UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Development

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!

Together We All Add UP!

Mark your calendar for April 3-4, noon to noon, and get ready for one of the biggest days of the year for the University of Portland!  #PilotsGive is a day of worldwide Pilot pride that raises critical support for scholarships, programs, innovative learning experiences, and student success. Will you help the University set a record with $1M in annual gifts in only 24 hours?

Last year over 2,000 Pilots made a gift and helped unlock challenge dollars that resulted in a total of $700,000 for programs and funds around campus. With #PilotsGive we can all continue creating positive change and amazing opportunities for students.

Together we all add UP!

For more information contact development at giving@up.edu  or x8003.

Brian Doyle Scholarship for Creative Writing: 2019-2010 Applications Welcome

The Brian Doyle Scholarship for Creative Writing was established in 2018 by University of Portland regent Ralph Bliquez in memory of Brian Doyle, who passed away in May 2017. One aspiring writer will receive a $35,000 scholarship award for the 2019-2020 academic year. Applications are being accepted from now until April 1, 2019. Faculty and staff are encouraged to reach out to current freshman, sophomore, or junior students to let them know about this exciting creative writing opportunity.

Please use this link for more details.

 

 

Nominate Students For Diversity and Inclusion Annual Scholarship

The development office invites you to recommend one to two students for the Diversity and Inclusion Annual Scholarship. Nominees should be working to promote diversity on campus through their involvement in on-campus activities, in the classroom, and/or through their participation in community service. Which student(s) stand out to you as leaders in our efforts to make our campus more diverse and inclusive? The recipient will receive the scholarship for the 2019-20 academic year, so nominees should be freshmen, sophomores, or juniors. Please include a brief summary of why you are nominating them.

The nominated students will be invited to answer a short application which will be reviewed by a committee made up of faculty, staff, and students from the UP community. Once selected, the recipient will be recognized during the conclusion of Diversity Dialogues.

The Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship was created in 2016-17 by then Student Body President Brandon Rivera, in collaboration with other executive board members. This scholarship looks to not only continue the conversation of diversity and inclusion but to promote positive changes to the climate at UP. The topic of diversity is important because it allows a community to come together in unity and create a more inclusive place.

All student nominations are due by Wednesday, February 27, to Connie Ozyjowski, development, at  ozyjowsk@up.edu.

New Grants & Gifts for UP

The development office reports that UP recently received a $700,000 grant from the E.L. Wiegand Foundation to create the E.L. Wiegand Environmental Laboratory, which will be a part of the Franz Campus Boat House.

The University also secured a commitment in the amount of $500,000 to the recreation fields on the Franz Campus. This grant is made possible through Monica Names King, Class of 1990, from the Tom & Meg Names Family Foundation.

And, in honor of the one and only Jim Kuffner, former HR director and longtime UP neighborhood liaison, the Kuffner family recently made a $250,000 donation. $175,000 will go to the James J. Kuffner MBA ’88 Franz Campus Beautification Fund, since Jim played a key role in helping to secure the 35 acres that created the Franz Campus; and $75,000 will go to the Kathleen E. Kuffner MEd ’88 Chapel Choir Fund.

For more information contact development at x8607 or fookes@up.edu.

Happy 99th Birthday, Donald P. Shiley!

Faculty, staff, and students in the Shiley School of Engineering celebrated the 99th birthday of the late Donald P. Shiley on Friday, January 18. In addition to paying tribute to the life and accomplishments of Mr. Shiley, professor Aziz Inan prepared the following article:

Saturday, January 19, 2019 marks the 99th birthday of Donald P. Shiley, namesake and benefactor of the Shiley School of Engineering. Mr. Shiley was a 1951 alumnus of University of Portland with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering. He died on July 31, 2010, at age 90.

