The past year has been exceptionally difficult and painful for many in our community. As president, I am committed to doing everything in my power to promote a safe, equitable learning environment for all. While I can and will continue to work toward this foundational goal, I need everyone’s cooperation and commitment to bring it about.
Although the violence of the spring term has abated since June, there continue to be disturbing events and reports of antisemitic and anti-Palestinian acts. Even if you weren’t on campus over the summer you might have read about anti-Palestinian fliers posted in Cramer Hall in July. The contents of the fliers were derogatory and vile. They were removed as soon as they were discovered and reported to the Office of Equity and Compliance, which, in partnership with Facilities and the Campus Public Safety Office, conducted a full investigation. The responsible individual was identified and the university took appropriate action to address the misconduct.
The resolution brought a sense of relief — our systems of bias response are strong — but also renewed concern for the campus environment as we look ahead to the coming academic year and all of the points of contention that we will wrestle with as a community. With a ceasefire in Gaza still elusive, heartbreaking scenes of death and destruction continue to play out — certainly not only in the Middle East but also in Ukraine, Sudan, and so many other flashpoints around the world.
To be clear: there is no place on this campus for antisemitism, anti-Palestinian hate, or any form of violence, or identity-based discrimination or bias.
What can we do to bolster peace on our own campus? Pro-Palestinian students have asked that PSU divest from Boeing and we’ve compromised on that point: We don’t invest in the company, which funds scholarships and employs many PSU alums, but we’ve paused accepting any new gifts while we closely examine our policies on socially responsible partnerships. Jewish students have expressed their concerns about what they experience as an antisemitic environment on campus and we have worked with Hillel PDX on recommendations for combating antisemitism and ensuring Jewish student safety. We're as committed as we’ve ever been to making sure our campus is a safe, functional and welcoming place for all of our students, faculty and employees.
As we face down a contentious election season we’re mobilizing our university community to vote and take other positive actions to create the kind of future we most want to see in the world. And I would love to see that commitment to positive change animate all aspects of our work in the upcoming academic year.
I was pleased this summer to receive the final report from the Building Community Through Dialogue Task Force which is packed with recommendations about how to improve our campus climate — from carving out more spaces on campus for dialogue to more training for all of us on skills like cultural competency, de-escalation and trauma-informed practices. We’ll be releasing the report soon and I look forward to working with all of you to implement as many of these ideas as we can.
When students are back on campus, we’ll be sharing details about the Committee on Socially Responsible Investment and Partnership I announced in May, which will develop recommendations to ensure that decisions we make about investments, gifts, and partnerships are grounded in our values and aligned with our mission.
We’ve also unveiled a new Free Speech website that outlines how we protect free speech while continuing to serve students from all backgrounds. It’s vital that we’re clear about our rules and that we take a viewpoint-neutral approach to enforcing them.
But what’s even more important is how we treat each other. One of the guiding commitments of our new strategic plan is building a community ethos of care and well-being. That begins with how we show up on this campus, how we listen to each other, and how we navigate big feelings and challenging issues. We can support free expression on this campus while continuing to make it clear that hate has no place here.
I am committed to building this ethos with all of you and I invite you to share your ideas with me on how we can enhance our campus community. Send a note to president@pdx.edu.