EUGENE, Ore. – (April 5, 2012) – Institutional racism and inclusion of marginalized populations are topics in a speaker series at the University of Oregon on April 13 and April 19.

The presentation Friday, April 13, by Karen Gibson, associate professor of urban studies and planning at Portland State University, will examine structural inequality, poverty and neighborhood change in African American communities in Albina, the historic black district in Portland. Gibson’s work has addressed predatory lending practices in northeast Portland. The presentation will take place at 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 13, in the Knight Browsing Room, 1501 Kincaid St. in Eugene.

The second speaker in the series, Roberto Jimenez, is executive director of the Farmworker Housing Development Corporation. Jimenez will present Thursday, April 19, discussing how to provide safe, healthy and affordable housing for farmworkers in Oregon, as well as how best to develop social and educational services for community self-sufficiency. Jimenez will present at 3:30 Thursday, April 19, in the Knight Browsing Room, 1501 Kincaid St.

“It’s very important that traditionally underrepresented populations are represented in planning and public policy, especially in an educational environment,” says Patricia Neighbor, a community and regional planning graduate student at UO who is helping to organize the speaker series.

The speakers’ visits were made possible through an equity and diversity grant from the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts. Sponsors include the Department of Geography and the Center for Latino/a and Latin American Studies.

For more information, contact the UO Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management at 541-346-3635.

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 61 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Contact:Marti Gerdes, A&AA communications, 541-346-6094, martig@uoregon.edu

Sources: Patricia Neighbor, neighbor@uoregon.edu, 503-493-9449; Monique Lopez, mgl@uoregon.edu, 541-337-0498.

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