Carolyn

June 12, 1949 – Engineering Building Dedication

June 5, 2014 By Carolyn

The Quadrant, Dedication Issue, p.16, 1949

The Quadrant, Dedication Issue, pg. 17, 1949

This day, June 12, 1949, marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of the dedication of the Engineering building. Built for $500,000, the 45,000 square foot, three-story building for Engineering and Physics was furnished with equipment purchased through war surplus, acquired by donations, or built-to-spec by our own faculty. As a basement was not part of the original building plan (or covered by budget), Brother Godfrey Vassallo, C.S.C., other faculty, and dedicated students dug out the basement themselves using hand tools. This new structure was not without its faults — though some claim that insufficient lighting and a noisy heating system added character to the building.

Spring forward to the 21st century to a thriving School of Engineering in need of classrooms and space to house the equipment and technology needed for teaching the rapidly growing number of students enrolled in multiple engineering programs. In 2008, with lead gifts from distinguished alumni and benefactors, Darlene and Donald ’51 Shiley and Sharon and Ed ’56 Sweo, the Engineering building underwent a complete remodel and expansion, nearly doubling in size and providing a state-of-the-art facility. From the darkness of the basement labs, the School is newly re-housed within its old home, renamed Donald P. Shiley Hall, where light streams through expansive glass windows. This year the Shiley School of Engineering conferred over 120 Bachelor of Science degrees in Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil Engineering and in the field of Computer Science on May 4, 2014 as part of the University of Portland Commencement Exercises.

Columbia Prep: 1901-1955

May 30, 2014 By Carolyn

Columbia Preparatory school and Columbia University were the same school, with the same faculty, campus, and buildings. Founded in 1901 and ‘residing’ in West (Waldschmidt) Hall the high school unit existed as the backbone of this University, with strong academic programs and a reputation for athletic competition. With the first collegiate class graduating from the school in 1929 (SIX graduates!), the two schools separated in 1935, taking the names, The University of Portland and Columbia Preparatory School (Columbia Prep). In 1948, due record setting undergraduate enrollments for the University following World War II, Columbia Prep was moved from the University of Portland campus and relocated to the fifty acre Wilcox Estate in Southwest Portland. The Prep school did not thrive after this transplant, and as enrollment declined, the decision was made to close Columbia Prep for good in June 1955. As announced in the Oregon Journal newspaper on June 3, 1955, “Doors Close for Good — Columbia ‘Prep’ Ends 54-Year Life”. In its day Columbia Prep was one of the premier private secondary schools for young men in the West; fulfilling in part the dream and intention of Archbishop Alexander Christie, our founder and first patron. The University of Portland proudly hosts the annual Columbia Prep reunion on campus in honor of this legacy.

Table display of a green beanie with the word Columbia printed on the brim, Columbia Preparatory School pennant, and a membership card. — Columbia Prep Banner and Beanie

House, gardens, and pool of Wilcox Estates. — Columbia Prep Banner and Beanie

Members of the 1946 Columbia Preparatory School football team. — Columbia Prep Football Team, 1946

Catholic Champions of 1948. — Columbia Prep Football Team, 1946

Let Us Commence

May 1, 2014 By Carolyn

Each year at this time the University of Portland sends its graduates beyond the Bluff into the world. This year the University announces a record number of 212 graduate and 929 undergraduate students to receive their degrees during the first weekend of May here on campus in the Earle A. and Virginia H. Chiles Center.

The number of University graduates has fluctuated during the years of the University’s existence. For example, Lawrence Brennan received the only university degree awarded in 1932 (we had first become a 4-year University four years before). The University of Portland became fully co-educational in 1951, and when the University conferred its 10,000th degree in 1974, it was received by Catherine Glidden, an earned bachelor’s degree in Nursing.

From Army and Air Force commissionings, to the Nursing pinning ceremonies, President’s Luncheon, academic procession, and valedictory addresses, the end of college is marked by more than moving out and moving on. It is a time of accomplishment and pride, celebration and ritual for both faculty and students and families met together this weekend in joy.

People gathered in the Chiles Center for an event. — Waiting to Commence, 2000

Father David Tyson shakes hand and presents diploma to a graduate. — Waiting to Commence, 2000

2014 Retiring University Faculty

April 29, 2014 By Carolyn

At the end of the 2013-14 academic year, eight members of the University of Portland faculty will retire after many years of service to this institution, making a difference in the lives of untold number of students. The University gives thanks to our retiring faculty for their dedication and commitment to teaching and learning and wishes them all the best.

