Gary Malecha on his new book, The Public Congress
Political Science Professor Gary Malecha discusses his new book, The Public Congress. How has the Congress evolved to become so much a part of the 24/7 media cycle? What affect has this had on Congressional power and structure? And how, ultimately, does it impact Congress’s ability to deliberate and legislate in a calm, deliberative fashion?
Order the book from Amazon here.
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After 24 years at University of Portland as history and political science professor, dean, academic vice president, and provost, Br. Donald Stabrowski, C.S.C., leaves University of Portland to service as assistant provincial for the Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers. A look back on his years with the Congregation of Holy Cross and University of Portland.
Bringing Eyes of Faith to Film: FINDING NEMO
Father Charlie Gordon and Prof. Karen Eifler discuss the underlying sacramental themes that swim through this popular Pixar movie.
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From an early age, Anne Pitsch Santiago had ambitions to get out of her small town in Wisconsin and explore the world through the Peace Corps. During college, she became passionate about human rights, and during graduate school, she found herself fascinated with Africa. This led to an application to and acceptance by the Peace Corps to spend two years in Mauritania, West Africa. That experience led to a love-hate relationship with the continent, a realization of the role of culture and experience in forming one’s worldview, and a desire to learn more about the world. After her time in the Peace Corps, Santiago returned to graduate school to earn her Ph.D. in Government and Politics at the University of Maryland. There, she was fortunate to work with one of the foremost authorities on ethnic conflict, Dr. Ted Robert Gurr, becoming the project coordinator of his multi-year, multi-million dollar project called Minorities at Risk. Santiago learned much about conflict, about Africa, and about conducting research while on this project. [Read more…] about Connecting with Africa
By Hannah Kintner , Staff Writer Kintner13@up.edu
Voter registration,informative political discussion and a cake adorned with the American flag marked the 225th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution at the University of Portland on Monday.
The political science department hosted the second Vote UP event titled “The Constitution and the Election” in St. Mary’s lounge. Political science professors William Curtis and Gary Malechacollaborated to inform students about the issues and history of campaign finance reform, the political effort to change the role of money in politics.
Curtis spoke about the details of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a 2010 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, as well as the technicalities of campaign finance reform, the key issue of the case.
Michael Cameron from the Department of Theology has just published a book-length study of St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) that analyzes the ancient Latin Church Father’s patterns of reading and teaching the Bible. Drawing on a quote from Augustine about the Old Testament, the book is titled Christ Meets Me Everywhere: Augustine’s Early Figurative Exegesis, and published by Oxford University Press.
Most readers first encounter Augustine’s love for the words of Scripture in his masterwork, the Confessions. Augustine does not merely quote texts there, but in many ways lets Scripture itself tell his story. As he journeys from darkness to light, Augustine figuratively becomes Adam in the Garden of Eden, or the Prodigal Son of Jesus’ parable, or the Pauline double personality devoted to and rebellious against God’s Law.
Rising Rwanda is a documentary project that intertwines photography, video and in-depth interviews to tell a story of identity and culture in a post-genocidal Rwanda. The project was designed to capture the visual and aural narratives of 35 children, ranging in age from six to fifteen, in an effort to understand and define the underlying tone of the first post-genocide generation in Rwanda. The children, who were representative of multiple social and economic backgrounds, were asked to draw pictures that portrayed them engaging in an activity with someone they respect. The drawings helped to create the space for the interviews, conducted with the help of a local translator, that examine the content and meaning of their pictures and their perception of self, community, and nation. [Read more…] about Rising Rwanda Project
The “Vote UP” program–a collaboration between University of Portland faculty, staff, and students to increase on-campus voter turnout, engagement, and dialogue in the weeks leading up to the 2012 Presidential election–will be holding a series of events in the coming weeks. The program will include voter registration drives, weekly panel discussions about key issues, debate and election-watch parties, and a post-election wrap-up. Each panel will be followed by discussions facilitated by TOLCS (Teaching Our Leaders Civil Discourse and Service), students trained by the Communication Studies department in civic discourse and public dialogue.
All “Vote UP” events are free and open to the public and will be held at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Locations are subject to change – please check the official Vote UP website at www.up.edu/voteup for the most up-to-date information.
| Date | Event | Sponsoring Group | Location |
| 9/25 | Panel: Health Care | UPSNA | St. Mary’s Lounge |
| 10/2 | Panel: Immigration | MEChA | St. Mary’s Lounge |
| 10/3 | Presidential Debate Watch Party | UP Marketing | The Cove (6 p.m.) |
| 10/9 | Panel: Economy/Budget | College Repubs/Dems | St. Mary’s Lounge |
| 10/11 | Vice Presidential Debate Watch Party | UP Marketing | The Cove (6 p.m.) |
| 10/16 | Presidential Debate Watch Party | UP Marketing | The Cove (6 p.m.) |
| 10/22 | Presidential Debate Watch Party | UP Marketing | The Cove (6 p.m.) |
| 10/23 | Panel: Women’s Issues | Feminist Discussion Group | St. Mary’s Lounge |
| 10/30 | Panel: International/Foreign Policy | International Club | St. Mary’s Lounge |
| 11/6 | Election Watch Party | Student Activities | The Cove (5 p.m.) |
| 11/13 | Panel: Post-Election Implications | Roosevelt Institute | St. Mary’s Lounge |
Vote UP is being sponsored by The New York Times as well as the University of Portland Political Science department, Student Activities, and the Moreau Center for Service and Leadership.
Contact Jeromy Koffler, Student Activities director, with questions at stuact@up.edu or 503-943-7470.
Fifty years ago on October 12, 1962 a major storm struck Portland, remembered by those who experienced it as “the Columbus Day storm.” The roof of St. Joseph Hall, a two-story wooden structure to the west of Howard Hall then serving as a residence for several Holy Cross religious, was ripped away by the wind and many of the native Douglas firs on the campus were uprooted. Power was lost to much of the city including the campus. The food service at the Commons improvised with hamburgers cooked over charcoal on the grills that originally lined the west entrance to the building.
The University Museum has created a display to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Columbus Day Storm. The display is located in the display case near the computer stations in the Pilot House and will be in place until the end of October. Contact Carolyn Connolly, Museum Coordinator, at 8038 or piatz@up.edu for more information.
TEACHING & LEARNING THROUGH RESEARCH
Despite her demure presence, Elinor Sullivan is an emerging rock star in the world of physiology research. She is currently the holder of two faculty positions (Assistant Professor at UP and Adjunct Assistant Scientist in the Department of Neuroscience at the Oregon Primary Research Center), in addition to holding two concurrent grants: most recently a $45,322 research award from the competitive Murdock Life Sciences Research Program. [Read more…] about Mothers, Diets, and Children