PSUFA Statement on Spring 2025 Non-Renewal Notices

PSUFA Statement on Spring 2025 Non-Renewal Notices

The PSUFA CBA Article 8.3.5 mandates a timeline for reappointments. During Winter Term, your department should have inquired about your availability and desire to teach during AY 25-26, no later than week 5. This term (Spring 2025) all adjuncts should have received a notice of intent to renew or not renew an appointment for AY 25-26 by the end of week 5. Further details about course assignments and schedule for the coming academic year will be communicated to faculty by July 15.

Your Spring Term intent letter will either confirm the intent of the department to renew your appointment, confirm that the department does not intend to renew your appointment, and in some cases you may receive a letter that states that the department is unable to confirm their intent at the moment. This typically means that they have not worked out the schedule for AY 25-26 yet. To see the specific contract language, see Article 8 in the CBA.

Last year PSU sent similar non-renewal notices to many adjuncts in the middle of 2 year contracts, and PSUFA immediately filed a grievance for all adjuncts on two year contracts whose assignment rights per Article 8 Section 3.6 had been violated. PSU refused to process the grievances, falsely claiming that group grievances--a grievance filled for more than one person and including unnamed individuals-- are not allowed in our Collective Bargaining Agreement. This claim ignored the fact that many group grievances have been filed and processed in the past.

Nearly a year after the university's response and refusal to process the group grievance, your union and PSU were scheduled for an arbitration hearing last week that would decide on this matter. A day before the arbitration hearing, PSU settled with your union agreeing to the processing of the group grievance. This is an important win for PSUFA who fought the university for nearly a year to protect our right to file group grievances!

The next step is an arbitration hearing on the substantive issue: whether PSU violated the assignment rights for adjuncts who were not renewed in the middle of two year contracts. If you are in the middle of a two year contract and have recently received a non-renewal notice, please reach out to us and stay tuned as we head into arbitration again in mid-August. The result of that hearing will have a direct impact on every adjunct facing non-renewal on a 2 year contract this year. 

Bargaining Recap: 5/2/25 Session

Bargaining Recap: 5/2/25 Session

PSU's "Unprofessional" Behavior at the Bargaining Table Shocks Adjunct and Student Observers

Last Friday’s bargaining session was HOT (figuratively, yes, plus the bargaining room didn’t have a/c). Student observers were shocked at how “unprofessional” PSU’s team was. While PSU administrators were busy lobbing insults at Adjuncts and using legal subterfuge to disqualify negotiations over our essential working conditions, Adjuncts were busy presenting bold, innovative proposals on Member Rights, Academic Freedom, and Personnel Files with a real vision for “equitable access to a quality education,” PSU’s purported mission. Read on for details about these exciting proposals that address the pressing concerns of Adjuncts and the entire community at PSU-–from the use of AI technologies in education, to the climate catastrophe, to the explosion of online courses, to the detentions and deportations of our colleagues and students.

Whereas PSU’s team repeatedly tells Adjuncts that it’s not obligated to offer them anything beyond what is mandated by law, your bargaining team is making proposals that would result in better working conditions for faculty, better learning conditions for your students–and even in a more democratic society. Some of our student observers with YDSA were so upset about what they heard at the table that they are now circulating a petition to other students demanding that PSU administration give adjuncts stronger academic freedom protections! 

Given the importance of academic freedom to PSUFA members, and the current attacks on higher education, PSUFA invited our full-time faculty colleague Jennifer Ruth, Professor of Film Studies, as a subject matter expert to elaborate on how crucial protections to academic freedom are to the health and integrity of our university. Ruth is the co-author of the 2022 book It’s Not Free Speech: Race, Democracy, and the Future of Academic Freedom. 

Adjunct faculty are highly concerned about academic freedom (a brief straw poll of bargaining unit members confirmed this last week), and Ruth emphasized the importance of codifying academic freedom in collective bargaining agreements as a measure that protects both faculty and the university. 

Even so, immediately following the robust academic freedom presentation (and in front of a crowd of faculty, staff, and student supporters), Admin’s team thanked Ruth, vaguely mentioned a commitment to academic freedom and then immediately quashed the proposal, by denying PSUFA’s right to bargain over Article 6. This denial was intended to shock the bargaining team and observers.  “Academic freedom matters to students as well” one student angrily proclaimed after the session. 

Admin’s denial of PSUFA’s right to open the article on Academic Freedom is rooted in an ongoing technical dispute between the teams over the commencement date of bargaining, which has implications related to the Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act timeline (quick explanation here). And while PSUFA declared their intention to open the Academic Freedom article (as well as many others) back when bargaining started, PSU did not, showing that Admin is satisfied with the limited protections in the current contract, even while threats to academic freedom on American campuses intensify. (AAUP national recently found that more than one in three faculty say they have less academic freedom today when it comes to teaching content without any interference, and speaking freely when participating in shared governance!) Plus, while PSU knew days in advance that PSUFA intended to propose changes to Article 6, the team saved their bombshell refusal for the bargaining table. What does it mean that PSU felt compelled to announce to a room of Adjuncts and PSU community observers that it will block Adjuncts from bargaining over academic freedom on technical grounds? Imagine what kind of university not only doesn’t want to bargain over academic freedom protections for contingent faculty but flaunts this!  

After a brief caucus, heated discussion continued and culminated with Admin accusing the PSUFA team of “'selective hearing'" (and right before we shared our nondiscrimination clause, too!). These comments were so egregious that even students shared their concern with our team likening management to a schoolyard bully.  

Eventually, PSUFA presented a reimagined Article 7 on Member Rights. Your team has been working for weeks on this proposal which included demands to expand protection from discrimination, new language on intellectual property rights and privacy, protections against the university replacing our labor with Artificial Intelligence technologies, and new rights around access to course materials and other support for Adjunct faculty. Your team was proud to make demands for the safety of our entire PSU and planetary community by calling for a weapons- and fossil fuel- free campus and for PSU’s status as a sanctuary campus to be enshrined in our contract. Throughout the presentation of the proposal, the PSUFA bargaining team consistently expressed concern for student well-being. Because basic needs insecurity deeply impacts student learning, the team also called on the University to adequately resource critical campus services and programs for students, like the Women's Resource Center, the Queer Resource Center, the Disability Resource Center, and PSU CARES. 

As we gear up for the next bargaining session we need adjunct testimony at the bargaining table, so sign up here! Join your colleagues and students on Friday May 23 from 12-5 to observe bargaining and tell PSU that We Are Worth More!

