific Islander students scheduled to open Fall 2016. Feedback from the Open Forums on 5/3/2016
EMPOWER Student & Mentor Gathering Feeback Session on AA/A/PI Student Center
Date: Thursday, April 7th, 2016
Location: DMSS
Feedback from the Visioning Session on 4/7/2016
Visioning our Space: The Future of the Cultural Resource Center for African American, African, and Black Students
Date: Thursday, February 18th, 2016 from 5:30-7:00pm
Location: La Casa Latina (SMSU 229)
Come and share your feedback and suggestions on the new cultural resource center for African American, African, and Black Students. Light food and refreshments provided. Feedback from the Visioning Session on 2/18/2016
Cultural Resource Centers Open Forums Gathering Space: Building Communities
Date: Wednesday, February 10th, 2016 from 12:00-1:00pm
Location: La Casa Latina (SMSU 229)
Join us to discuss the new Cultural Resource Centers for African American, African, and Black students and Asian American, Asian, and Pacific Islander students scheduled to open Fall 2016. Feedback from the Visioning Session on 2/10/16 Pictures from the Open Forum
The Future Asian Pacific Islander Center: with Guest Speaker Dr. Alma Trinidad
Date:Thursday, January 14th, 2016 from 4:30-6:30pm
Location: SMSU 333
Join us to discuss the up and coming development of the Asian Pacific Islander Center at Portland State University. This is a great opportunity to share what students want and need on our campus. Come and share your opinion to mold this idea into a concrete facility projected to be built in Fall 2016. Hosted by PSU Kaibigan - Filipino American Student Association. Representatives included PSU Coalition for Asian Pacific American Studies (CAPAS), Vietnamese Student Association (VSA), Cambodian Student Association (CSA), Pacific Islander Club (PIC), API identified students, allies, staff, and faculty. Feedback from the Visioning Session on 1/14/16
Students of Color Speak Out
On December 1, 2015, Portland State University (PSU) students organized a “Students of Color Speak Out”. At this event, many students shared personal experiences of racial injustices and challenges with inclusive spaces, curriculum content, and campus climate. One result of the Speak Out was University President Wim Wiewel responding to demands set forth by the students. This came in the form of an announcement of the creation of two additional Cultural Resource Centers aimed at serving the African/African American/Black and Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander student communities to be opened in Fall 2016.
Space Updates
The new centers will be located in the Cascade Room: SMSU 236 & 235.We worked closely with stakeholders across campus to find the best location for the new Asian American, Asian, and Pacific Islander Student Center and African American, African and Black Student Center. Students, community, staff, and faculty agreed that it would be best to house the new centers on the 2nd floor of Smith Memorial Student Union (SMSU) for consistency, to ease way finding, to leverage resources. Stakeholders sought to create a co-located space with the existing La Casa Latina Student Center and the Multicultural Student Center. The spaces underwent a thorough vetting process that included carefully considering impact, usage, and needs. Various scenarios were submitted to the University Space Committee and the final space was approved in mid March. Construction will begin in June 2016.
Links to Student and Community Feedback: Black Cultural Resource Center Space Proposal