Portland State Magazine Spring 2017

4 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE SPRING 2017 PORTLAND’S newest residents are more diverse than the region as a whole, except when it comes to African Americans, according to a new University study. Urban Studies and Planning researchers Jason Jurjevich, Greg Schrock and Jihye Kang found 38 percent of all Portland newcomers between 2012 and 2014 were people of color, compared to 25 percent of the metro area’s overall population. But the diversity boost came mostly from Asian, Pacific Islander and Hispanic migrants. The Portland area lost a net of 800 African American residents in that time period, while other large metro areas recorded net gains in African American migrants. The study is part of PSU’s America on the Move project, which tracks migration trends across the largest U.S. metro areas. Coming and going in Portland Park Blocks RESEARCH professor Dora Raymaker doesn’t hide the fact that she is autistic, and she wants other autistic adults to be just as up front and succeed in their workplaces. She recently received nearly $500,000 in grants to lead a study that will determine what helps autistic people do well professionally. Her research team will interview autistic adults and those who work with them and turn their findings into recommendations. Raymaker’s own path to professional success has been an unconventional one. She says she faced discrimination and inadequate disability services resulting in multiple career shifts before finding a home at PSU and a profession that values her abilities. “I want to make the way easier for people who come after me,” she says. Succeeding with autism