"Varying Realities of the Human Experience": University Studies Program at Portland State University

Authors

Charles Ryan Brown, Portland State University
Grace L. Dillon, Portland State UniversityFollow
Celine Fitzmaurice, Portland State UniversityFollow
Greg Jacob, Portland State University
Yves P. Labissiere, Portland State UniversityFollow
Antonia Levi, Portland State University
Cherry Muhanji, Portland State University
Candyce Reynolds, Portland State UniversityFollow
Jack C. Straton, Portland State UniversityFollow

Published In

Learning Communities & Educational Reform, Summer 2005: Diversity, Educational Equity, & Learning Communities

ISBN

9781563771019

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

Summer 2005

Subjects

Community-based learning, Civic engagement, Higher Education -- Social aspects, Portland State University -- Curriculum, Mentoring in education

Abstract

Like many institutions of higher education, Portland State University (PSU) has engaged in initiatives to promote a more equitable and democratic society, from curricular changes to institutional policy implementation. In the late 1980s, PSU required students to complete a certain number of “diversity” credits as part of its general education requirements. During the 1990s, PSU radically revised its approach to general education, creating the University Studies Program that places diversity awareness among its core goals. Most recently, current President Daniel O. Bernstine has instituted a comprehensive “Diversity Initiative” as part of a series of initiatives aimed at improving the quality of university life for students, faculty, and staff.

This paper recounts the institutional context for the University Studies Program’s emphasis on diversity, provides an overview of the University Studies general education curriculum, which is designed as a series of interdisciplinary learning communities, and offers examples of teaching approaches that promote diversity awareness.

Rights

© Washington Center

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/32451

Citation Details

Fitzmaurice, C., Brown, C., Jacob, G., Labissiere, Y., Levi, A., Muhanji, C., Reynolds, C., & Straton, J. (2005). "Varying Realities of the Human Experience": University Studies Program at Portland State University. Summer 2005 Learning Communities and Educational Reform, 93-106.