UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Academics

Faculty Scholarly Activity Reminder

Faculty members are reminded to load their scholarly activity on the portal in PilotsUP by May 31 each year. Data obtained through the portal is important as the University applies for grants, honors societies, etc. Faculty members also use their school’s report on the home tab of the Scholarly Activity Portal to send the data to their respective deans as a part of annual self-evaluation.

You can find the link to the Scholarly Activity Portal in the Academic menu of PilotsUP or at the button below.

Scholarly Activity Portal

For any questions about uses of the portal, please contact scholars@up.edu

Teaching and Scholarship Awards—Call for Nominations (Jan. 24)

The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship (TAS) is accepting nominations for the 2025 Faculty Teaching Award and Faculty Scholarship Award. Self-nominate or nominate someone by sending a simple “I nominate X person” to TAS@up.edu by January 24.

Nominees will be contacted, and their supporting materials will be due March 17. Visit the Teaching and Scholarship Awards site on Moodle for more info regarding the nomination process, award criteria, and supporting materials required for nomination. 

Please contact TAS chair Buck Taylor at tas@up.edu with questions.

Center for Teaching and Learning: Innovation Grants

Do you have an innovative teaching idea you are interested in deploying in your classroom? Do you want guidance and support in its implementation and some grant funding to make it happen? The CTL is seeking applications for its Teaching Innovation Grant program to support innovative teaching endeavors across the college. Successful applicants will receive up to $500 in stipend and an additional $500 in project budget funds. All grant projects will receive guidance and coaching during the grant period. Interested?

Please inquire with the Center for Teaching and Learning (ctl@up.edu) or Terry Favero (favero@up.edu) for details.

This project is funded in part by the HHMI IE3 Grant.

Fall 2024 Butine Faculty Development Fund Award Recipients

The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship is pleased to announce the Fall 2024 Butine Faculty Development Fund Awards. Congratulations!

  • Kali Abel, Es Otro Cuento: Invisibility and Adaptation in Colombia’s Changing Climate, $5,000
  • SimonMary Aihiokhai, American Academy of Religion, $2,000
  • Mohammad Arbabian, 35th Annual POMS Conference, $1,960
  • Christina Astorga, College Theology Society 2025 Conference, $1,835
  • Matthew Barner, Identifying and implementing strategies for increasing student utilization of Co-Pilot tutoring, $3,000
  • Kathleen Bieryla, American Society of Biomechanics Conference, $2,000
  • Martin Cenek, Measuring Athletic Performance: The Data-science and Modeling Athletic Performance from Heart and Mobile Sensors, $2,802
  • Brandy Daniels, Annual Meeting of the Society of Christian Ethics, $1,720
  • Katie Danielson, American Educational Research Association Conference, $2,000
  • Ruth Dittrich, Data analysis of incentives to reduce recycling contamination on the household level, $1,100
  • Mike Eom, The Americas Conference in Information Systems, $2,000
  • Vail Fletcher, Aesthetics of the Anthropocene: Regeneration, Repair, and Remembering, $5,000
  • Sean Gestson, Identifying and implementing strategies for increasing student utilization of Co-Pilot tutoring, $3,000
  • Anita Gooding, Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors, $1,412
  • Esther Gravis, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing’s 2025 Creating Healthy Work Environments Conference, $1,400
  • Naveen Gudigantala, The Americas Conference in Information Systems, $2,000
  • Rebekah Hanson, Advancing Suzuki Viola Pedagogy: Creating a Comprehensive Curriculum for Teacher Training in the Americas, $3,000
  • Sam Holloway, Managing MacGyvers: The Interplay of Logics and Patterns of Entrepreneurial Action in Established Organizations, $3,000
  • Deirdre Hon, Exploring the experience of faculty and administrators implementing a social and emotional learning curriculum for pre-service teachers in Monclova, Mexico, $4,310
  • Azeb Madebo, Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN) Conference, $780
  • Nick McRee, American Society of Criminology, $1,000
  • Andrew Nuxoll, International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence, $2,000
  • Neil Oculi, Developing Geospatial Modules for Coastal Vulnerability and Watershed Vulnerability Index for Saint Lucia to Better Understand the Impacts of Climate Change, $5,000
  • Mercedes Oliva, Creativity and Cognition, $3,000
  • Tara Prestholdt, Rates of Cerata Autotomy and Regeneration in Nudibranchs, $5,000, and International Congress for Conservation Biology, $2,000
  • Nicole Ralston, American Educational Research Association Conference, $2,000
  • Kiya Riverman, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, $1,859
  • Khondaker Salehin, IEEE International Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference, $2,000
  • Lizz Schallert, Humane Conditions for Human Service Workers: Merits and Challenges of Worker-Organizing in the Nonprofit Sector, $3,000
  • Rebecca Smith, American Educational Research Association Conference, $2,000
  • Joshua Swidzinski, The Collected Works of Abraham Cowley, $901
  • David Turnbloom, North American Academy of Liturgy, $588, and Catholic Theological Society of America, $500
  • Tammy VanDeGrift, Association for Computing Machinery Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, $2,000
  • Naga Vemprala, The Americas Conference in Information Systems, $2,000
  • Shaz Vijlee, ASEE National Conference, $2,000, and Publication Fees for Open Source Journal, $1,200
  • Jordyn Wolfand, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, $2,000
  • Min Yu, Production and Operations Management Society Conference, $2,000

Don’t Miss a Core Samples Lunch this Semester! (Nov. 13)

All staff and faculty are invited to attend one or both of this fall’s Core Samples Lunches, as guests of the Garaventa Center and Core Program. These have proven a terrific way for all of us to build our knowledge of what happens in UP’s Core Curriculum.