Bargaining Recap 4/18/25 Session

Your all-star bargaining team was back at it last week, negotiating for a great contract for all PSU adjuncts on Friday, 4/18! We had both adjuncts and students in attendance in person and on zoom, and your support was key in showing admin that we mean business. In case you missed it, team member Alison Lutz brings us this snappy recap:

“Last Friday’s bargaining session began with continued conversation about accurately recording changes in the proposals we exchange at the table. PSUFA caught several instances in which PSU had altered the original language in our CBA without notating the changes, making it appear as if management’s new language is the agreed upon language.  PSU acknowledged their mistakes were violations of the procedure we had agreed to in our ground rules and recommitted to do better moving forward. 

After a brief caucus, PSU asked several questions in regard to PSUFA’s Article 3 (Union Rights, Privileges & Limitations)  proposal from 4/4. There was specific attention and concern from Administration about your union’s proposal to add 3 dedicated PSUFA-specific bulletin boards on campus, to accompany the one board our union contract provides for in SMSU. This bulletin board has been MIA since the pandemic and despite efforts to locate the board, which used to be on the 2nd floor of Smith, by PSUFA members, the board has not been found. The Vice Provost of Faculty Success did seem to be aware of its disappearance but not of its current whereabouts. Why do we need more dedicated bulletin boards? To keep you, our members and allies, informed of our various initiatives and activities. Why does PSU seem to be so skeptical about us having bulletin boards? The reason for admin’s attitude towards this issue is still unclear, but worth keeping in mind as we move forward. 

PSUFA had the opportunity to present our most recent Article 4 counterproposal. We reemphasized our commitment to a quarterly Adjunct Orientation, better Onboarding and pay for attending orientation at both the university and department/college level as being fundamental to adjunct inclusion and collaboration between the University and the Union. PSU spent the remainder of the session insisting that Orientation needs to be streamlined (reduced) and not collaboratively led and repeatedly stating that they are fulfilling their legal obligation. In an echo of their approach to cancelling courses with “low enrollment,” PSU suggested that facilitating orientation for a small number of adjuncts was not worth their time.

Our takeaway? For this session, we give PSU a C+ grade as an employer. The current management strategy calls to mind a student who is looking to just pass the class and move on, rather than striving to excel or go beyond the bare minimum.”


Make sure you don’t miss out on all the action at our next session! Join as an observer, either in-person or remote, and help your union hold PSU accountable for their role in creating great teaching and learning environment by negotiating a fair adjunct contract. The next session will take place on Friday, May 2, from 12-4pm, followed by a post-session team huddle 15 minutes after the close of negotiations. RSVP here! And email bargaining@psufa.org if you have questions or want to find out about more ways to get involved with your union.

Visa Revocations at PSU: What to Know and Resources to Help

Visa Revocations at PSU: What to Know and Resources to Help

Artwork by Pete Railand, courtesy Just Seeds

On Thursday, April 10, PSU President Ann Cudd sent a university-wide email alerting our community to the alarming news that several current and former PSU students had their visas revoked by the Trump administration. The email read, in part:

“​​This morning we learned that the federal government terminated the visa eligibility for two current PSU students and one recent graduate. We have not been informed of the cause for this action and our Office of International Student and Scholar Services is working to connect the impacted students with the necessary resources to determine a path forward.”

The message went on to offer the following campus resources:

Additional resources not included in PSU’s email that may be useful include the DREAMER Resource Center, this Rapid Response Guide from ACLU Oregon, and this Know Your Rights Guide from AFT-Oregon.

Click through to read the full email from Pres. Cudd. 


PSUFA and our parent union, AFT-Oregon, stand with our international faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate students and reject the Trump administration’s widespread intimidation tactics and outright unlawful conduct in detaining legal United States residents and visiting international students and scholars under specious accusations.

We have heard initial reports of members of other locals in Oregon having their visas revoked, and will share more information as it becomes available. If this is happening to you or another member of our adjunct bargaining unit, or if you are concerned you may be targeted for this kind of action, please reach out to your union so we can connect you with support and resources. 

As public employees, PSU faculty and staff have a responsibility to protect student information. We are not allowed to give out any information about students even to family members, and importantly not to ICE. Whether ICE can enter a campus to take enforcement action depends on whether the area is considered public. Federal immigration enforcement officers can enter public areas without a warrant, just like any member of the public. However, officers cannot access nonpublic areas of campus without permission from an authorized campus official. Institutional employees are not required to grant access, provide documents or assist federal immigration officers in entering nonpublic areas of the campus. Federal immigration enforcement agents may not enter areas that are private without a legally sufficient judicial warrant. Read more about what’s legal and how to protect yourself in this guide from AFT-Oregon. 

AFT-Oregon maintains a legal defense fund in the event that a matter affecting a union member reaches or is expected to reach legal or administrative proceedings. PSUFA can connect adjuncts with this fund when appropriate, please let us know if you would like more information about this resource. 


PSUFA is calling all adjuncts to join faculty, staff, and students from across the city to fight against the deportations and take back our universities! Join us from 12-1 on Thursday April 17 in Montgomery Plaza as will call for the protection of workers and students, the end of genocide and repression, and demand that our university's administration not comply with fascism!

Spring Into Action With Your Union!

Get ready to Spring Into Action with a week of organizing activities, April 14-18! Join your fellow PSUFA members all next week and take action to make a difference—from bargaining for a better contract to protecting our nation’s education from political attacks, there are multiple days and ways for every adjunct to get involved.

Maybe you want to observe bargaining and eat cake with your colleagues? Or perhaps you’d like to discuss political action methods in a reading group. You could attend a rally and teach-in on national higher ed issues, or if you can’t come to in-person events join the bargaining Zoom or share your story about being an adjunct. However you choose to participate, you’ll be contributing your power and voice as a worker to make things better for all adjuncts at PSU, and our students and communities too!

Check out what’s going on in the schedule of events below and be part of the action! Questions? Email psufa.martha@gmail.com or organizing@psufa.org with questions and additional ways to get involved.

SPRING INTO ACTION EVENTS APRIL 14-18

Wednesday, April 16: Labor & Lit Reading Group, FMH B134, 1:30-2:30pm RSVP HERE

Thursday, April 17: HELU National Day of Action Rally, multiple campus locations, all day, DETAILS HERE

Friday, April 18: Let Us Eat Cake! Bargaining observation and cake with colleagues, RMNC Rm 316, 11:30-1:30, details and RSVP HERE

Spring 2025 New Adjunct Orientation, Office of Academic Innovation, SMU, 3-5pm, RSVP HERE

ALL WEEK LONG: Submit your testimony for bargaining, link to form HERE

MORE EVENT DETAILS BELOW

Wednesday, April 16

Labor & Lit Reading Group FMH B134 1:30-2:30pm

Labor & Lit returns for Spring Term! The next session of PSUFA's political education and reading group will focus on The Role of Disruption in Social Change, and takes place on Wednesday, April 16 from 1:30-2:30 in our union office at FMH. Facilitator and UNST Adjunct David Osborn shares this preview of what to expect:

"Please join us to discuss how disruptive action fuels social change. We'll look at a variety of examples, drawn from the labor movement, of how disruption works as an essential part of creating change. We'll also look at examples of how labor unions have taken disruptive action in solidarity with other movements. Please join us especially if you have some reservations about disruption or questions. The very point of disruptive action is to unsettle and disturb the status quo and we'll create a container to talk about our experiences."

