First-Gen, Future-Ready: Bold, Just & Transformative Actions for Equitable Success

What does it really take to ensure that first-generation college students thrive? Join Dr. Lindsay Romasanta, co-editor of the Journal of First-Generation Student Success and Catalyst First Speaker during this dynamic talk. Dr. Romasanta will show-case the history of the first-generation lexicon, dissecting the promising strategies and the asset based approaches all while centering student voices and lived experiences

Convening for a Thriving Future: Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, Asian, and Asian American Community

On October 1, 2022, Portland State University (PSU) held the Convening for a Thriving Future for Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, Asian, and Asian American (PIAA) Communities at the university’s Native American Student Community Center (NASCC). This event was part of a series of BIPOC-centered and -led community convenings by PSU’s Global Diversity & Inclusion as one of our action items in the Time to Act Plan for Equity & Racial Justice. PSU contracted with Roxanna Bautista of Rise Up Solutions to support the planning, development, and coordination of this convening, in addition to providing facilitation and contributing to this convening report. In addition, PSU partnered with PIAA communitybased organizations to hold this convening. Those community partners were: API Forward, Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), Oregon Pacific Islander Coalition (OPIC), Filipino Bayanihan Center, and the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO)-Pacific Islander Asian Family Center. The convening was organized into morning and afternoon sessions and breakfast and lunch were provided by Asian owned businesses, Phat Cart and Khao Niew Lao Street Food. The morning sessions consisted of remarks and presentations on data and PSU history from PSU leadership and Global Diversity & Inclusion. After these presentations, the next session featured a panel of PIAA community-based organizations and leaders who responded to discussion prompts, including what they would say a thriving future looks like for PIAA communities. After lunch, the afternoon sessions were composed of four breakout groups, where facilitators guided the discussion through various prompts. The convening wrapped up with report backs from those breakout groups and completion of evaluations. Related Materials: Five affinity-based convenings: Latiné Futures Convening Convening on the Future of Black Thriving & Joy Convening for a Thriving Future for Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, Asian, and Asian American Communities (PIAA) Convening for a Prosperous Future for Middle East, North African and South Asian Community (MENASA) Native Leaders Roundtable Time to Act Events:The Future and Thriving of BIPOC Communities: A Time to Act Macroconvening(Affinity groups met in-person November 2022)Time 2 Act: Continuing Action for a Just and Equitable PSU(Video - Winter Symposium 2021) Time to Act: Envisioning and Creating a Just and Equitable PSU(Video - Virtual Equity Summit, October 30, 2020) Equity Plan: Time to Act: Plan for Equity & Racial Justice 2021 - 2024 (PDF - Report, 2021

Culturally Engaging and Validating Strategies to Support BIPOC Students at PSU

Presenters: Lindsay Romasanta, Ed.D. - Assistant Vice President, Global Diversity & Inclusion Michelle Lee - Coordinator for Asian & Pacific Islander & Desi Student Services Pedro Torres - Assistant Director, Cultural Resource Centers About Global Diversity and Inclusion: Global Diversity and Inclusion is the central division that leads and facilitates the continuous quest for Inclusive Excellence. We structure our ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion journey through four pillars: Student Support and Programs Equity and Compliance Diversity Advocacy Diversity Education and Learning Presentation Outline (Agenda): Activity How we support BIPOC students at PSU Multicultural Retention Services Cultural Resource Centers TRIO Programs Practices to consider when referring BIPOC students to our services Asset Based Strategies Question and Answe

Scholar-Practitioners of Color Challenge Normative STEM-M Practices Through Cultural Intuition and Student Narratives/Voices