I prepared the following number curiosities in his honor:

  1. Shiley’s 99th birthday expressed as 01/19/2019 is special because switching the places of numbers 20 and 19 in the rightmost four digits of 01192019 yields his original birthday, 01/19/1920.
  2. Furthermore, if 01/19/2019 is split as 01, 19, 20, and 19, these four numbers add up to 59. Coincidentally, the sum of the numbers assigned to the letters of Mr. Shiley’s wife’s name, Darlene, also equals 59.
  3. The sum of the digits of Mr. Shiley’s new age, namely 99, equals 18 and interestingly, Mr. Shiley’s full name, Donald Pearce Shiley, consists of 18 letters.
  4. Note also that 18 equals the difference of 01 and 19, the month and day numbers of Mr. Shiley’s birthday.
  5. 2019 equals 3 times 673 and 3 and 673 are the 2nd and 122nd prime numbers. Interestingly, 122 divided by 2 minus 2 yields 59 (Darlene).
  6. If Mr. Shiley’s birthday, 01/19/1920 is split into 01, 19, 19, and 20, the product and the sum of 01 and 19 equals 19 and 20, respectively.
  7. Moreover, the sum of the prime factors of 01191920, namely, 2, 5, 47, and 317, equals 371 and twice the reverse of 371, namely 173, yields 346. Interestingly, each non-leap year has 346 days left after Mr. Shiley’s birthday.
  8. Further, 317 is the 66th prime number and 66 rotated 180 degrees results in Mr. Shiley’s new age, 99.
  9. Additionally, the reverse of 317, namely 713, times 3 equals the sum of the leftmost and rightmost four digits of 01192020, Mr. Shiley’s 100th birthday to occur in 2020.
  10. Also, 317 interpreted as 31/7 represents 31 July, the day Mr. Shiley died in 2010.
  11. Lastly, Shiley’s birth date expressed as 0119 (January 19) equals 7 times the 7th prime number, namely, 17.

Happy 99th birthday to Donald P. Shiley!

Giving Tuesday Instagram Winners Give Back

As part of this year’s Giving Tuesday event, UP students had the chance to enter an Instagram contest where they could be one of three people to win $250 to donate to any area of UP they want. The three winners were randomly selected and shared with development which campus funds they are giving back to:

  • Senior Chloe Tanega will be donating her $250 to UP’s Filipino American Student Association (FASA). Chloe is also the president of FASA and plans to use the funds for their 5th annual culture show this spring. “We want to make this year the biggest one yet,” said Tanega. Chloe also remarked, “Giving Tuesday comes at a good time after everyone is done shopping. “
  • This year was freshman Angelica Garcia’s first year participating in Giving Tuesday and she believes it’s important because “in this society, we are taught to take and take and it makes a big impact on people when we give back.” Garcia is donating her winnings to UP’s Mock Trial team because it has made a huge difference in her time at UP.
  • Senior Ruby Beauchamp believes Giving Tuesday is important because “it is a way to support the community, especially here at UP. Giving Tuesday is great because $250 doesn’t sound like that much, but because I am a part of multiple clubs I know that their budgets are very small so the extra $250 makes a huge difference.” Ruby’s winnings will be going to UP’s College Ecology Club as she is the current president and is most passionate about environmental issues and raising awareness about sustainability.

For more information on Giving Tuesday contact Marie Jobes, development, at jobes@up.edu.

 

Giving Tuesday Gratitude!

This year’s Giving Tuesday event was a huge success, according to Amy Eaton, development. It was a record-breaking year for Giving Tuesday, as the UP community:

  • Beat the goal of attaining 400 gifts in a 24-hour period
  • Raised $180,753 from 554 gifts and pledges, from 538 donors for the day
  • Increased the total number of gifts raised that day, from 2017, by 38% and increased the amount raised by 89%
  • Secured an additional 210 GOLD (graduates of the last decade) donors through a TOP (Telephone Outreach Program) Pre-Giving Tuesday Drive and raised $14,021.

With the pre-event Pre-Giving Tuesday Drive and day of efforts, the team was able to establish an overall new record of 741 gifts and $189,118 raised for Giving Tuesday campaign. This event is important to our end of year fundraising efforts and is also a warm-up to our #PilotsGive campaign.

For more information, contact Amy Eaton, development, at eaton@up.edu.