Rate My Professor Andrea Lowgren

Andrea Lowgren serves as an instructor of history at Portland Community College's Cascade Campus, where she also teaches courses in Women's and Gender Studies. As a full-time faculty member in History and Humanities, she has contributed significantly to the college's academic community through innovative teaching and research initiatives. Lowgren teaches classes such as History 251: African-American History Since 1877 and HST 276: African American History III, emphasizing place-based learning to connect historical events with contemporary issues. For instance, she developed "Walk Albina’s Black History," a student-led walking tour of Portland's Albina neighborhood that explores the history of its African American community, addressing topics like gentrification and redlining in North and Northeast Portland. Her approach integrates first-hand accounts and open educational resources to help students understand how past U.S. foreign policy decisions influence present-day immigrant experiences.

Lowgren's scholarly work centers on 20th-century United States history, with a focus on gender, sexuality, race, and the power dynamics that foster inequality. In 2019, she was awarded a Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty Fellowship, providing a $40,000 grant during her sabbatical to complete "The Reasons We’re Here: Oral Histories of Immigration at Portland Community College," published in 2020 as an open educational resource through Open Oregon Pressbooks. This publication compiles over twenty transcribed oral histories from PCC students, faculty, staff, and alumni who immigrated from various countries, challenging media simplifications of immigrant motivations and enabling analysis of U.S. immigration and foreign policies' personal impacts. The project includes accompanying portraits and plans for a permanent gallery exhibition in Cascade Hall, along with a website to engage the broader community. Additionally, Lowgren has presented public lectures, including one on mid-19th-century environmental attitudes in the Pacific Northwest region and a post-election teach-in on the Electoral College. She serves as a HARTS Council member and has held the role of SAC Chair for History and Humanities, while participating in community-based learning professional development.