by Katy Swordfisk
February 5th 2021
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For the next several months, representatives from across Portland State University departments will come together to explore personal, cultural and societal issues working toward a more diverse and inclusive community.
“It’s a space that allows us to work across our silos and become a community grounded in shared knowledge and lenses,” said Ame Lambert, vice president of Global Diversity and Inclusion.
Intercultural U began in January with two cohorts — one including executive council leadership and another with members of the Academic Leadership Team and other leaders nominated by their Vice Presidents and Deans — meeting several times until May to explore topics related to the personal, cultural and societal aspects of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion as part of the commitment to move the PSU community closer to social justice and eliminating structural racism.
President Stephen Percy said in January that racial justice is his top strategic priority for Portland State.
“I think as the conversations deepen and get harder, the time invested in the begining to create community allows folks to to dig in and push past prior comfort zones,” Lambert said.
Lambert designed the Intercultural U curriculum in 2009 and brought the concept to PSU for the first time this year. She hopes to broaden the program in the future to further equip stakeholders across campus to do the work PSU has committed to do and bring equity and justice lenses to their respective departments and spheres of influence.
“A community with shared lenses, shared grounding in the work — that’s the primary goal,” Lambert said. “When we have more participants on campus it starts to get at a culture shift and amplifies the work.”