When: Wednesday, April 16, 1:30-2:30 pm

Where: FMH B134 RSVP HERE!

THURSDAY APRIL 17

HELU National Day of Action, Multiple Campus Locations, all day

Join campus labor unions and student groups for a city-wide rally of higher education workers, students and organizers as part of a National Day of Actionto take back our education system. The event is being organized by a large coalition of organizations, including sponsorship by AFT-Oregon, our parent union, and the national coalition Higher Education Labor United, of which PSUFA is a member.

Find out more about the schedule of events for the day, which begins at noon and runs until 5:30pm, on our blog. And check out the national campaign website for more information on the goals of this nationwide action. More details to come!

WHEN: April 17th, 2025 12:00-5:30

WHERE: Montgomery Plaza, adjacent to Karl Miller Center, at SW 6th & Harrison St.


Friday, April 18

Let Us Eat Cake! Observe Bargaining With Colleagues and Cake, RMNC Rm 316, 11:30-1:30 plus bonus post bargaining team huddle

Want to have your cake and get a great contract too? Show up to support your all-star bargaining team and enjoy a sweet treat with your fellow adjuncts!

Come eat cake and observe bargaining Friday, April 18, 11:30am-1:30pm at Richard & Maurine Neuberger Center (Corner of 4th and Market) Room 316, Mt. Rainer Room. Bargaining is followed by a 15-minute huddle & recap.

WHEN: Friday, April 18, 11:30am-1:30pm

WHERE: Richard & Maurine Neuberger Center (Corner of 4th and Market) Room 316, Mt. Rainer Room

Details and RSVP HERE!

Spring 2025 New Adjunct Orientation, Office of Academic Innovation, SMU, 3-5pm

The PSU/PSUFA new adjunct orientation will be held Friday April 18, 2025 from 3:00-5:00pm in the Office of Academic Innovation (OAI) in the Smith Memorial Union (mezzanine level) and on Zoom. Please RSVP to receive a calendar invite to this event.

During the new adjunct orientation, you will learn about important PSU resources for adjuncts and part-time researchers. The PSUFA Executive Council will also share important information about your contract, and the benefits and support provided by your union. We will also be available for your questions about where to access the services, equipment and support you need to ensure a successful experience working at Portland State.

This event is geared toward adjuncts who are new to the PSU academic community. However, all adjunct instructors and researchers are welcome to attend.

WHEN: Friday, April 18, 3-5pm

WHERE: Office of Academic Innovation (OAI) in the Smith Memorial Union (mezzanine level) and on Zoom RSVP HERE

ALL WEEK LONG

Submit Your Bargaining Testimony

Your union has fought for your voice to be heard at the negotiating table and needs you to share your stories and expertise about adjunct working conditions at PSU. Please sign up to offer testimony at bargaining! Our collective voice is what makes us powerful.

Use this form to submit your testimony to your bargaining team. Members may present their own testimonies during bargaining sessions or a bargaining team member can read your testimony if you prefer to remain anonymous.

Email Vasiliki at psufa.vasiliki@gmail.com with questions.

PSUFA Joins Local Unions to Keep Portland Police Association Out of Labor Council

PSUFA Joins Local Unions to Keep Portland Police Association Out of Labor Council

​Sign the petition today to keep our labor organizing safe!

PSUFA’s Executive Council has joined with other unions to oppose the proposed admission of the Portland Police Association to the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. In a statement released as part of a petition action, unions and rank-and-file members explained the reasons PPA should not be allowed to join the council:

“We, the undersigned labor union rank-and-file and union officers of NW Oregon, stand shoulder-to-shoulder with delegates opposing the Portland Police Association's (PPA) entrance into the NW Oregon Labor Council.

Historically and to the present, police serve as strike-breakers across the nation and in Portland, always siding with bosses against organized workers—with the police association lining up with their commanders.

The effort to bring the PPA into the Labor Council represents a total repudiation of core labor values, which are grounded in solidarity, racial & social justice, and collective action.

Instead, the police association's conduct and track record speaks to their self-interest at the expense of other workers, threats and violence against pro-worker public officials, and a resolute commitment to avoid the type of accountability that no other public employee has.”

PSUFA Chair of Political Action Erica Thomas co-authored an in-depth discussion of this issue on The Thorn, the blog of Portland DSA. Thomas notes the strong support the petition has received so far, sharing that the petition “is approaching 400 signatures in less than one week; signatories are rank-and-file members of 34+ local unions from the building trades to the service sector — public workers at the City of Portland and beyond.” Read the entire blog post for a deep dive into why PPA wants to join NOLC now, and why it should matter to workers.

Do you want to keep our labor council safe for workers and their unions? Sign the petition to reject PPA’s admission to NOLC now!



Bargaining Recap 4/4/25

Negotiations for a new contract for adjuncts at PSU continue, and your incredible bargaining team is bringing their A game to the table! Here with the latest session recap is bargaining team member Anna Gray:

“At our Friday, April 4th bargaining session things started to heat up! 

After a brief discussion of a PSUFA counter proposal on Article 18: (Notices and Communications), PSU shared a counter proposal for Article 9 (Personnel Files), which led to a discussion about University transparency. 

PSUFA also opened Article 3 (Union Rights & Privileges), with a strong presentation that stressed how essential Adjuncts and our Union are to the University. Citing evidence of how unionization helps foster a more engaged faculty body and helps educational institutions function more effectively, PSUFA proposed changes that would allow our Union to operate and communicate with members more easily. Our proposed language also expanded important protections for Adjuncts, like adjusting our “no strike clause” in an effort to guard free speech and the right to protest, as well as the right for Adjuncts to refuse extra work if other faculty or staff go on strike. 

PSU then responded with a proposal for Article 4 (Orientation and Onboarding). They chose to entirely reject the proposal PSUFA gave on this topic last session and instead composed an entirely new proposal. In comparison to the robust presentation and expansive proposal that PSUFA gave on March 21, which included renaming Article 4 as Adjunct Orientation, Onboarding, and Inclusion and offered multiple provisions for onboarding adjuncts and integrating them into the PSU community, the University’s proposal was anemic. 