Dr. Herman Asarnow, English, at UP since 1979
Dr. Susan Baillet, Psychology, at UP since 1983
Dr. Kathy Crabtree, Nursing, at UP since 2011
Dr. Robert Duff, Sociology, at UP since 1972
Dr. Thompson Faller, Philosophy, at UP since 1964
Dr. Christopher Kodadek, Biology, at UP since 1982
Ms. Caroline Mann, Library, at UP since 1998
Fr. Claude Pomerleau, C.S.C., Political Science, at UP since 1991

Gallery of 2014 Retiring Faculty

Father Claude Pomerleau — Fr. Claude Pomerleau, CSC, 2011

Wally Pilot

April 16, 2014 By Carolyn

The Spirit of Portland U

Wally Pilot came to life in 1948, when Nolan Drurey ’49, lured by a grand prize of five boxes of Chesterfield cigarettes, entered a Beacon mascot-design contest and first drew the bewhiskered river pilot. . . . Records are foggy about SPU’s animation, but the 1953 Log reported that the University fraternity Upsilon Omega Pi “spent 70 hours building a paper-mache head.”

from, Christine Fundak Rohan, I Was Wally Pilot,
Portland Magazine, Winter 1998

From the 1950s to 1993, the members of Upsilon Omega Pi fraternity were Wally’s caretakers and wore the Wally Pilot head and rain gear at sports and other University events. In his early years, Wally Pilot was known as the Spirit of Portland U or SPU. As he integrated into campus life, SPU was most often a willing participant in Homecoming displays created by student organizations in the 1950s and 60s. Wally Pilot also graced the cover of campus directories and Pilot student guides for a period of years. Through the decades, Wally’s face underwent several makeovers with the latest in the 1980’s. In 1978 University president, Rev. Paul Waldschmidt, C.S.C., declared February 13-17 as Wally Pilot week with his 30th birthday celebration on February 16. When fraternities and sororities disbanded on campus in the early 1990s, Wally’s head, rain gear, and boots were given to the University Museum where they are on display today. In 1993, a more friendly, healthy, and modern Wally Pilot was unveiled but to mixed reviews by students and alumni. Wally Pilot took a few years off and underwent a complete renovation and emerged in 2009 as a taller and more physically fit Wally (with six-pack abs), entertaining spectators at athletic venues and through his own Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/WallyPilot?fref=ts.

Hours and Bases

April 10, 2014 By Carolyn

Bell Tower, University of Portland Viewbook, 2012

The Congregation of Holy Cross is a religious community founded for education, and that dedication is woven into the very fabric and foundations of campus life at the University of Portland, from the buildings where we work and study, to the hours which divide the day.

Standing more than 100 feet, the University Bell Tower is the tallest building on campus. At the center of the cross atop the tower we find the Cross and Anchor symbol of the Congregation of Holy Cross. From this tower fourteen bells of various sizes chime the hours for all on campus on a daily basis. The two principal bells where christened for Blessed Basil Anthony Moreau, C.S.C., and for Saint Andre Bessette, C.S.C. Father Moreau is the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Saint Andre is a Holy Cross brother who served as porter and doorkeeper at a Holy Cross school in Montreal.

The Cross and Anchors symbol ornamenting the door frames at Howard and Christie Halls and engraved in the cornerstones of residential and classroom buildings alike memorializes the fact that the University of Portland finds Holy Cross values at the heart of our educational mission.

With the eyes of faith consider the greatness of your mission and the
wonderful amount of good you can accomplish. And also consider
the great reward promised to those who have taught the truth to others
and have helped form them into justice: “they will shine eternally in the
skies like the stars of the heavens.” With the hope of this glory, we must
generously complete the Lord’s work.

From Christian Education
The Very Reverend Basil Anthony Moreau, C.S.C.
founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross

Cross and Anchor symbols around campus

April 12, 1935 – Pilots on the Bluff

April 10, 2014 By Carolyn

On this day in 1935 University officials announced the adoption of the nickname “The Pilots” for the athletic teams of the newly renamed University of Portland. Prior to 1935, teams had been called, variously “The Irish” and “The Cliffdwellers”.

April 6, 1917 – Outbreak of World War I

April 6, 2014 By Carolyn

The outbreak of World War I
and the experience of students at Columbia University

The Columbiad was a student authored and edited publication published monthly. In that respect, it was not an organ of news and current events. The War in Europe began for Europe in 1914; the United States remaining outside the Great War until 1917, and even then the arguments and issues of America’s entry into the War were cast in a world, or global political context.

When the United States entered the war in April of 1917, the Columbiad editorializes for the support of the war and also reports that already 18 students have enlisted alongside 6 alumni recruits. By June, and high school commencement, the war is the significant reference for the graduation ceremony, and in the graduation issue the Columbiad prints an article of valedictory in which a remaining student combines in friendship and service those left behind as also taking part with their classmates who have volunteered, united together in the forward adventure of war service and the battle for freedom.

Columbiad Editorial by Worth Clark, April 1917 (University Archives, Click to enlarge)

Worth Clark, The Columbiad, June 1917 (University Archives, Click to enlarge)

Worth David Clark graduates from the high school division of Columbia University in 1918, editor of the Columbiad and valedictorian in a class of 17 people.

Of those mentioned in Mr. Clark’s June 1917 article, Gerald Malarkey was one of only three sons of Columbia who died in war service; in total, Columbia contributed some 180 men and boys who enlisted as part of the war effort.

