Oregon State University’s wide ranging efforts to provide a culture of equity, inclusion and social justice also include efforts underway at OSU-Cascades. Neil Browne, an English professor and Wendi Forsberg, a student majoring in human development and family sciences student both received the 2016 Faculty and Student Diversity Awards, sponsored by the university’s diversity committee.
The Diversity Award recognizes faculty, staff and students who support and foster a respectful and inclusive multicultural environment within the OSU-Cascades community.
Browne was one of the founding members of the Bend, Ore. campus’s diversity committee. His work with students, alumni and campus colleagues was recognized for informally and formally fostering conversations that raise awareness of the needs of under-represented populations. Those conversations extended into hiring and search practices; with formal search advocacy training now available for campus hiring managers and search committee members.
Browne also teaches courses that highlight privilege -- and a lack of privilege -- in American society, including “Power and Representation,” “American Culture and the Vietnam Experience” and “Native American Literature.”
Forsberg anticipates gradating in June with a bachelor’s degree. A full-time student and mother of five, she serves as program coordinator for OSU-Cascades’ student government, the Associated Students of Cascades Campus, and is the student representative on the campus diversity committee. Forsberg is an advocate for the homeless. She was instrumental in creating a campus food bank to serve students in need. She is also an advocate for the LGBTQ community and a community volunteer.
The university’s diversity committee is represented by faculty, staff and students and was created in 2012.
About OSU-Cascades: Oregon State University’s branch campus in Bend, Ore., features outstanding faculty in degree programs that reflect Central Oregon’s vibrant economy and abundant natural resources. Nearly 20 undergraduate majors, 30 minors and options, and four graduate programs include computer science, energy systems engineering, kinesiology, hospitality management, and tourism and outdoor leadership. The branch campus expanded to a four-year university beginning fall 2015; its new campus will open in fall 2016.