Portland State University Reimagine Campus Safety Engagement

In winter 2021, Portland State University President Steve Percy convened the Reimagine Campus Safety Committee (RCSC) – made up of students, faculty, and staff – to understand the safety, welcoming, and belonging needs of the campus community and to reimagine an approach to meeting those needs.  As part of that work, Oregon’s Kitchen Table staff provided support to the community engagement efforts on this topic. The RCSC adopted a set of values and practices to guide community engagement, and a Community Engagement task group then conducted a series of initial interviews with individuals and small groups to develop a community engagement and outreach plan.  In October 2021 task group members and Oregon’s Kitchen Table supported community conversations on campus safety and belonging and hosted an online survey to hear from members of the PSU community about what is most important to them about campus safety and feeling welcomed on campus.  A total of 811 campus community members responded to the online survey on Oregon’s Kitchen Table’s platform. Some of the community gatherings held in fall 2021 were voluntarily self-organized by RCSC members, people or groups who OKT and the task group contacted, or were arranged and facilitated by task group members. Approximately 10 community conversations, with over 70 people participating.