This symposium features four scholar-practitioners of color working across the STEM-Medicine (STEM-M) pipeline who are actively engaging their cultural intuition (Delgado Bernal, 1998) to create access to higher education by challenging dominant pathways, practices, and cultures related to college readiness/preparedness, success, persistence, and the workforce transition. Session Objectives Challenge systemic barriers in diverse educational settings, such as deficit-frameworks and their associated normative practices Promote asset-based approaches and frameworks to achieve better equity, access, and opportunity for students of color in STEM-M pathways in K-16 settings Facilitate discussion with the audience on how they can replicate a similar approach of change at their respective institutio

How TRIO Sparked the Fire That Fuels the First-Generation Movement: An Interview With Arnold Mitchem and Maureen Hoyler

The Co-Editors of Journal of First-generation Student Success, Rashné R. Jehangir, Ph.D., and Lindsay Romasanta, Ed.D., both former TRIO staff members, begin this inaugural issue with an interview with Council for Opportunity in Education founder and president emeritus Arnold Mitchem, Ph.D., and current president Maureen Hoyler, J.D. This conversation is an effort to situate the history of the first-gen movement with those who were there at the beginning and continue to engage in the work today. To quote James Baldwin, ‘‘Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.’’ The term ‘‘first-generation’’ has grown in use over the past ten years and has its roots in the Higher Education Act of 1980. In 2017, the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) and the Center for First-generation Student Success (Center) launched the inaugural First- Generation College Celebration to encourage colleges and universities to celebrate the success of first-generation college students, faculty, and staff. This coming together of COE and NASPA was the impetus behind the idea for this interview. This interview was conducted by video conference on December 10th, 2020, and has been edited for space and context

Beyond the Bottom Line: Layoffs Leading to a Reflection on Transformational Resistance

This chapter recounts the experiences of two women—higher education scholar practitioners from working class, immigrant family backgrounds—as they navigated supporting essential campus workers who were unexpectedly laid off as a result of COVID-19 budget cuts. The authors initiated a fundraising campaign which led to a ripple effect of campus-wide mobilization and transformational resistance. Fueled by their cultural intuition and conscientization, the authors share their testimonios to reflect on the ways in which higher education can both be an engine of social mobility, while also reproducing and magnifying social inequities

A Photo-Testimonio: Educational Expectations for Resiliencies of First-Generation Latina STEM College Students

This chapter is to inform university administrators and student affairs professionals on the existing images and practices of Latina undergraduate college students’ expectations for academic resiliencies towards college attainment in white-serving institutions. Historically classified as “at risk,” the enrollment of Latinas in predominantly white-serving institutions often perpetuates generalizations, stereotypes, and statements about their missing characteristics and dispositions to be academically successful. In science, technology, engineering, and math education (STEM) the enrollment and post-secondary completion of Latinas in these academic disciplines is largely disproportionate when compared to other groups at the intersections of race and gender. In fact, Latinas are less likely to get a degree in one of the STEM areas than other women. Arguably, students’ institutional experiences are nuanced and contextualized. The failure to fully understand the perceptions and experiences of first generation Latinas is problematic, given their emergence in US population and the dire need for them to contribute to the STEM fields

The Influence of the \u27Trump Effect\u27 on Latina Immigrant Student Aspirations and Expectations for STEM Achievement

This is chapter 8, part of section II - Addressing the Crisis of Higher Education for Refugee and Immigrant Students, in the book Higher Education Challenges for Migrant and Refugee Students in a Global World. Book summary:This book informs readers of theory, policy and practice of refugee and migrant equitable access to higher education, especially indicating how policy makers, educational leaders and practitioners can support refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants\u27 inclusion in higher education institutions in the global world

Creating a Just Climate Future: A Community Dialogue

On May 12, Portland State hosted a symposium on climate justice that brought together staff members from community organizations, regional and local climate policy leaders, and student activists from PSU and PCC to discuss their priorities and explore how PSU can aid and elevate the efforts of those working directly on this important issue. The event, “Creating a Just Climate Future: A Community Dialogue, paired with PSU’s 15th Annual Sustainability Celebration, was seeded by PSU President Stephen Percy’s climate initiative announcement