Portland State Magazine Fall 2017

FALL 2017 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 17 players had resented their international peers for playing too aggressively, but the Americans came to understand that for the international students, soccer was the equivalent of football in Texas, almost a religion. “There’s food, work, family ... and soccer,” says Shay. THE PERSPECTIVES offered by international students can also help Americans learn to navigate situations differently. Thitisak Duadsuntia, a student from Thailand pursuing a doc- torate in public administration, taught his colleagues in PSU student government about how to work within bureaucracies. “In Thailand, we are quite hierarchical, more hierarchical than in the United States. I can show how we can collaborate with other entities to accomplish a goal. How do we negotiate for resources within bureaucracies? How can we improve student government as a unit of bureaucracy?” Many international students reach out beyond the University while they’re in Portland. Ramesh, for example, visited schools and other institutions, did cultural presentations and performed volunteer work as part of the International Cultural Service Program. International students also do internships, take on outside jobs, and, like many other Portland State students, find ways to make their education serve the needs of Portland and beyond. Masami Nishishiba, chair of the Department of Public Administration, enlisted students from China, Japan and Thailand to help the Oregon Board of Massage Therapists conduct interviews to find out why so many unlicensed massage therapists came from Asian Pacific nations. The students, in addition to being skilled researchers, had the cultural fluency to win the confidence of the massage therapists. They found that the Asian men and women didn’t think the job warranted licensing and had a hard time understanding and completing the process. There are also financial benefits to having international students at Portland State. They pay out-of-state tuition, which helps fund programs and classes at the University, and according to a national report, they contributed $71.1 million to the Oregon economy in 2015-16, which directly and indirectly created or supported 877 jobs. EVEN AFTER international students finish their degrees at Portland State, many of them stay involved and contribute to the University and its worldwide presence. “There really is this network of people in the world who love Portland and Portland State and are grateful for their education here,” says Margaret Everett, interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. Out of that passion, some of those students have gone on to make enormous contributions to PSU. “The college of engineering is named after an international student,” says Tim Anderson, chair of the Department of Engineering and Technology Management. “Dr. Fariborz Maseeh arrived at PSU as a freshman from Iran in 1977.” In the decades since, Maseeh pioneered micro-technology and has been a generous supporter of the University, most recently pledging $5 million to renovate Neuberger Hall (see story on page 28). But the current political climate is taking a toll on international enrollment. As of August, total applications from international graduate students for 2017-18 were down 7 percent, according to Everett. For international freshmen, applications were down 10 percent, and the number of freshmen who had confirmed their intention to enroll was down a startling 40 percent. The decreases can also be attributed to events and policies in the students’ home countries, says Everett. The potential loss of all those international students would cost the University an enormous amount on many levels. But perhaps the greatest loss would be the large-scale impacts those students make. “The importance of having international students goes beyond just the classroom, or even a single university,” says Smallman. “It’s about who the United States is as a nation and a society, and how we’re perceived abroad. If we have students who come here, who learn about the United States, and they go back to their home countries as advocates, having had a wonderful experience here, then that’s a really positive outcome, not just for Portland State University, but for the country as a whole.”  Stephanie Argy is a graduate assistant in the Office of University Communications. International students at PSU 7.5% of the student body Top nations 1. China 2. India 3. Saudi Arabia 4. Kuwait 5. Japan >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>