Portland State uses affirmative action to hire new psychology professor

Portland State University (PSU) is seeking to hire two new psychology professors for the fall 2023 semester, encouraging applicants “from diverse/historically underrepresented groups” and “whose research, teaching, outreach, and service will contribute to the department’s focus on diversity and social justice.”

The research emphases of potential applicants, according to the job posting, must also be centered on issues of “equity.”

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”We are especially interested in scholars who use innovative developmental methodologies to study educational equity and the development and schooling of children from racialized, minoritized... and/or immigrant groups,” it explains, going on to emphasize that they “specifically encourage applicants with a research focus on diversity issues in development and education, to add to our growing departmental focus on human diversity and social justice.”

Teaching and research focused on “gender identities” and “racial/ethnic” issues are also strongly encouraged.

These restrictions placed on the consideration of new psychology hires are in keeping with PSU’s general policy of being an “Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity” institution. 

”The Affirmative Action program strives to work on the development of inclusive recruitment strategies... and, in collaboration with campus partners, creates, revises, and implements inclusive hiring policies and practices,” the PSU website explains. 

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The Department of Psychology at PSU also has a Diversity Committee that engages in a variety of efforts to ensure the department is “fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Campus Reform contacted PSU and the PSU Department of Psychology for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.