UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Alumni

Thanks For Years of Dedicated Service

carmen copyCarmen Gaston, who has led the University’s alumni relations office for the past 8 and one-half years, has informed University relations vice president Laurie Kelley of her decision to resign her position as the assistant vice president of alumni relations, effective July 14. Gaston, who earned her bachelor’s degree in history from the University in 1996, joined the UP staff in the fall of 2005 as a major gifts officer in the development office. She was promoted to alumni relations director six months later.

The Office of Alumni Relations has shepherded numerous efforts under her direction, including the foundation of the popular Navigator Series, the 50th anniversary celebration of the Salzburg Program, lectures and alumni visits in numerous cities across the nation, and a very successful and widely attended Reunion Weekend in June 2014. Prior to returning to UP, Carmen worked in product management at John Deere and Polaris Industries. She also has a law degree from the Creighton School of Law.

Carmen is looking forward to spending some time focusing on her family as she transitions from her work here at UP. A farewell reception is planned from 3-4 p.m. on Thursday, July 10, at the Events House on N. Portsmouth Ave. Please join the University relations division in thanking Carmen for her many years of dedicated service here on The Bluff and wishing Carmen and her family all the best. For more information contact Laurie Kelley, university relations, at 8332 or kelleyl@up.edu.

Faculty, Staff Invited To Reunion Weekend, June 26-29

REUNION LOGO copyFaculty and staff members are encouraged to join the hundreds of alumni who return to campus to participate in the annual Alumni Reunion. A special registration form for faculty and staff is available online, and those who would like to attend are asked to fill out the form as soon as possible. Reunion will take place on campus June 26-39. The faculty/staff registration form is available at http://tinyurl.com/lzsdzma. Most events are free for faculty and staff, as indicated on the registration form. The following events are not free and require payment: Farm to Fork dinner, Alumni Golf Tournament, and the Mount St. Helens bus tour. To register for these paid events, please contact the alumni office directly.

Reunion is the largest alumni event of the year, annually drawing more than a thousand alumni, faculty, staff, and friends to campus for a weekend of reconnection and reminiscing. This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Salzburg Study Abroad Program, as well as the milestone classes of 1964 and 1989. A Farm to Fork dinner kicks off the weekend’s festivities on Thursday night, followed by Friday’s National Alumni Board Golf Tournament, a bus tour with professors Bob Butler and Steve Kolmes to Mount St. Helens, the Bierstube on The Bluff welcoming reception, and the Late Night Gasthaus Talent Pub and Euro-Discotheque. Saturday features the Old Stomping Grounds 5K run, the 50 Year Club Mass and Lunch, a Men’s Basketball Alumni game, River Campus tours, a bike tour of North Portland, a story session with Brian Doyle, receptions for the classes observing quinquennial anniversaries, and the signature event of the weekend, the Welcome Home BBQ and Dance. The weekend concludes on Sunday with the All-Alumni Mass and Brunch.

For more information contact the alumni office at 7328 or alumni@up.edu.

Next UP HIVE Event on June 4

Van Edwards copyThe next UP HIVE event will feature behavioral investigator Vanessa Van Edwards as she presents “The Science of Influence,” sharing seven scientifically proven ways to increase one’s influence and charisma, on Wednesday, June 4, at Portland’s Fox Tower (805 SW Broadway, Suite 2600), beginning at 5:30 p.m. Refreshments and appetizers will be served. Van Edwards will share the latest research that shows leaders have certain qualities that make them memorable and persuasive, and that it’s possible to learn those qualities. Please join us for a wonderful evening of networking and learning. Created by alumni for alumni, the UP HIVE is an open forum for University of Portland alumni of all ages and degrees. For more information or to RSVP go to http://uphive.weebly.com/upcoming-events.html.

Pilots Experience Card Free to Faculty, Staff Through August

WallyWithPilotCard copyFor the past year now the Pilots Experience card has made it easier for students, faculty, staff, and alumni to check out what the local area has to offer by allowing for discounts of up to 20 percent at participating restaurants, stores, service providers, and more. The cards are free to all active University of Portland students and are now free for all UP alummi, faculty, and staff through the month of August. After August, faculty, staff, and alumni can buy the cards for $10, with 50 percent of proceeds going to the University of Portland Alumni Association.

Currently you can obtain Pilots Experience cards at the UP alumni relations house at 6625 N. Portsmouth Ave., or at CopyPilot (4784 N. Lombard St, Ste #B). Check out the list of over 50 participating vendors, which includes Burgerville, the T-Room, Green Zebra, Ace Hardware, It’s A Dog’s Life, and many others, at the Pilot Experience page and start saving!

