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Tara Maginnis wins Murdock Grant

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Tara Maginnis has been awarded a grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust for $40,500 to study “The Evolutionary Significance of Leg Loss and Regeneration in Crabs.”

Program description:

The Murdock College Research Program for Life Sciences supports research in the life sciences in private predominantly undergraduate colleges and universities. Proposals that describe original research in the life sciences will be evaluated on the basis of their scientific merit, the scientific qualifications of the investigator or investigators that are proposing the research, and the feasibility of the work. Involvement of undergraduate students in the research is also considered important.

Program goals:

The goals of this Program are several. Primary among these goals is the development of excellent faculty and undergraduate students in life sciences. Faculty and students are encouraged to work together in the pursuit of the knowledge and understanding of the basic principles underlying the function of living systems. It is anticipated that such research will be strongly educational in itself, but that it will also catalyze improvements in traditional science courses through inquiry-based teaching. The primary criterion that will be used in evaluating proposals will be the perceived scientific quality of the research as measured by its likelihood to contribute significantly to fundamental knowledge in the field. A clear commitment of the college or university to support the research will also strengthen a proposal, as will substantial participation of undergraduate students as research associates, rather than merely as technical assistants.

Brian Simmons Presentation

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Brian Simmons (Communication Studies) delivered a presentation to the annual conference of the National Christian Schools Association titled “Falling Away From Religious Faith: What’s Happening, What Helps, and What Doesn’t in the Retention of Young Adults.” The presentation was based on his book Wandering in the Wilderness: Changes and Challenges in Emerging Adults’ Christian Faith.

 

Click here to order Brian’s book.

CAS Colleagues

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The Spring edition of “Colleagues” took place Thursday, March 7, from 3:30-5:00pm in BC 163. Faculty gathered to listen to Christi Hancock from the History department present, “Thinking about the Past through Story-Telling and Women’s Lives” as well as Andrew Guest from the Social and Behavioral Sciences department discuss, “The social science of sports: Explorations during one (long) sabbatical at three (very different) universities.”

 

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Bob Butler Wins OAS Outstanding Teaching Award

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Bob Butler, with former CAS Dean Marlene Moore, at award ceremony

Congratulations to Bob Butler for receiving the Oregon Academy of Science 2013 Outstanding Higher Education Teacher in Science and Mathematics!  The award was presented on March 2, 2013.

The Oregon Academy of science promotes scientific research and education in Oregon. Divisions of the Academy represent all areas of the natural sciences and social sciences. The Academy encourages participation by research and applied scientists and educators from all fields. Discipline sections work to encourage the communication among Oregon scientists both private and public through the annual OAS meeting. The annual OAS meeting acknowledges contributions by outstanding university and K-12 educators demonstrating dedication to the advancement of science education. Additionally, each year the Academy acknowledges an Oregon scientist who has made outstanding contributions in their field.

Robert Butler joined the Department of Chemistry and Physics as Professor of Science in 2004. He earned a B.S. in Physics and Geology from Oregon State University in 1968. He completed his M.S. in 1970 and Ph.D. in 1972 in the Department of Geophysics at Stanford University. From 1972 to 1974, he was a Research Associate in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Minnesota. From 1974 to 2004, he was with the Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Full Professor, and then University Distinguished Professor. Dr. Butler is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America. Professor Butler’s research projects on application of paleomagnetism to geochronologic and tectonic problems have involved fieldwork on six continents. Recent scholarly work has included (1) magnetostratigraphy of Cenozoic sedimentary sequences of Nepal, (2) paleomagnetic studies of Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonics of western South America, (3) terrain motion and uplift history of the Canadian Cordillera and southeastern Alaska, (4) paleomagnetic studies of vertical axis rotations of the northern Tibetan Plateau and Tarim Basin, China, (5) enhancement of Earth science teaching through computer visualization of geological processes space and time, especially K-12 applications of GIS, (6) geochronology of hominid fossil and stone tool bearing deposits in Ethiopia, (7) field-based Earth Science teacher professional development. Dr. Butler teaches Earth System Science, Natural Hazards of the Pacific Northwest, and Introduction to Marine Science.

David Alexander wins Becky Houck Award

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David Alexander has been awarded the Becky Houck Award for Excellence in Advising.  The Professor Alexander was honored at the CAS All-College Celebration February 27.

