For over 75 years, Portland State University (PSU) has served its students, the city of Portland and the State of Oregon, by providing high quality education to all who enroll, including high numbers of non-traditional and minoritized students. In 2022, 80% of PSU’s students were Oregonians, 39.6% identified as BIPOC, and 47.4% were first-generation college attendees. To meet its stated mission of “creat(ing) an equitable and sustainable future through academic excellence, urban engagement, and expanding opportunity for all,” it is urgent that the PSU administration and Board of Trustees reverse the disinvestment in its adjunct faculty and provide livable wages and fair compensation for these essential educators.

Adjunct instructors account for approximately 47% of the instructional staff at PSU and teach almost 40% of student credit hours. Every student who attends PSU is taught by an adjunct at some point in their education. But adjunct faculty also do much more than teach classes. They mentor students, write letters of recommendation, develop courses, conduct research, write grants, and serve as important role models. Adjuncts are essential to shaping student experience, education, retention, and success. They are the public servants who serve the diverse populations that PSU was founded to educate and engage.

Adjunct working conditions are student learning conditions and PSU students—particularly our BIPOC and first-generation students—deserve faculty who are compensated with livable wages, benefits, and dignified working conditions. The over 1,000 adjunct faculty at PSU deserve pay which reaches parity with their full-time counterparts and keeps up with cost of living. Currently, PSU does not provide raises to adjuncts based on their length of service. This means that adjuncts working at the university for 10 and even 20 years still make the minimum rate. Adjuncts deserve raises which recognize their career excellence, their essential labor, and their service to students and the University.

For Portland State University to fulfill its mission to our city and state, increase its enrollment, retain—and truly serve—its diverse student body, it must start compensating adjuncts fairly.

We, the undersigned, request PSU to increase the budget and compensation for adjunct faculty:

Oregon State Senators

Wlnsvey Campos — State Senator, District 18

Kathleen Taylor — State Senator, District 21

Lew Frederick — State Senator, District 22

Michael Dembrow — State Senator, District 23

Chris S Gorsek — State Senator, District 25 / Adjunct Assistant Professor, Portland State University

Oregon State Representatives

Ben Bowman — State Representative, District 25

Dacia Grayber — State Representative, District 28

Maxine Dexter — State Representative, District 33

Farrah Chaichi — State Representative, District 35

Rob Nosse — State Representative, District 42

Travis Nelson — State Representative, District 44

Khanh Pham — State Representative, District 46

Zach Hudson — State Representative, District 49

Ricki Ruiz — State Representative, District 50

Community Members

Ashton Simpson — Metro Councilor, District 1 / Community Leader

Christine Lewis — Metro Councilor, District 2

Mary Nolan — Metro Councilor, District 5

Duncan Hwang — Metro Councilor, District 6

Jessica Vega Pederson — Multnomah County Chair

Susheela Jayapal — Multnomah County Commissioner, District 2

Carmen Rubio — Portland City Commissioner

PSU-AAUP Executive Council

Dr. José Padín — Former President, PSU-AAUP / Associate Professor, Portland State University

Sarah Kowaleski — Portland Jobs with Justice Coalition Organizer

Brittney Connelly — Head of the CORE Art Dept. at PSU

Daniel A. Brown — Convenor of PDX Faith Labor Committee

Cassia Gammill — CCAHE Professor

David Stylianou — AFT National Representative

Laura Hanks — Community Member

Nicole Jepeal — Graduate Student, Portland State University

Nikki Mandell — Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Judith Beck — Community Member

Eloise Bates — Community Member

Mark Leymon — Associate Professor, Portland State University

Alejandro Segura — President, SEIU Local 89

David Kinsella — Professor, Portland State University

Marie Wakefield — Community Member

Emily Gothard — Alumni, Portland State University

Joel Rosenblit — CWA Member

Tascha Babitch — Community Member

Stacey Vieyra-Braendle — AFT Member / Academic Fieldwork Coordinator & Former Adjunct Faculty

Ramin Farahmandpur — Vice President for Legislative & Political Action, PSU-AAUP / Professor, Portland State University

Aleksandar Jokic — Councilor, PSU-AAUP / Professor, Portland State University

Kristine Shmakov — PCCFFAP Member (AFT Local 2277) / Instructor & Department Head, Portland Community College

Grace Silvia — Community Member

Stephanie Yorba — Instructor, Portland Community College

Rachel Aponte — Instructor, Portland Community College

Julie Perini — PSU-AAUP Member / Associate Professor, Portland State University

Sylvia Hart-Landsberg — Community Member

Evan Selby — Reynolds Education Association Member / Teacher/Building Representative

Robyn Gottlieb — BerniePDX / Community Member

John Harris Knight — American Federation of Government Employees Member

Ezra Veenstra — Community Member

John Detweiler — Educator / Community Member

Myka Dubay — ILWU Local 5 Executive Board Member

Jamie Partridge — NALC Local 82 Member

Brian Denning — Portland DSA Steering Committee External Organizing Co-chair

John Herbert — Portland Central America Solidarity Committee (PCASC) Member