Portland State, Latino Network formalize partnership to better serve community

PSU President Ann Cudd and Tony DeFalco, executive director of Latino Network, sign the memorandum of understanding, with leaders from both organizations present.

Portland State is partnering with Latino Network to create more opportunities for Latiné students in their education and career paths and to better connect the campus with the local community.

PSU and Latino Network, a Portland nonprofit that works to uplift Latiné and Hispanic youth and families through culturally specific programs and services, formalized their partnership July 22 with a signing attended by leaders from both organizations.

Cynthia Gómez, PSU's director of community impact and a Latino Network board member, says it's been a long time in the making.

"Our relationship has been durable and it's grown over time and now we get to formalize it and hold each other accountable," she said. "It's something we can braid together more intentionally in the next 10 years so that we can really live up to that vision of being the best place for Latiné students in the state."

Individuals and groups at PSU have been working with Latino Network separately on various initiatives, but Gómez says the partnership will allow them to grow their collective impact and do more intentional outreach and program integration. The signed memorandum of understanding will be a living document that can evolve as initiatives expand, new projects emerge and funding opportunities become available.

"It's important for us to share back with the community that it's not just talk," said Tony DeFalco, executive director of Latino Network. "There's actual words on paper that have been agreed to and we're doing things together and we're agreeing to do more together and that's a big deal."

"PSU is an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution and our relationship with the Latino Network is key to expanding upon the ways that we serve our Hispanic students," said PSU President Ann Cudd during the signing event. "We look forward to the new opportunities this MOU will bring."

Some existing collaborations include Spanish-language admissions information sessions and campus tours for Latino Network students and families; hosting the nonprofit's summer Escalera and Fuerza programs for rising seniors and recent graduates on campus; providing matching scholarship funds for Latino Network students who matriculate to PSU; and partnering with them on a senior capstone course.

The School of Social Work has partnered with Latino Network on two major projects, and Gómez says leveraging PSU's research strengths is an area ripe for expansion.

"It's about figuring out what the need is in the community and then connecting them with the resources on campus to be able to meet the need, if it's related to research or data or connecting students to opportunities," she said.

Another opportunity Gómez and DeFalco see is offering a credential program to Latino Network staff members who are highly skilled in what they do but don't necessarily have a degree that shows that.

Gómez says she hopes to sign similar agreements with what she calls Portland's anchor institutions - organizations led by affinity groups with long histories of serving their communities and fostering strong relationships.

"It's an opportunity for us to have more meaningful, reciprocal relationships with a community-based organization," Gómez said. "It really highlights the work that they do and where there are opportunities for them to see not just the pathways for their students to come to us, but also the community being able to access our resources."