David Alexander has been a member of the faculty at the University of Portland since 1995. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Microbiology from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from Texas A&M University. After completing postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Texas at Austin and at Texas A&M, Dr. Alexander worked as a research microbiologist at Oregon Health Sciences University and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland, Oregon, where he helped design and evaluate new classes of antimicrobial agents. He is interested in the physiological ecology of bacteria, focusing particularly on symbiotic interactions of bacteria with other organisms. Dr. Alexander teaches Microbiology, and in 2005 was honored as Teacher of the Year by the University of Portland Air Force ROTC detachment. He has served as the Health Professions Advisor for 16 years, and during that time has mentored hundreds of students interested in careers in health care.

The All-College Celebration is held annually to recognize achievements by faculty and departments within the College of Arts and Sciences.

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Intel hires UP Alumna for Regional Communications Manager

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Intel Corporation recently hired Chelsea Hossaini as the northwest region communications manager in Hillsboro.

“Intel’s largest and most comprehensive site in the world is in Hillsboro, and local media representatives are important partners as we provide up-to-date information on the construction of Intel’s new development fabrication facility called D1X,” said Jill Eiland, Intel northwest region corporate affairs manager.  “We are pleased to add a young professional to our seasoned team who brings relevant experience and new energy to the work we do as the largest private employer in Oregon.”

Hossaini’s background combines public relations, marketing, community relations and event management. She graduated maxima cum laude from the University of Portland with a bachelor of arts in communication studies with an emphasis on media studies.

As Communications Manager, Hossaini serves as the primary point of contact for site media relations, external communications, and the promotion of national programs and events.

Santiago discusses Rwandan History

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 Anne Santiago (Assistant Professor, Political Science) gave an invited lecture February 19th at Lake Oswego Library as part of the “Lake Oswego Reads” program that this year focused on the book Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron.  The lecture was entitled, “Tracing the Political Pulse of Rwanda Through Time” and focused on explaining the precolonial, colonial, and independence history of Rwanda to better understand why the 1994 genocide happened.

Village Gardens

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Village Gardens
FIRST ANNUAL SPRING FUNDRAISER

FRIDAY, MARCH 15th, 2013

Bauccio Commons, University of Portland

 

Join Village Gardens for our first annual Spring Fundraising event, an inspiring opportunity to celebrate and learn about Village Gardens work to create a more just and healthy food system in Portland.  The evening will include food and drink, community Participant presentations, brief videos highlighting program successes and a silent auction.  Tickets for our Spring Fundraiser are $40.  Join us on March 15!

For more information, to purchase tickets, or to become an event sponsor visit us at

village gardens.org

 

 

UP Students at Human Development Conference

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Sophomore Ruby Machado (Political Science) presented a paper at the annual student-led Human Development Conference in Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, February 8-9, 2013.

This year’s conference theme was “In the Field: Cultivating Collaboration and Innovation” and both undergraduate and graduate students from dozens of universities across the US participated.  Ruby’s paper was entitled Growing Opportunities in Education for Girls in Africa, and focused on best practices for improving educational opportunities in three countries. Each participant presented their research findings for about 15 minutes, and this was followed by audience questions. Students received feedback from a faculty moderator and were able to network and discuss their work with their peers throughout the conference.

Junior Julia Sheets (Engineering) also presented a paper entitled Time of Travel Study on Water Collection in Rural Honduras, and Junior Andrea Merrill (Sociology/Psychology) attended the conference as an observer.

 

History Alumni prominently featured

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Anna Sokolov with photo of her parents.

History Alumni Anna Sokolov has been featured in two stories in the Albany Democrat-Herald.

Anna is currently working on her MAT with social studies and language arts licensure at Western Oregon University, and is in her third year of working in an alternative high school, and really enjoying it. “Who knew I would get along with delinquents so well?!” she said.  “I am working as the Business to School Liaison, which means my main responsibility is coordinating the Service Learning projects for the school, which is a lot of fun!”

Anna coordinated a school-wide Service Learning project involving Amnesty International’s Global Write-a-Thon event and the newspaper picked it up and ran an article about it.

Read the story here.

Anna wrote her senior history thesis on her father, Victor Sokolov, a prominent Russian dissident. The newspaper also spoke with her about her father.

Read the story here.