UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Academics

TLC Brownbag Lunch Session, This Tuesday, Nov. 12

TLC Brown Bag Discussion

The Teaching & Learning Collaborative will offer a bring-your-own-brownbag lunch conversation around “Navigating Worrying Conversations and Troubling Nonverbal Behaviors with Students” in the Murphy Room from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., this Tuesday, November 12, facilitated by Sarina Saturn, psychological sciences.

This session will contain information about real-life experiences of students and the Academic Network for Mental Health (ANMH).  The ANMH is a collaborative effort by staff and faculty members across the University designed to provide knowledge and trainings about recognizing students in emotional distress and providing available resources and referrals to help with mental health issues. All who work with students are welcome to attend and even to bring a friend! For more information contact Karen Eifler at eifler@up.edu.

Your 2019 ACUBE Excellence in Teaching Award Winner: Tara Prestholdt

Tara Prestholdt, biology, won the 2019 Excellence in Teaching Award at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Association of College and University Biology Educators (ACUBE). The award is offered annually to honor faculty who both practice and promote effective, innovative teaching in the biology classroom.

While the entire campus is no doubt aware of Prestholdt’s polymathic proficiency, mathematics professor Stephanie Salomone explains it best: “Tara is a true mentor to her undergraduates. Tara’s expectations for her co-researchers are high. They will not just do good science, but they will be able to explain their work to people who are as far as possible from experts. They will not just enjoy science, or like science; they will find science exciting,the process of discovery exhilarating, and the difficult cognitive task of explaining science to laymen motivating. Every student that I’ve known who has worked in Tara’s lab has come out skilled in scientific research, and eager to get back into the lab or the field to do more.

“Further, Tara Prestholdt is dedicated to improving undergraduate education on campus and beyond. Tara’s work on the NSF-funded REFLECT project has helped transform the culture of undergraduate STEM education at UP into one that responds to the evidence of what makes for great teaching – active, hands-on, engaged approaches to instruction. She is a supportive mentor for other faculty who are new to evidence-based practices, she is innovative in her own approaches to teaching, and she is a leader who deeply deserves this recognition.”

 

 

 

IGNITE Grants Information Session, Nov. 22

IGNITE Grants IconThe development office and academic technology services & innovation will offer an IGNITE Grant information session on Friday, November 22, at 11:15 a.m., in Franz Hall room 33. The event is open to any staff or faculty member (or students working with faculty of staff), and topics will include:

  • Why you should apply
  • Tips on interpreting the request for proposal (RFP)
  • Grant-writing strategies
  • Other key steps

A Q& A session will include a former IGNITE grantee.

The session will last for 45mins and refreshments will be provided. There is a blog post with more information and a registration form here. Capacity is capped at 20 people, but interested parties can also email Ösel Jessica Plante to be entered on a waiting list.

Honors Program Mentors Needed

Graphic for MentorsFaculty members are invited to serve as Honors Program mentors. Faculty mentors assist with selecting the incoming honors class, are assigned two incoming honors student mentees, and are encouraged to meet with them on a regular basis during the students’ first two years at the University.

Those who would like to learn more about being a mentor for fall 2020 are asked to contact John Orr (orr@up.edu).

“The Penelopiad” Pre-Play Panel and Reception, Nov. 16

Wine & Cheese ReceptionAll ticket holders for the Saturday, November 16 performance of The Penelopiad are invited to enjoy wine, cheese, and desserts as campus experts highlight what to look and listen for in this play based on a novella by Margaret Atwood. Sponsored by the Garaventa Center and the Rumpakis Chair for Hellenic Studies. For ADA accommodations or more information contact the Garaventa Center at garaventa@up.edu or x7702. For theater tickets call the Hunt Center box office at x7287.

STEM Center Joy of Teaching Lunch, Nov. 14

Join the STEM Education and Outreach Center and the Garaventa Center for their Joy of Teaching brown bag lunch on Thursday, November 14, noon to 1 p.m., in Franz Hall 120. The theme of this lunch is “Hope.” Time to gather with like-minded joyful teachers for sharing of information, impressions, and the ends and pieces of leftover Halloween candy.

For more information please email salomone@up.edu or childs20@up.edu.

Free Theater Tickets for Staff and Faculty

Drama & Comedy MasksUP’s Theater Program offers every staff and faculty member two complimentary tickets for each mainstage show they produce in Mago Hunt Center. When tickets go on sale, just call the box office at x7287, tell them you are an employee, and let them know which performance you’d like to see. Tickets will be held for you in the box office; just show your UP ID to claim them. Use this benefit to see Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, playing on campus November 14-17.

Embedded Travel Component Courses: An Exciting Opportunity

CISGO wants faculty to know about an exciting opportunity to develop and lead a course that includes an embedded travel component, according to CISGO chair Lisa Reed, business.  The Provost Council recently approved Guidelines for Courses with Embedded Travel Components and a Proposal Form to guide faculty in preparing proposals for these types of courses.

CISGO is accepting proposals for courses to be offered in spring 2021 (deadline for proposal submissions is January 13, 2020) and fall 2021 (deadline for proposal submissions is September 1, 2020).  Questions?  Please contact Reed (reedl@up.edu); Eddie Contreras, assistant provost for international, diversity, and inclusion (contrera@up.edu); or studies abroad director Kallan Picha (picha@up.edu).

“How Are You Teaching, Researching, Learning About Race?,” Nov. 12

Jann Murray-GarcíaClinical professor Jann Murray-García of the UC-Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing will present “How Are You Teaching, Researching, and Learning About Race?” on Tuesday, November 12, at 3 p.m., in the Brian Doyle Auditorium. Murray-García will visit as part of the School of Nursing’s 85th Anniversary Speaker Series.

In 1998, with Melanie Tervalon, Murray-García introduced the now foundational concept of Cultural Humility in her most-oft cited publication, “Cultural Humility versus Cultural Competency: A Critical Distinction in Defining Physician Training Outcomes in Multicultural Education” (Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 1998). This work has implications beyond nursing in the realms of intercultural understanding, inclusion, and diversity.

For more information contact Eduardo Contreras, assistant provost for international education, diversity, and inclusion, at contrera@up.edu.