April 3, 1806 – Lewis and Clark Expedition

April 3, 2014 By Carolyn

On this date in 1806 Captain William Clark and a party of scouts from his expedition investigated the lower Willamette River near the present site of the University.

Bench on the Bluff behind Swindell's Hall, 2014 — Bench on the Bluff behind Swindell’s Hall, 2014

The bench at the designated smoking area behind Swindell’s Hall is turned inward to campus. This spot on the Bluff used to be a look-out point, indeed notably as far back as 1806, eighty years before the University was even conceived. This is duly observed in the February 1944 issue of The University of Portland Bookman, a journal for the Friends of the Library. In M. Leona Nichols’ article, “Captain Clark Discovers Waud’s Bluff Site of the University” (a review of the explorers’ journals), Ms. Nichols writes,

Captain Lewis says that “… The most important spot is Wappatoo Island, a large extent of country lying between the Multnomah and an arm of the Columbia, which we have called Wappatoo Inlet … which at a distance of seven miles up the Multnomah connects that river with the inlet … “
(History of the Expedition under Lewis and Clark, ed. by Elliott Coues, v. III, p. 928-929).

A note on the history of the expedition by Dr. Elliott Coues says that “The locality which Clark makes ten miles up river is certainly not so far, probably about St. John(s). The two miles further he goes … would bring him to Waud’s Bluff and Swan Island whence it is still three or four miles to Portland (p. 924)”.

Captain Lewis and party came to the Bluff on April 3, 1806 on the expedition’s return from the coast, and the University campus is an official landmark stop on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail (designated by the National Park Service in 1988).

There are three different monuments on the University campus which memorialize this event.

Clark's Point stone marker dedicated October 10, 1945 — Clark’s Point stone marker dedicated October 10, 1945

On October 10, 1945 the ‘Clark’s Point’ stone marker was dedicated by the mayor and members of The Oregon Trails Association; one of a series of markers tracing the Lewis and Clark route from St. Louis, Missouri to Astoria, Oregon. A five and a half ton boulder, the first marker stands at the then far edge of campus, a location that is now the exit where Willamette Boulevard curves toward the city. The plaque reads: “Clark’s Point / Furthest point up the Willamette explored by William Clark and six men of the Lewis and Clark expedition / April 3, 1806”.

A second, larger monument was established in 1948. The new location, deeper into the campus proper, better approximates details found in the scouting report preserved in expedition journals. The new monument, beyond Swindell’s Hall, is an eight ton boulder obtained by Brother Godfrey Vassallo, C.S.C., bearing a plaque designed by Brother Pius Liesing, C.S.C. and fabricated by student Joe Goehler ’48, featuring portrait reliefs of the two explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. From this spot, on a very clear day, it is still possible to credit the words of Clark’s journal, “I can plainly see Mt. Jefferson”; which stands 100 miles away to the SE.

Students in front of Lewis and Clark Monument, 1967

The third monument, sculpted by University of Portland art professor Michael Dente and dedicated December 11, 1988, is three seven-foot bronze statues mounted on a four-foot platform.

Captain William Clark Monument sculpted by Michael Dente and dedicated on December 11, 1988 — Captain William Clark Monument sculpted by University of Portland professor Michael Dente, dedicated on December 11, 1988

(Note: The Captain William Clark Monument was relocated to protective storage in 2020.)

University Archives: Sources and Holdings Consulted:
The Beacon, The University of Portland BOOKMAN, The Log, The Columbiad, The University of Portland Alumni Bulletin, The Oregonian, The Washington County Times, Portland: Greater Portland Commerce, The Captain William Clark Monument Brochure; and correspondence from Oregon Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation Committee, Oregon Historical Society, Rev. Thomas Oddo, C.S.C., University of Portland president, Office of University Relations.

April 8 – Founder’s Day

April 3, 2014 By Carolyn

Archbishop Alexander Christie, founder of the University, with faculty, staff, and students, 1911

The Origins of the Feast . . .

Founder’s Day began informally in the kind act of Archbishop Alexander Christie who chose to celebrate his name’s day by spending time with the community of students on the Bluff at the school he so strongly supported and with which he powerfully identified himself. And so in the Columbiad, the University periodical of 1903, there is this note:

Called ‘Founder’s Day’ already in 1904, and celebrated even in the absence of the Archbishop in 1905, the Columbiad of 1906 hails the day as an institution.

Founder's Day, 1907, The Columbiad — Founder’s Day, 1907, The Columbiad

Archbishop Alexander Christie, Founder's Day, 1906 — Archbishop Alexander Christie, Founder’s Day, 1906

In 1907 the day of assembly as opened with the recitation of an Ode to Archbishop Christie, a student composition of 113 lines, over seven stanzas. Prudentially not repeated here.

Carolyn

Gallery of 2014 Retiring Faculty

Cross and Anchor symbols around campus

The outbreak of World War I and the experience of students at Columbia University

The outbreak of World War I
and the experience of students at Columbia University