Starting off 2016-17 Academic Year: Achievements, Goals, and Events

I hope everyone had a great summer achieving goals while also spending time to relax and recharge. We are entering a new academic year which means I will resume my blog on a regular basis.

There were many accomplishments in FY16 through both individual and collective efforts; too many to list here, but they include:

• Adopting a new PSU Strategic Plan
• Finalizing our joint School of Public Health with OHSU and hiring its founding dean.
• Creating five new academic programs and 10 certificates.
• Completing or making significant progress on 24 reTHINK PSU projects; including advances in advising redesign.
• Working collaboratively through the Interest-Based Bargaining process with our faculty unions, PSUFA and PSU AAUP, to establish collective bargaining agreements.
• Individuals and groups of faculty and staff publishing articles, and receiving grant awards and honors.
• Continuing to improve our campus space with building renovations and expansions.
• Establishing task forces on African-American/Black and Asian/Pacific Islander Student Success.

Addressing ‘Implicit Bias’ on Decision Making

There is a growing understanding and recognition of the causes, impact, and prevention of implicit bias. Stanford’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines implicit bias as “…relatively unconscious and relatively automatic features of prejudiced judgment and social behavior.” There are many experts on this topic, including faculty and staff on our own campus. It is important that we recognize the existence of implicit bias in ourselves, in others, and in organizations, and take responsibility to understand and prevent it from occurring.

PSU’s New Approach to Advising: ‘Siri, Where is my Degree Map?’

Each student takes their own unique path towards their degree and each path is marked by a series of decisions: What should I major in? How long will it take to earn a degree? What courses should I enroll in? Can I afford it? What is a good work/school balance?

These are complicated questions that can be very stressful for students. Making the wrong decision about registration can set students back months and cost them a significant amount of money. When students are faced with an unanticipated change to their plan, whether that is a change in course availability, or a change of major, students are forced to revisit many of the same questions.

Our PSU students have told us they want to understand the full implications of a degree choice and know that their decisions align with their academic, career, and financial goals. As part of our reTHINK PSU efforts we are looking at ways to integrate our planning and advisement tools with student- and advisor-facing systems.

PSU at APLU National Competition
PSU was one of six universities selected to pitch an innovative idea to reform advising at the national Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) meeting. Each institution had five minutes to convince a panel of judges that their pitch was worthy of a $100,000 prize funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation and the Lumina Foundation.

And, guess what?

How PSU’s Academic Leadership Team (ALT) Works

A number of recent conversations in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), budget forums and meetings with department chairs provided me the motivation to write about the role of PSU’s Academic Leadership Team (ALT). The members of ALT are the schools/colleges and Library deans, the vice provosts and the provost.

A piece of trivia: ALT was formally known as the Deans’ Council before it underwent a name change two years ago to better reflect its purpose and function.

When it comes to ALT, shared governance and leadership is always part of the equation.

Changes in OAA and EMSA

I do not believe in change for the sake of change alone.  In my two years at Portland State I occasionally have asked if our structures optimize the accomplishment of our goals and mission.  With the opportunity presented by the search for a new Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs (EMSA), I, along with the guidance of the Academic Leadership Team (ALT-comprised of the deans, vice provosts and myself), assessed some of the services in EMSA that are most aligned with our academic functions and wrote a white paper with a set of recommendations.  EMSA provided their perspectives and conversations took place between the two divisions, with final recommendations reviewed and discussed with President Wiewel.