"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker."

- Helen Keller

From the Desk Of . . .

Martha Balshem, Special Assistant to the President for Diversity and Professor of Sociology

The Office of the President’s Diversity Initiative (OPDI) was established in 2006, with personnel and resources already devoted to diversity and funded through the President’s Office. Staffing the new office are Kelle Lawrence, Coordinator of Diversity Programs; Ed Washington, Community Liaison for Diversity Initiatives; and myself, Special Assistant to the President for Diversity.

OPDI staffs and is advised by the Diversity Action Council (DAC). The DAC was convened in 1999, as recommended by the President’s Commission on Campus Climate and Life, and is charged with formulating Portland State’s Diversity Action Plan. The current DAC is designing a formal assessment of the accomplishments and challenges of the past eight years. OPDI staff is designing a list of key indicators to use in tracking the campus’s progress on diversity.

The assessment described above is one central support that OPDI can provide to the diversity-related efforts of all units on campus. Another central resource that OPDI provides is its diversity workshop programs, DAHRT and PSUnity.

DAHRT, the Diversity Action Hiring and Retention Team, presents information on hiring for diversity and creating a welcoming and inclusive office or department climate for new hires. A one-hour DAHRT presentation may be requested by any office, faculty meeting, or hiring committee, or for any faculty or staff retreat.

PSUnity, a mostly volunteer group composed of faculty and staff, offers a one-day Diversity and Inclusion Workshop four times each year. The workshop focuses on sharing stories, building interpersonal understanding, and communicating openly and effectively about diversity issues. Workshop participants learn one method of interrupting prejudiced and discriminatory comments. The group also presents a one-and-a-half hour workshop called the PSUnity Sampler, a “dialogue on dialogue” that opens up the diversity discussion. Finally, PSUnity staffs “listening tables” in response to on- or off-campus events that Portland State students and employees may find upsetting.

At Portland State, our workplace is also an educational environment. In building our understanding of diversity issues, faculty and staff are not only creating a happier and more rewarding workplace but also building the university’s capacity to prepare our students for positive citizenship in an increasingly diverse society.

To learn more about OPDI, or to request a workshop or presentation, contact us at opdi@pdx.edu or 5-5919, or visit us on the web at diversity.pdx.edu. We would love to hear from you.