PSU’s proposal would strip your Union of the right to be placed on the agenda at  Departmental Orientations and lacked detail about how Orientation would be offered outside of Fall Term. Given that Article 4 functions as one of the most substantive articles related to the meaningful inclusion of Adjuncts into the campus community – with much potential for reimagining and codifying Adjunct integration and collaboration – PSU’s Article 4 proposal offered no creativity or real vision. At the table, PSU’s team talked eagerly about putting orientation material on Canvas and did not address the concerns expressed by PSUFA about adjunct isolation and the need for broader inclusion in the University. PSU did agree to PSUFA’s proposed payment structure for New Hires to attend Orientation. This would end the long-standing problem of orientation for new hires as a form of unpaid labor.

Your bargaining team spent the rest of the session scrutinizing how the University’s proposal could actually lead to practices that increase faculty success & foster a sense of inclusion for part-time faculty. More to come on this in the future! 

We had observers join us both online and in-person for this session. Thank you to those who attended, keep it up! Observing bargaining puts pressure on Admin and shows our power and solidarity. Our next bargaining session is scheduled for April 18 from 9:30-1:30. Your team will present contract language to make our entire university community more safe and to protect teaching and learning as human-centered activities. Once again, your team will use these negotiations to promote a quality education for our students!”

Citywide higher ed rally at PSU - April 17th!

SAVE THE DATE!
National Day of Action in higher ed - rally and teach-in at PSU
April 17th, 2025
Montgomery Plaza, adjacent to Karl Miller Center, at SW 6th & Harrison St.

Join campus labor unions and student groups for a city-wide rally of higher education workers, students and organizers as part of a National Day of Action to take back our education system. The event is being organized by a large coalition of organizations, including sponsorship by AFT-Oregon, our parent union, and the national coalition Higher Education Labor United, of which PSUFA is a member. The Day of Action has developed the following set of demands:

  • We Take Action to Defend Worker Autonomy.

  • We Take Action for the Freedom to Teach and Learn.

  • We Take Action to Defend the Value of Dissent.

  • We Take Action for Wall-to-Wall Unionization in Higher Ed.

  • We Take Action for Education As a Civil Right.

  • We Take Action in Recognition of the Power of the Strike.

The full descriptions of the demands can be read here: dayofactionforhighered.org/agenda

PSUFA will be rallying along with all PSU campus labor unions, several AFT affiliated unions across Portland including PCC and OHSU, Portland State Faculty and Students for Justice in Palestine (FSJP), ASPSU, and others.

April 17th events include…
12–1pm - Rally in Montgomery Plaza
1–2pm - Art build, solidarity, food and discussion, KMC 465
2–3:30pm - National Palestine teach-in watch party, KMC 465
3:30–4 - Food and community gathering
4–5:30 - Free Higher Ed Now - national teach-in

We encourage you to wear your union swag and/or your keffiyeh, bring a sign, bring your students and co-workers!

A full list of the national live-streamed events can be viewed here: https://www.dayofactionforhighered.org/events

Bargaining Recap 3/21/25

Contract negotiations are continuing to move ahead full steam, and your all-star union bargaining team is back with another update! Bargaining Team Member and PSUFA Chair of Membership All Schisler Blizzard brings this report straight from the table to all our adjunct members:

3/21/25 Bargaining Recap: "During the March 21 Bargaining Session, PSUFA opened Article 4 (Orientation and Onboarding) with proposed changes that would increase the frequency of University-wide adjunct orientation events, procure paid orientation opportunities for adjuncts, and require enhanced resource guides for adjuncts. This proposal language reflects consistent feedback from adjuncts across the University that onboarding and departmental support is inconsistent and, for some, nonexistent. PSUFA also proposed increasing virtual access to University events, and increasing funds for adjunct inclusion within departments.

PSU opened and passed Article 7 (Bargaining Unit Member Rights), with suggested changes that were both technical and substantive. More info to come.

This was also our first session with observers! Observing bargaining puts pressure on Admin and shows our solidarity."

The next session takes place this Friday, April 4, from 9:30am-1:30pm, and your team needs YOU to show up and show admin that we are united in the fight for a fair contract and a better PSU for everyone! In-person and remote options are available. RSVP at the link below:

When: Friday, April 4, 9:30-1:30pm

Where: Room 316 (Mt. Rainier Room), Richard & Maurine Neuberger Center, 1600 SW 4th Ave. and on Zoom https://pdx.zoom.us/j/84306099553

RSVP here: https://airtable.com/appGBGq9nW0w9BrSc/pagxQ3rqp4Eu4BrZH/form

Upcoming bargaining dates and times

April 4 9:30-1:30 and April 18 9:30-1:30.

Plus! Your Bargaining Team will be hosting a brief (15 minutes) Post-Bargaining Team Huddle for remote and in-person observers after each session. Join the huddle and build our team spirit by joining the link 15 minutes after the end of each bargaining session! (Link provided upon RSVP or in the PSUFA Discord channel)

Post-Bargaining Team Huddle (on Zoom 15 mins after the close of each session)

Keep an eye on your inbox for more important bargaining news and great events in the coming weeks, and reach out if you have questions about other ways to get involved and support your fellow adjuncts!

PSUFA Signs Cross-Union Statement Rejecting Federal Investigation Into PSU Protests

PSUFA Signs Cross-Union Statement Rejecting Federal Investigation Into PSU Protests

PSUFA is proud to stand with our sibling campus unions and student leadership in rejecting the Trump administration’s spurious investigation into PSU. On Friday, March 14, representatives from PSUFA, PSU-AAUP, GEU, SEIU-503, and ASPSU presented PSU President Ann Cudd with a statement condemning these investigations and calling on university leadership to protect students, faculty, and staff from this baseless attack on academic speech and freedom of expression.

See the full statement below, including a plain text version at the end of this post.

STATEMENT (Finalized on 3/5/2025)

The Associated Students of Portland State University, the Graduate Employees Union at PSU, PSUFA AFT local 3571, PSU-AAUP, and SEIU Local 503 Chapter 89 reject the premise of the federally directed investigation into antisemitism at PSU. This investigation emerges not from a specific complaint from a PSU community member, but instead from the Trump administration's desire to intimidate higher education writ large into compliance with the administration’s highly partisan goals and agenda by threatening select institutions with having their federal funding revoked. To achieve this end, the Trump administration has decided to weaponize a highly controversial and contested definition of antisemitism that conflates criticism of state policy with discrimination in order to suppress free speech, political dissent, and the academic freedom that is essential to a rigorous college education. 

We reject, and call on PSU leadership to reject, this and all other efforts by the Trump administration to characterize student, staff, and faculty protest against war and genocide as antisemitic or supportive of terrorism. Protests against state violence which has been identified by the international community as long-form crimes against humanity is not anti-semitism, nor is support for Palestinian peoples facing genocide.

