In short

Trauma workshop today

The Office of Veterans Services is holding a workshop for anyone interested in learning about posttraumatic stress disorder and how to help the students and veterans who cope with it.

Posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is, according to the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs, a psychiatric stress disorder that follows life-threatening events.

Chris Goodrich, the coordinator for Veteran Services at Portland State, said it is important to have a workshop about PTSD because, “more and more student veterans are coming back to Portland State from combat zones.”

According to Goodrich, the goal of the workshop is to help faculty and staff identify PTSD symptoms and be aware of the resources available to them.

“Symptoms don’t come until six months after soldiers leave combat. It’s important that we catch them before it interferes with their life and studies at PSU,” Goodrich said.

The workshop, entitled “Student/Veterans and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),” will be held at 9:30 a.m. in Smith Memorial Student Union, room 338.

-Carly Nairn

Investment brings new faculty positions

Twenty-one new faculty tenure positions are slated to open up at Portland State after $1 million was allocated for them because of the university’s academic investment program.

The new tenure-line positions were created as part of the $1.045 million phase one of the PSU investment program, “Building Capacity for Improving Student Success and Expanding Innovative Research.” $785,000 was also used for phase one from the existing University Studies budget. Twelve of the new positions will also teach University Studies programs.

According to a PSU press release, the positions were selected based on college and school priorities, recommendations from University Studies and discussions in the Council of Academic Deans.

The upcoming phase two of the investment program is called “Advancing Our Contributions in Sustainability Toward National Leadership,” according to the press release.

Cynthia Coleman, chair of the communication studies department at PSU, said that tenured positions are a good thing for Portland State.

“The effect is that it raises the rigor of the institution with the research tenured positions develop. It raises the bar for Portland State,” she said.

According to the Office of Academic Affairs, the guidelines to obtain tenure are different between each department.

Coleman said she doesn’t think that the new tenure positions will harm the large number of part-time faculty currently employed by Portland State.

“I don’t think we will never not need part-time faculty,” she said. “They are an important resource here at PSU.”

-Carly Nairn