  • Wednesday, November 13, 11:30-12:30: Dr. Brad Franco from the Department of History will provide a glimpse of his foundation level course HST 220: The Search for Justice in the Western Tradition. Learn about how an evolved version of the classic ‘Western Civ’ model can help us think about what it means to define a just world.

Learning from gifted teachers over free food and without exams: could it be any better? Lunches will convene in the Teske Room in the Commons (seating is limited).

Please RSVP to Shannon Mayer, mayers@up.edu.

Call for CAS Faculty Applicants: CAS Advantage Institute for Spring 2025 (Apply by Nov. 15)

The CAS Advantage Institute is a faculty development program in collaboration with the Career Education Center.  This training series provides tools, strategies, and a supportive community to implement career readiness concepts into courses to help students recognize and communicate how their CAS education prepares them for future endeavors. 

By the end of this series faculty will have developed an assignment, activity, syllabus or course content that incorporates career readiness tools and strategies to be used in their classroom and shared with the CAS Advantage Institute community. Selected faculty members will receive a stipend of $500 and create and benefit from a supportive working group of reflective teachers.

Application Deadline: Friday, November 15 

Workshops are held every other Monday from 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Workshop 1, January 27: Welcome, Framing, & Orientation
Workshop 2, February 10: The Liberal Arts & Career Readiness 
Workshop 3, February 24: A Menu of Readiness Integration: Tools & Strategies to Implement 
Workshop 4, March 10: Design and Implementation 

Apply Here

Thank you for applying to be a part of this professional development opportunity! Questions? Contact Natalie Nelson-Marsh (nelsonma@up.edu) and Chelsea Chase (chase@up.edu).

CAS Colleagues: AI Across UP (Nov. 22)

Join your colleagues from the College of Arts and Sciences for a special event highlighting how your fellow faculty members are innovating with and exploring ethical implications of the world of Artificial Intelligence in their academic work! Whether you’re actively using AI tools, curious about their potential, or seeking to better understand their impact on academia, this conversation-driven event promises valuable insights and connections.

Friday, November 22, 4:00-5:30 p.m. | Library Classroom (room 211)

This informal gathering is your chance to:

  • Learn how other faculty are incorporating AI into their teaching and research
  • Share your own experiences and questions
  • Connect with potential collaborators
  • Explore new possibilities for AI in your field

Event Highlights:

  • Six engaging lightning talks from your colleagues showcasing diverse AI applications and perspectives
  • Open discussion to spark new interdisciplinary collaborations
  • Refreshments provided, courtesy of the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Family-friendly environment with a special kiddie table hosted by Drs. Allie Stewart and Hannah Highlander

Invited Speakers:

  • Lauren Alfrey (Sociology & Social Work)
  • Anita Gooding (Sociology & Social Work)
  • Naveen Gudigantala (Pamplin School of Business)
  • Hannah Highlander (Mathematics)
  • Andrew LaFrenz (School of Nursing & Health Innovations)
  • Azeb Madebo (Communication & Media)
  • Dave Turnbloom (Theology)

Mark your calendars and join your colleagues for this thought-provoking discussion!  

Please direct any questions about this event to either Christi Hancock (hancock@up.edu) or Hannah Highlander (highland@up.edu)

Fostering Balance: Virtue and Burnout in Academia—A Conversation (Nov. 1)

Faculty at small institutions often experience burnout as they fuse personal passions and identify with the work output, leading to fatigue, burnout, and, ultimately, low morale. Please join the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Faculty Welfare Committee for a lunch discussion about faculty, work, and vocation within our institutional “family” context.

Join us on Friday, November 1, from 12:15-1:15 p.m. in the Teske Room

Please email the ctl@up.edu to reserve your spot

We’ll explore the concept of virtuous excellence in academia, examining how we can avoid vicious excess and foster a more balanced, ethical approach to our work as educators. The lunch discussion will be based on the excellent article “The Virtuous Professor” by  Brandy Daniels (THE) and David Turnbloom (THE). This conversation will be an opportunity to reflect on our institutional culture and consider strategies for promoting true excellence without falling into the trap of harmful overwork.

Questions? Email ctl@up.edu. 

Honors Readings Courses for 2025-2026—Now Accepting Proposals (Nov. 27)

The Honors Program is looking for faculty-led readings courses to be offered next year (fall 2025 and spring 2026). This is a fun opportunity to teach a 1-credit, pass/no pass course to a group of no more than 15 curious and academically engaged juniors and/or seniors. You can try a topic that doesn’t quite fit into your regular curriculum, needs a test drive, or is something you want to learn more about yourself, as long as it would appeal to an interdisciplinary group of students.

Faculty are compensated $1,000 for this work and it is open to any faculty member.

If interested, please send a course title and a one-paragraph description by November 27, 2024 to honors@up.edu.

Academic Senate Committee on Committees—Faculty Survey (Closes Dec. 4)

The Academic Senate Committee on Committees wants to hear from you. We are asking faculty to please complete the Academic Senate Committee on Committees Service Survey linked below to help us determine committee appointments for the 26/27 academic year.

Academic Senate Survey

Please note that this survey will close on December 4, 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact September Nelson (nelson@up.edu).