This Advent season, count down to Christmas with UP’s 25 Days ’til Christmas online calendar. Share Advent prayers, cookie recipes, historical winter photos of campus, and more with the rest of the UP community. Be sure to visit the site for a new surprise each day leading up to Christmas. Find the calendar here at giving.up.edu/25days.
Development
#GivingTuesday, Dec. 3: Together We Can Shine!
This Tuesday, December 3 is #GivingTuesday, a day of global generosity when millions of people around the world give in support of the causes that matter most to them. On the UP campus, we will celebrate the generosity of the donors who have supported our mission of teaching and learning, faith and formation, service and learning.
We get to see philanthropy in action every day at UP, whether it be while teaching students in the newest building on campus, Dundon-Berchtold Hall, cheering on our Portland Pilots cross country teams from the Pilot House, or by enjoying a reflective moment in the Marian Garden. Our experiences and ability to make a difference in the world around us through teaching, research, and service have been enhanced by the thousands of donors who support UP and our mission each year.
This #GivingTuesday, one special family has challenged the UP community to come together and secure gifts from 1,000 donors. When we do, we will unlock $100,000 in funding for student scholarships.
Make your gift online here (giving.up.edu/givingtuesday) or consider inviting others who believe in UP’s mission. Donors can give to any area of campus that matters most to them, and every donor counts toward the 1,000 donor goal, no matter the amount.
Other ways you can help us celebrate #GivingTuesday this year:
- Go to giving.up.edu/givingtuesday to get your social media toolkit and tips on sharing about #GivingTuesday at UP
- Stop by Clark Library to write a note of thanks for UP donors and get a free hot chocolate
- Encourage a student you know to enter the #GivingTuesday essay contest here.
Thank you for celebrating #GivingTuesday and the generosity of UP donors. When the UP community comes together, it is amazing what we can achieve.
Faculty and Staff Giving: Sending A Powerful Message
Each year some 8,000 donors — including more than 300 staff and faculty members — give financially to support UP students and programs. Gifts from faculty and staff, totaling more than $100,000 annually, send a powerful message to alumni, businesses, foundations, and friends of the University, that those closest to UP believe in this community and choose to support it beyond giving of their time and talent.When you give to UP, you can designate your gift to an area that you are passionate about, including scholarships, a particular school or program, Campus Ministry, athletics programs, and more.
One of the easiest ways to give is through a payroll deduction. To sign up for or renew a payroll deduction gift, please use this link. For more information about giving opportunities, visit the Giving UP page here.
IGNITE Grants Information Session, Nov. 22
The 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.
50% Off Pilot Club Membership for Faculty & Staff
Support student-athlete success on The Bluff today by joining the Pilot Club. Faculty and staff can receive 50 percent off Pilot Club membership benefits, including soccer and basketball hospitality offerings. Memberships start at $125 a year ($10.42 per month) To find out more about the Pilot Club, go to this link or contact Nick Wood, athletics, at x8552 or woodn@up.edu.
New NSF Grant for Lulay, Shiley School
The Shiley School of Engineering is pleased to announce that Kenneth Lulay, Margaret and Vincent Aquino Endowed Associate Professor in Engineering, has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant of $55,358. “Collaborative Research: Bridging the Writing Transfer Gap in Early Engineering Laboratory Courses,” was awarded under NSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) initiative and represents a team of three universities: UP, Washington State University Vancouver, and Oregon Institute of Technology.
The collaborative will study how engineering students apply their existing knowledge of writing when they write technical engineering reports. Each of the three universities has different requirements in their core curriculum, ranging from literature classes to technical writing courses, allowing the research team to study students with diverse writing knowledge and experiences. Modules will be developed to help students transfer their existing knowledge to help them write professional quality technical reports regardless of their previous writing background.
For more information contact the Shiley School of Engineering at x7292 or engineering@up.edu.
New CASE Awards for Development Efforts
The University of Portland development office has been recognized with a 2019 CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Educational Fundraising Award, an honor given each year to exceptional fundraising programs at educational institutions in the United States. UPN is among a select group of more than 90 colleges and universities receiving awards this year. The University is being recognized for Overall Performance, based on the judges’ blind analysis of three years of fundraising data submitted to CASE’s AMAtlas Voluntary Support of Education Survey (VSE).
In addition, the University of Portland is being honored with a Sustained Excellence Award, which is granted to those exceptional organizations that have been recognized with Overall Performance and/or Overall Improvement in three of the past five years.
For more information, contact Connie Ozyjowski, development, at ozyjowsk@up.edu.
Latest Murdock Grants Total $178,427
The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust recently awarded three grants totaling $178,427 to the University of Portland to support scientific research. The three grants include the following:
- One grant to the biology department to advance scientific understanding of how chemotherapy drugs affect immune system cells, potentially improving the ability of some of these cells to attack cancerous tumors.
- A grant to the environmental studies program to shed light on how the physical topography and rock hardness of the Oregon coast is related to biodiversity and the overall ecosystem.
- An award to the chemistry department to explore the immense diversity of a superfamily of enzymes’ functionality, which is important in many cell activities including DNA repair and creation of anti-viral and anti-bacterial compounds.
This grant marks a total of $2.6 million awarded to the University of Portland by the Murdock Trust since 2011.
For more information, contact development at x7395 or giving@up.edu.
Prost with Profs, April 24: Please RSVP
All faculty are cordially invited to share an evening with the class of 2019 at Prost With Profs, on Senior Night, Wednesday, April 24, from 8 to 10 p.m., in the Pilot House. This event celebrates seniors and toasts their success on the Senior Class Campaign.
We know this is a busy time of year, but it would simply not be Prost With Profs without our remarkable professors. Please follow this link to RSVP.
This is the last event where the senior class comes together before commencement and having as many UP professors there as possible is what makes it so special.
For more information, contact Marie Jobes, development, at jobes@up.edu or x7826.
Thank You, Pilot Family! #PilotsGive A Tremendous Success
The development office is happy to report that the Pilot family came together to raise over $1,108,000 for University of Portland students during #PilotsGive 2019. UP alumni, regents, students, faculty, staff, and friends made a total of 2,610 gifts, completing 37 matching challenges during the 24 hours of #PilotsGive. Special gratitude goes out to those who funded the giving challenges. Their leadership motivated the Pilot community to give generously to the causes they care most about.
For #PilotsGive, there were 12 campus campaigns: UP Fund and Scholarships, Clark Library, Moreau Center for Service and Justice, Salzburg and Study Abroad, Campus Ministry, Dundon-Berchtold Hall and programs, Shiley School of Engineering, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education, School of Nursing, Pamplin School of Business, and Athletics. Throughout the 24-hour period, these campaigns connected with thousands of Pilots around the globe to support critical programming for students. Each of them also competed for bonus funds to support their incredible program offerings—click here to see the winners.
UP is so grateful to all those who campaigned, posted on social media, and made donations during #PilotsGive. It is our Pilot community that is taking UP to new heights everyday—through their generosity—students are getting the support and resources they need to thrive.
Thank you, Pilots! You did it!