 We also reject harassment of any kind, particularly of our Jewish and Palestinian students, co-workers, and colleagues. We call on PSU leadership to protect students, staff, and faculty in response to this baseless investigation. We have a duty of care to all of the students who come to PSU and trust us with their education. It would be a failure of this duty to allow our students to be targeted by this spurious investigation. The stakes of this investigation for campus workers are high and the administration has an obligation to protect the campus community against baseless political investigations that seek to chill academic speech and freedom of expression.

Signatories

  • The Graduate Employees Union at PSU (AFT/AAUP # 6666)

  • SEIU Local 503, Chapter 89 (PSU)

  • PSUFA AFT local 3571 

  • Associated Students Of Portland State University

  • PSU - AAUP



Patricia Vázquez Gómez documents the power of language

Adjunct Patricia Vázquez Gómez Explores Language and Migration Through Art

buuts’ (still) | Courtesy of Patricia Vázquez Gómez

According to her bio, PSU alum Patricia Vázquez Gómez “lives and works between the ancient Tenochtitlán and the unceded and occupied lands of the Chinook, Clackamas, Multnomah and other Indigenous peoples,” and even from a cursory glance it’s clear that this geographic split has influenced her multidisciplinary art practice. Vázquez Gómez has explored themes of migration and culture across borders in projects ranging from a mobile art gallery and cultural center in a retrofitted school bus, a performance produced in collaboration with day laborers at the MLK Workers center, and an installation including found objects left behind by migrants in the desert. Her forthcoming installation at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, titled ja’ / buuts’ / t’aan, continues her creative research into these themes, combining video and audio to create an immersive experience of language and place. ja’ / buuts’ / t’aan opens at PICA on March 13, and will remain on view through May 31, 2025. More info can be found here.

In addition to her teaching and professional art practice, PSUFA is excited to share that Patricia Vázquez Gómez has also accepted the position of Interim Chair of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice, serving on our union Executive Council beginning in Spring 2025. To mark the opening of her show at PICA and her new role in the union, we interviewed her about the show and what drives her creative work. 

PSUFA: How long have you been teaching at PSU? What dept./classes do you teach?

Patricia Vázquez Gómez: I have been teaching in the Art Department for about 7 years. The first class I taught was a seminar on the Ethics of Engagement for the Social Practice MFA students, I still teach that class. I have taught other classes for undergraduate and graduate students: Introduction to Art and Social Practice, BFA Research and Proposal, Vertical Lab and a few seminars.

What inspired this project? How did you get involved with this community/subject matter?

The project has a few origins. The oldest root is my long standing desire to learn an Indigenous language. I was born and raised in Mexico and I was brought up speaking Spanish. My family must have spoken an Indigenous language at some point, but that got lost, and with that, parts of the history and culture that I didn’t have access to. 

Shortly after arriving in the US, I did many years of work with immigrant and labor rights movements. Through that work I came in contact with Indigenous speakers, mostly from Mexico and Guatemala. My observation was that in the context of migration, Indigenous Languages disappear within a generation. That increases the languages’ chance of extinction. I'm not a linguist or an anthropologist and I am not approaching what I'm doing through the lens of those disciplines, but I definitely have had this longing for exploring the presence of Indigenous Languages from South of the border in the US.

Photo courtesy Patricia Vázquez Gómez

When I moved to the neighborhood where I live in NE Portland, I realized that maayat’aan is very present. I would go to the store, or to a protest, or to the food cart and hear the language. I learned there are a lot of families in the neighborhood using maayat’aan every day. I was surprised, but mostly very moved by having the language so alive in my immediacy! 

What do you hope viewers will take away from this project? Is there a kind of impact or action you'd like to see out in the world as a result of people spending time with this work?

What I am most interested in is the work having an impact on the families I have been working with, and particularly the kids. I want them to believe that their language is valued beyond the people who speak it. That if they wanted, they could use their language to engage in cultural production, as some folks are doing these days. That institutions and individuals would be willing to fund that production. One of the things I have learned through my research is that, at least in the Mayab (what we now know as Yucatán, México), it is more profitable to learn English than to continue speaking maayat'aan. If folks speak English they can have access to jobs in the tourist industry —"salarios de hambre" as we say in Spanish (starvation wages) but it is the only option that many Mayans have. But there's nothing in terms of economic advancement that comes with speaking maayat'aan. The very few folks making some money from speaking the language are cultural producers: writers, rappers, singers. So maybe it is through the cultural sector that we can start changing that.



PSU-AAUP Strike: What Adjuncts Need to Know

PSU-AAUP Strike: What Adjuncts Need to Know

What’s Going On With PSU-AAUP: As you know, PSU-AAUP recently declared an impasse in contract negotiations. This means that a strike is possible, should the last best offer from PSU management fail to meet with approval from AAUP membership. PSU-AAUP has asked its members to vote on whether or not to approve a strike, and is expected to announce the results of a vote in the coming days. This does not necessarily mean a strike will take place–in 2014, PSU-AAUP voted to approve a strike. Immediately after the vote, PSU management offered a revised contract that was accepted by union members, and averted the strike. However, all campus unions are preparing to stand in solidarity with full-time faculty in the event that a strike is necessary. 

What the Law Says: The Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA) does not allow PSUFA to strike in solidarity alongside AAUP, and considers a refusal to cross a picket line (by employees not in the striking bargaining unit) as an illegal strike. This DOES NOT MEAN you can’t support the picket line, attend rallies, and engage in a range of solidarity actions. 

What the University Might Try to Do: It is possible the University will attempt to replace full-time faculty with adjuncts by asking us to pick up classes, research assignments, etc. This is known as “scabbing” in the labor movement; workers who fill in for striking union members are referred to as scabs. Last minute assignments or wage agreements this Spring are very likely the university's attempt to undermine a strike. You do NOT have to say yes to these asks; our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) protects adjuncts who decline courses. CBA Article 8 Section 3.6 says: An Adjunct can decline any courses offered to them without penalty to their assignment rights. This declination must be in writing. Please reach out to PSUFA if you get a last minute assignment, or face retaliation for refusing extra work. 

How Adjuncts Can Support Our Full-Time Colleagues: In addition to saying no to extra work, there are lots of ways adjuncts can support our full-time colleagues. PSUFA will keep members posted on solidarity opportunities as our colleagues approach a potential strike date. Adjuncts can follow CLASS, the student-led pro-labor group on campus, for more information about student solidarity actions.


Are you ready to stand with our full-time colleagues right now? Sign the community strike solidarity pledge today!

