by Julie Smith
May 24th 2022
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Portland State President Stephen Percy, Vice President for Global Diversity and Inclusion Ame Lambert and the Diversity Action Council presented diversity awards Monday in a robust ceremony held in the Native American Student and Community Center to recognize honorees for their outstanding accomplishments in making PSU a more diverse, inclusive and equitable university for all our students, faculty, staff and campus community. The celebration also included performances from the PSU Taiko Ensemble and PSU Chamber Choir that commemorated Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
"The awards recognize the faculty, staff and students that are leading with their actions and their commitment," Percy said. "They embody our shared goals and are moving us forward as we aspire to be a racially just campus and community."
The event speaker was Marie Lo, professor and chair of PSU’s English department. She spoke of her personal experience exploring Asian American Studies at UC Berkeley, and urged condemnation of Asian American hate crimes that have erupted in the United States and the widespread educational gag orders that attempt to suppress teaching about race in American history.
"I know this speech has been a bit of a killjoy, but I use 'killjoy' in the best possible way — in the transformative, loving, hopeful, and aspirational registers of Sara Ahmed’s concept of the feminst killjoy," Lo said. "It is out of love that brings us together to celebrate and then resume the difficult work of creating a just, peaceful, and equitable space for our students, our community and for our collective futures."
2022 President’s Diversity Awards recipients include:
- Distinguished Faculty: Cristina Herrera, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Chicano/Latino Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Jeff Conn, Ph.D., Associate Clinical Professor, Speech and Hearing Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
- Distinguished Staff: Evan Green, Executive Director, Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, School of Business; Yamile Nataren Fuentes, Admissions Counselor, Multicultural Recruitment and Outreach
- Distinguished Undergraduate: Lisa Dinh, Biology and Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
- Distinguished Graduate Student: Jennifer Martinez-Medina, Public Affairs and Policy, College of Urban and Public Affairs.
- Distinguished Team: Vernier Science Center Student Advisory Board, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences