OSU-Cascades student, faculty member honored for diversity efforts

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 andWendi 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’sdiversity committeeis represented by faculty, staff and students and was created in 2012.