Cuts and Confusion Threaten PSU’s Native Student Center

Cuts and Confusion Threaten PSU’s Native Student Center

Photo courtesy PSU NASCC

PSU’s Native American Student and Community Center (NASCC) opened just over twenty years ago, in October 2003, after many years of advocacy and organizing by Native students, alongside faculty, staff, alumni and community members. The center, which was envisioned as a welcoming “home away from home” for indigenous students according to an article marking the center’s 20th anniversary, serves as a hub for access to resources, community-building events, and a culturally specific safe drop-in space. 

But the widespread budget woes that have plagued the entire university in recent years have not spared NASCC. According to adjunct and student members of PSU’s native community, the center has experienced drastic reductions in operating capacity due to reduced revenue. The center, which must supplement university support through event space rentals in order to stay afloat, is now facing a nearly $40,000 budget shortfall. 

The reason? According to sources that contacted PSUFA to alert the wider university to the situation, in 2024 PSU failed to collect rental fees equal to that amount. In the months since, PSU, which is responsible for collecting rental fees while the center’s employees handle logistics, has only managed to recover around $2,000 of the outstanding fees. Meanwhile, NASCC workers have been left in the dark about when the funds will be recouped and what department or positions within the administration are ultimately responsible for this mess. This shortfall has compounded the effects of decreased rental demand during the weeks that Pres. Cudd installed riot police across campus in response to student anti-genocide activism. 

This deficit has resulted in reduced open hours and chronic understaffing that students say are negatively impacting the community NASCC was intended to serve. A student with first-hand knowledge of the situation said that PSU initially suggested reducing the center’s open hours from Monday-Friday 9-5 to just Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 10-3. Student workers pushed back on this idea, noting that with such limited hours the center could not function as a meaningful resource for students. A compromise was reached to keep the center open three days per week from 9-5, but students and faculty say that’s still not enough. Furthermore, lack of funding has led PSU to reduce the number of student workers employed by NASCC from approximately 11-12 in 2023 to just 4 as of November 2024. The remaining workers report having taken on additional unpaid work, including many duties previously held by the center manager position. This position has been vacant since the last manager resigned in protest over police presence on campus and underpayment issues. According to sources, a student worker is currently filling the role of manager with no increase in their hourly wage to reflect their increased responsibilities. 

What does this mean for PSU’s indigenous community? Individual students have complained to center employees about the loss of access to this space, as well as student and community groups that would normally utilize the space, including United Indigenous Students in Higher Education, American Indigenous Business Leaders, and mentorship programs facilitated by host nations. Moreover, PSU’s mismanagement and opacity in the situation has eroded trust with the native community. A faculty member with connections to the center said “this whole situation sends a message to our community,” and that “there’s no transparency,” and that “nobody knows how much PSU puts into the budget for the center.” One student told PSUFA that “they (PSU) know they messed up.” 

Image courtesy PSU NASCC

From a wider perspective, the issues at NASCC once again call into question PSU’s administrative efficacy. It’s hard to know exactly what is going on due to the lack of transparency endemic across university leadership and operations, and that confusion has only added to the frustration expressed by native community members. Most critically, this story casts doubt upon PSU’s commitment to being a minority serving institution. This element of the university’s mission statement is especially urgent as federal initiatives seek to undermine and dismantle programs that benefit minoritized groups within higher education. 

Everyone PSUFA spoke with emphasized the importance of NASCC to indigenous members of the PSU community. “Many indigenous students are first generation. So this place where we are likely to run into other native people (is important).” 

“I was going around telling people ‘go to the center, everyone is welcome there!’ And promoting the resources. Then come to find out it's not even open all the time, and when you do go in there the lights aren’t on, the computer lab is locked. Its supposed to be a hub for native students”

“I’m speaking about it because a lot of people don’t know what’s going on. I want to see PSU not only fix the financial issues that are affecting everyone, but I also want more acknowledgement to the center.”




Introducing Our 2025 Bargaining Platform!

Introducing PSUFA’s 2025 Bargaining Platform!

PSUFA is thrilled to present our 2025 Bargaining Platform! Based on the results of over 300 responses to our bargaining survey, our team put together a list of our top priorities–check it out below! These are the things YOU told us you need in order to succeed as an adjunct at PSU, and our amazing Bargaining Team is prepared to go to bat to get the best contract possible for all adjuncts! Check out our nifty graphic or scroll down for the full text-only list.

PSUFA 2025 Bargaining Platform

Adjunct professors and researchers are critical to the educational mission of PSU. When adjuncts get the resources and working conditions they need to succeed, everyone wins—from students to full-time faculty and staff. 

Together We Thrive

Fair Compensation

Adjuncts deserve fair pay, living wages, and raises for length of service

Equal Pay for Equal Work

End the two-tier system! Adjuncts deserve the same pay and benefits for the same work as their full-time counterparts

Job Security

Honor contracts and assignment rights

Real Benefits

All adjuncts deserve retirement benefits and access to health, dental and vision care.

The Support We Need

Adjuncts need better working space and resources to support their scholarly, professional, and artistic practices

Academic Freedom

Vulnerable faculty need guaranteed protections to speak the truth in their teaching and research

Transparency and Collaboration

Workers have a right to know how PSU is making critical decisions and the opportunity to shape the way our institution is run


Bargaining 101: The Bargaining Process

Bargaining 101: The Bargaining Process

Bargaining is about to begin, and that means it’s time for the next installment in our Bargaining 101 series! This semi-regular column in our email newsletters and on our blog and social media will feature learning resources and guides to make sure every adjunct can follow along and support our amazing team as we fight for a great new contract!

You know all about the power of collective bargaining and the fact that PSUFA has assembled an all-star team to negotiate a great contract for all adjuncts at PSU. But do you know how it all happens? If you’re curious to understand the process of collective bargaining in more depth, read on! Our handy graphic breaks it all down (text version after the jump!)

  1. Prepare for Bargaining: PSUFA and Management establish teams and set ground rules

  2. Direct Bargaining: Parties meet to review proposals with legal obligation to bargain in good faith for at least 150 days with an attempt to reach an agreement.

  3. Mediation: If parties don't reach agreement after 150 days, either side can initiate mediation. After 15 days, an impasse can be declared.

  4. Impasse: Within 7 days of declaring an impasse, both parties are required to submit final offers and cost summaries to mediator (our full-time colleagues in PSU-AAUP have just reached this stage in their bargaining process!)

  5. Cooling Off: A 30 day cooling off period follows the publication of final offer. This time allows for further attempts at resolution.

  6. PSUFA Can Strike: If no agreement is reached, PSU can implement its last, best, and final proposal. PSUFA can legally hold a strike and demand better than PSU's final offer.