This program is provided by the University Park Business District. For more information contact alumni relations at 7328 or alumni@up.edu, or contact Darrell Grenz of Darrell Grenz Insurance at 503-206-6736 or darrellgrenz@gmail.com.

Brigid Schulte Lecture, April 9

Schulte_web copyThe University is hosting author and alumna Brigid Schulte on Wednesday, April 9, in the Bauccio Commons as she reads from her best-selling book, Overwhelmed: Work, Love And Play When No One Has The Time. There will be a reception at 6:30 p.m. with her lecture to follow at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to faculty, staff, students and the public.

Schulte graduated from UP in 1984 and Columbia School of Journalism in 1987. She has been a reporter at the Washington Post since 1999 and has been a Schwarz Fellow at the New America Foundation since 2011. Prior to working at the Washington Post, she was a national correspondent for Knight-Ridder news service. Overwhelmed was the top-selling business book on Amazon in early March and among the top-ten best-selling books overall on the world’s largest online retailer.

For more information, contact alumni relations at 7328 or alumni@up.edu.

State of UP and Alumni Awards, April 1

beauchamp150University president Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C., will give his final State of the University Address and present the Alumni Awards on Tuesday, April 1, at the Multnomah Athletic Club, 1849 S.W. Salmon. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., with the program from noon to 1 p.m. Seating is limited. Cost is $20 per person ($5 for students), or $200 for a table of 10. Register online at http://rise.up.edu/events.

Fr. Beauchamp’s talk will include an update on the $175 million RISE Campaign for the University of Portland, and other factors affecting the University’s success. Also on the agenda will be the annual Alumni Awards. This year’s winners are Clara Bickford Halvorson ’48, winner of the Distinguished Alumni Award; Joe Womac ’00, winner of the Fr. Tom Oddo, C.S.C. Outstanding Service Award; Rachel Prusynski ’09, winner of the Contemporary Alumni Award; and UP senior Gilbert Resendez, winner of the Thomas A. Gerhardt ’55 Memorial Award for Student Leadership.

For more information contact the marketing and communications office at 7202 or speaker@up.edu.

Caitlin’s Farewell Party, March 19

Caitlin MacMillan2.jpgA collective gasp of disbelief was heard around campus at the news of Caitlin MacMillen, alumni relations, accepting a position as client services associate at First Republic Bank in downtown Portland. MacMillen worked in both admissions and alumni relations as a student worker, earned both her bachelor’s and MBA degrees from UP, and most recently serves as assistant director of strategic planning in alumni relations. Her institutional knowledge as well as her can-do attitude will be missed by all.

The alumni office will host a farewell party for Caitlin at the Alumni House on Wednesday, March 19, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Please come by to say farewell and share your favorite stories about Caitlin. For more information contact alumni relations at 7328 or alumni@up.edu.

Networking 1o1: Making Career Connections, Feb. 20

augustofortyunder40 (39 of 70).jpgAll are welcome to join the alumni relations office for a social gathering that doubles as a networking opportunity, according to Caitlin MacMillan, alumni relations. “Networking 101: Making Career Connections” will take place on Thursday, February 20, at 5:30 p.m., at Nossa Familia Coffee (1319 NW Johnson St. Portland, OR 97209). Staff from Career Services will share networking strategies, and there will be free appetizers and a no-host bar. The event is also hosted by Nossa Familia owner Augusto Carneiro ’01 (pictured). RSVP to alumni@up.edu or 7328.

UP Alumni on Portland Business Journal “Forty Under 40” List

40under40Three University of Portland alumni have been named to the Portland Business Journal’s annual “Forty Under 40” list, which recognizes forty up-and-coming business leaders in the Portland area that are both professionally accomplished and civically engaged. The three UP alumni recognized this year are:

  • Thomas Brenneke ’03, founder and president, Network Redux
  • Dan Brown ’98, principal and vice president, Cascade Energy
  • Augusto Carneiro ’01, owner, Nossa Familia Coffee.

The winners will be honored at Portland’s The Nines Hotel with a lunch on Thursday, February. 13. The University of Portland is Oregon’s only comprehensive university with schools of business, education, engineering, nursing, a College of Arts and Sciences, and a graduate school. UP students and alumni provide a rich resource for research, internships, and full-time employment in the Portland area and beyond. More than half of University of Portland’s 31,000 alumni reside in the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area. To learn more about why University students and alumni make excellent employees, visit Career Services at www.up.edu/career.