Students Stand Up for PSU’s Future

Students Stand Up for PSU’s Future

Students gathered in PSU’s Urban Plaza Tuesday Feb 25 to protest the Board of Trustees

A new student-led group is pressuring the BoT to change course through activism and community organizing

In the months since President Ann Cudd announced plans to slash the university’s budget, groups representing all corners of the PSU community have expressed their disapproval. In addition to faculty unions like PSUFA, students have been some of the loudest voices to speak out against proposed cuts to faculty, programs, and student services. Now, a group of students calling themselves CLASS are organizing to fight for a better PSU. Their demands: quality education, student resources, qualified professors, and student unity. 

PSUFA recently spoke with several members of CLASS to learn more about their perspectives and how they plan to take action. (We are not naming the student organizers out of an abundance of caution with regards to their privacy.)

In social media posts, CLASS states “We are fighting for a better university for everyone.” They highlight spending on new construction and individual BoT members’ connections to real estate interests as particular points of concern. One student explained their dismay at “billionaires using our school to rename buildings and programs in their name. Jordan Schnitzer pays $10 million, which he can write off, and then we (PSU) have to pay $80 million (to complete the project). We continue to build more, while also being in a ‘budget crisis’.”

Influence over the board from wealthy donors and suspicions of potential conflicts of interest contribute to one of the group’s objectives, which is to require greater transparency from the University Foundation. (For more information on this issue, read about the proposed Public University Foundation Sunshine Act, which goes up for a vote in the Oregon legislature this week–you can add your own testimony in support of this bill here!) 

CLASS, which previously called itself the PSU Stop the Cuts Coalition, has allied with other student groups including MECHA and Kaibigan, as well as campus labor unions. (In case you’re wondering, CLASS is not an acronym for anything. The group simply felt it was an evocative name for their cause, and catchier than the one they started with.)

Speakers from student groups including Kaibigan, YDSA, and Mecha at Tuesday’s rally

“We've been working with YDSA recently as well, which means our meetings these days can run anywhere from 6 people to the mid teens. Just depends on who can make it on a particular week”  one of the student organizers told us. This coalition of student organizers recently came together to host a rally at PSU’s Urban Plaza on Tuesday, February 25, where speakers led a crowd in chants of “chop from the top,” and described what they viewed as greed and self-interest on the part of the Board of Trustees. “They say let knowledge serve the city but all I can see is students' money lining their pockets,” said one, while another encouraged attendees to “stand up for yourselves, stand up for your education!”

The students we spoke with emphasized the importance of solidarity and community, and talked about their outreach strategy. “We are trying to get a sense of what's important to the general student body, since we're hoping to activate more people into the fight. As an activist org, we definitely represent a specific subsection of the student body which is politically minded and wants to make positive change.”

“It seems like the biggest complaint is simply a fear of a loss of quality in the institution.  We're all pretty worried about the way PSU is being run like a corporation, and teachers we love are being treated unfairly and laid off. For us it's an issue of solidarity and class struggle.”

“Our goals are for the layoffs to be reversed, (to secure an) increased amount of funding from the state, and (to gain more) student/teacher control of the budget,” in the hope of improving PSU’s prospects for the future. 

“Our fears for PSU's future is that it will turn into a cheap facsimile of what it once was. A hollowed out husk that has been drained of all its resources by the rich real estate barons who are currently calling the shots… And eventually it will close.”

Want to support CLASS? For their next action, they are asking for adjuncts and other PSU community members to join a rally from Millar Library through downtown, focusing on real estate properties they say are connected to BoT members. You can find out more on their Instagram, @class.pdx and join the rally on Monday, March 3 at 12:00pm in front of PSU’s Millar Library. 


You can also send a letter to board members and administrators in support of CLASS’s goals using their online form.


Meet Your 2025 PSUFA Bargaining Team!

Introducing PSUFA’s 2025 Bargaining Team!

Drumroll please… PSUFA is proud to introduce our 2025 Bargaining Team! This all-star lineup of expert negotiators will be bargaining to get a great contract for YOU and all adjuncts at PSU. Thanks to everyone who filled out our bargaining survey and told us what you need to succeed, our 2025 team is prepared to take your demands to the table and win big for all of us! Read on to meet the team…

Katie Van Heest

(she/her)

School: CLAS/English Dept.

Years at PSU: 3

Fun fact: I was a judge for the Portland Regional Spelling Bee

Alli Schisler Blizzard

(she/her)

School: School of Social Work

Years at PSU: 10

Fun fact: I'm a resident of deeeep SE Portland and I love to re-center by popping up to Rocky Butte & watching the clouds clear over Mt. Hood

Vasiliki Touhouliotis

(she/her)

School: Honors College

Years at PSU: 3

Fun fact: I'm a PSU legacy! Both my parents graduated from PSU

Tim Finn

(he/him)

School: School of Business

Years at PSU: 6

Fun fact: I love to bake, and I once catered the desserts for my best friend's wedding (6 different cheesecakes!)

Alison Lutz

(she/her)

School: School of Art + Design

Years at PSU: 3.5

Fun fact: This is my second time serving on PSUFA’s bargaining team!

Anna Gray

(she/her)

School: School of Art + Design

Years at PSU: 15

Fun fact: I love writing poems using the closed caption sound descriptions of mystery tv shows

Carlos

Ok, Carlos isn’t really on the team, but this persuasive pug/mastiff hybrid will be on hand to provide expert advising through his human associate, Tim Finn.

PSU Is A Sanctuary Campus! What You Need To Know

Did you know that PSU is a sanctuary campus? What does it mean to be a sanctuary campus, and what protections does this status afford vulnerable faculty, staff, and students? PSU’s Women’s Resource Center has graciously put together a flyer with critical info about our sanctuary status and resources and info you can use in the event of an encounter with immigration officials.

English and Spanish versions of the flyer are below, followed by the full text of the English flyer.

PSU is a Sanctuary Campus, which means:

  • PSU Campus Public Safety does not enforce federal immigration law and ICE.

  • PSU will not consent to or facilitate immigration enforcement on campus.

  • PSU protects student confidentiality under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Oregon is a Sanctuary State, meaning all law enforcement, including PSU Campus Public Safety, cannot use resources to detain people based on immigration status.

Does PSU Share Immigration Information with the Government? PSU follows FERPA, which protects student privacy. We do not share student immigration information with federal authorities unless required by law. PSU will not release immigration information to the federal government unless mandated by a court order or law.

When Does PSU Collect Immigration Information?

  • Employment at PSU (required by federal law).

  • Financial aid (for eligibility, but not shared outside financial aid).

  • In-state tuition (Oregon Tuition Equity Law)

What If ICE Wants Information? 

Federal immigration officials need a subpoena to access PSU records. PSU employees must consult the Office of General Counsel before releasing any student information. Students have privacy protections under FERPA, and the University will defend those rights.

ICE on Campus? 

PSU cannot prevent ICE agents from entering public areas on campus. However, ICE cannot access private or restricted spaces (e.g., classrooms, housing) without a warrant signed by a judge.

Legal Assistance for Students: 

PSU’s Student Legal Services (SLS) offers free legal assistance, including immigration support from an immigration attorney. Go to pdx.edu/sls to request an appointment!

Local organizations providing free or low-cost immigration legal services include:

  • Pueblo Unido - pueblounidopdx.org

  • Immigration Counseling Service: 503-221-1689

  • Catholic Charities: 503-542-2855

  • Soar Immigration Legal Services: 503-384-2482

  • Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service  800-452-7636) for a 30-min consultation ($35)

If you see ICE... call the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC) hotline at 1-888-622-1510

If you or someone you know was targeted in violation of Oregon’s Sancuary Laws - call 

1-844-924-STAY

PSU Office of general counsel 503-725-2656

Federal immigration enforcement officers have no greater access to PSU records than any member of the public unless they have a valid subpoena. If federal immigration enforcement officers present a warrant or court order, university employees should immediately contact the Office of General Counsel for assistance.

Bargaining 101: Common Bargaining Terms

Bargaining 101: Common Bargaining Terms

As we gear up to begin bargaining at the end of the month, PSUFA is excited to introduce a new feature: Bargaining 101! This semi-regular column in our email newsletters and on our blog and social media will feature learning resources and guides to make sure every adjunct can follow along and support our amazing team as we fight for a great new contract!

You know what you need to thrive as an adjunct, but do you know the right lingo to bargain for it? The bargaining process itself is relatively straightforward, but can be confusing if you aren’t familiar with all the terms, stakeholders, and the many, many acronyms involved. That’s why we put together this list of common bargaining terms for our members, so you can follow along as our bargaining teams fights for a great contract!

Read on, and print out this nifty two-page graphic and keep it handy for in-person and remote observing for our upcoming bargaining sessions!

Bargaining Team: Group of 5-6 PSUFA members who negotiate with PSU Administration to secure a collective bargaining agreement that’s rooted in member priorities. On the other side of the “table” is PSU’s bargaining team.

CAT (Contract Action Team): A group of PSUFA members who support the bargaining process through strategy, member activation, and member communication.

NLRB: National Labor Relations Board

AFT: The American Federation of Teachers, which is the parent union of PSUFA

Ground Rules: Set of agreed-upon guidelines for bargaining, established at the start of bargaining

CBA: Collective Bargaining Agreement (our contract!)

Articles: Specific parts of the CBA covering different aspects of the contract. 

TA: Tentative Agreement(s) are reached at the bargaining table when both sides agree to close negotiations over a specific article.  

Bargaining Unit: Workers represented by a union based on their contract with the employer (this includes non-members as well as members!). PSUFA’s bargaining unit includes instructional and research faculty hired by PSU at less than .50 FTE. Remember, you have to actively submit a membership form to become a member.

PSUFA Members: Dues-paying members of the bargaining unit, whose support goes towards bargaining efforts, administering benefits funds for adjuncts, and advocating for adjuncts through grievances, ULPs, and other union capacities. Only members can vote to ratify the collective bargaining agreement.

CCL: Current Contract Language refers to the content in PSUFA’s current CBA, which goes through June 2025.

Unions at PSU: 

PSUFA: Our union! Representing part-time faculty and researchers at PSU.

AAUP: Full-time faculty and researchers at PSU

GEU: Graduate student employees at PSU including TAs and research assistants

SEIU: Non-instructional staff at PSU

 Ratification requirements: A simple majority (50% or greater) of dues-paying union members must vote in favor of a proposed contract in order for the contract to be ratified.

 




Austerity Impacts: PHIL Adjunct David Komito

Austerity Impacts

Adjunct David Komito On How PSU's Cuts Delete Institutional Expertise and Undermine Educational Goals

This is the second in a series of interviews with adjuncts at PSU who have been affected by the administration’s extreme budget cuts over the past year. The impacts of this austerity plan range from contract non-renewals to canceled courses, and affect the PSU community in ways that often contradict the university’s mandate to provide a high quality educational experience for all students. But figures and headlines don’t tell the whole story. In order to understand what is happening on the ground, PSUFA is interviewing adjunct instructors all term to learn about their experiences and paint a more detailed picture of how sweeping administrative actions affect educators and students firsthand. 

For our second interview, we sat down with David Komito (Philosophy) to discuss the recent cancellation of one of his course on Asian Philosophy. Prof. Komito, who has been teaching the subject at PSU for nearly ten years, shared his story with PSUFA in order to shed light on what is being lost in the administration’s rush to slash budgets.

PSUFA: Can you tell us about the class you were teaching that got cut? 

David Komito: For the last nine years I have been teaching PHL319U, An Introduction to Asian Philosophy, which is an overview of the major philosophical systems of India, Tibet, China and Japan. It is the only Asian Philosophy course taught in the Philosophy department. Four categories of students took the course: 1) students of Asian descent who wanted to know more about their heritage, 2) students majoring in an Asian studies degree of some sort who wanted to build their skills, 3) students with a general interest in the subject and 4) students with a Philosophy major or minor.

PSUFA: How did you find out your class was being cut?

DK: Like a number of adjuncts at PSU, I received an emailed notification from the department Chair that my two-year contract was being voided midway and the fall 2024/spring 2025 classes were being canceled. This, I was informed, was due to budget cuts. When I inquired further, I was informed that the department was committed to the course and wanted to offer it in the future, presumably by one of the remaining tenured faculty members. However, I don’t see PHL319 in this academic year’s schedule.

PSUFA: What do you see as the potential impact of losing this class on PSU? 

DK: PSU’s Philosophy faculty are very talented and I imagine one of them could develop a course to replace mine, but it would be very different in significant ways.  To the best of my knowledge, none of the faculty are actually trained in Asian philosophy, have the language skills or publications in the area, or have spent extensive time living in some part of Asia (as I have). From my point of view these limitations will make for a very different course and very different relationships with the students, particularly the students of Asian descent. In this respect, the loss of an Asian Studies expert undermines PSU’s stated goals of deeply serving minority students. 

From what I have heard, mine is not the only case of deleted expertise aligned with the university’s mission to serve minority students. I understand the need of the university to balance its budget, but injudicious cuts to the faculty will leave the student body and the institution significantly poorer for such decisions.

Are you an adjunct whose classes have been canceled? How have PSU’s budget cuts affected you? Share your story with us by emailing psufa.martha (at) gmail (dot) com