News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.
Please join the Office of Financial Affairs as we say goodbye to Rowena Bramlette, assistant vice president for budgeting.
We will honor Rowena for her contributions to the University of Portland in a retirement reception to be held at the Pilot House on Friday, March 1, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. All University employees are invited to extend their good wishes to Rowena in her retirement.
For more information, please contact Erin Zarafshan at zarafsha@up.edu or x7507.
All are invited to a free performance of Angel of the Amazon, a new American opera by Evan Mack, on Saturday, February 23, at 7:30 p.m., in Buckley Center Auditorium. The opera presents the riveting story of Sr. Dorothy Stang and her 2005 martyrdom as she worked to help the poor in the Brazilian rainforest, and features UP faculty member Nicole Hanig in a supporting role. Co-sponsored by performing and fine arts and the Garaventa Center. For ADA accommodations or more information: x7228 or pfa@up.edu.
Author Colum McCann, whose Let the Great World Spin is this year’s ReadUP selection, will offer a lecture that is free and open to all on Wednesday, February 20, at 7 p.m., in Buckley Center Auditorium. He will also be available immediately after the lecture to sign copies of his book. This lecture is part of the Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers Series. Other campus partners are the Office of the Provost, Garaventa Center, Office of Residence Life, Clark Library, and Marketing & Communications.
For more information contact the Garaventa Center at x7702 or garaventa@up.edu.
The provost’s office has announced the following promotions and grants of tenure, effective July 1, 2019:
For more information contact the provost’s office at x7105 or staten@up.edu.
The Garaventa Center invites you to a free screening of Bishop Vince: A Monumental Life, a short documentary exploring the life and contributions of Bishop Vincent McCauley, C.S.C., with Q&A and remarks by filmmaker John O’Keefe, professor of theology at Creighton University. The event will take place on Wednesday, February 13, at 7:15 p.m., in Franz Hall room 120.
Refreshments provided; all are welcome. For ADA accommodations or more information: x7702 or up.edu/garaventa/events.
Given the possibility of an inclement weather-related campus shutdown this week, Eric Barger from the Office of the Controller would like to remind University employees of the payroll policy that applies to such days. Hourly employees must record holiday time for any closure days for which they are usually scheduled and record regular time for time during which they work. When the two overlap, you are paid for both the holiday and the time worked – effectively double-time. Note that if you pick up an extra shift and work on a holiday or shutdown day for which you not regularly scheduled, you should record both regular and holiday (you’ve been added to the schedule that day, so it becomes a “scheduled shift”). The details are below. Another way to think about this is that the “shutdown” days are now treated just the same as holidays have been treated all along. We will no longer use the “floating holiday bank” system for shutdown days.
Those who have accumulated Floating Holiday Bank Hours need to use them by the regular deadline of November 15.
Payroll Policies for Holidays and Shutdown Days
Note: This creates double-time pay for hours worked (regular + holiday pay) during a closure day.
University holidays & shutdown days are as follows:
Note: Except for Good Friday, which starts at 4 p.m. on Holy Thursday and runs through midnight at the end of Good Friday, holidays and shutdown days run from midnight to midnight on the calendar day, consistent with the University’s payroll calendar. University Administration will determine the start and stop time for any partial day closures.
Exceptions and Clarifications
Employees should not work during holidays or shutdown days except at the direction of their managers. Employees who work on these days without such direction forfeit their holiday pay for hours worked, but will still receive regular pay for those hours (i.e. no double-time).
The University may designate an alternate day for the Independence Day holiday when July 4 falls on a weekend. If this happens, employees who actually work on July 4 record holiday pay in addition to regular time for hours actually worked. The alternate day is also a holiday in this case.
Employees who have pre-scheduled vacation or sick time before the University declares a non-regular shutdown day (due to inclement weather or other similar reason) use sick or vacation pay for the pre-scheduled sick or vacation time and not record any holiday pay.
An employee expected to work on a shutdown day, but who cannot work due to illness should record sick pay rather than holiday pay for the hours missed due to illness.
Student employees, non-benefited employees, and adjunct faculty do not receive holiday pay.
For more information contact Barger at barger@up.edu.
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.
The next Theology Thursday lecture will be “Kids, Persistent Toxins, and Catholic Social Teaching,” by Russ Butkus, theology, and Steve Kolmes, environmental studies, on Thursday, February 21, 7:15 p.m., in Shiley Hall room 319.
Recently there have been some disturbing developments at the Environmental Protection Agency regarding public health and in particular the health of American kids. This presentation will address the special vulnerability of children to the bioaccumulation of persistent toxins, and address the ensuing negative health effects. The presentation will also provide a brief summary of current environmental legislation (2016 Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act) and conclude with the argument from Catholic social teaching that children exposed to environmental toxins is a violation of their human right to bodily integrity and health.
For ADA accommodations or more information contact Deborah MacKinnon, theology, at x7274 or mackinno@up.edu.
Since its inauguration in 2015, the Provost’s Initiative for Undergraduate Research has provided support for faculty members from across the University who collaborate with undergraduates on a semester-long research project. The provost’s office is committed to increasing opportunities for student experiential learning, and this initiative represents a key element in achieving that goal.
Faculty members are invited to apply on behalf of themselves and an undergraduate student researcher for stipend support for an intensive undergraduate research experience during the summer. Students are expected to work full-time (35 hours/week) for 6 weeks on the project or the equivalent of 6 weeks over the course of one or both summer sessions. Faculty members are expected to work with and mentor the students in a co-designed research project. Students will be paid $2,500 for their work on the project. Faculty will be compensated $1,500 for mentoring the student in research.
Applications are available here and are due February 15, 2019. Email ur@up.edu with questions or call John Orr, assistant provost, at x7857.
Title IX Informational Session for faculty members will take place on Wednesday, February 13, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center Theater. Sandy Chung (vice president for human resources and Title IX coordinator for compliance) and Matthew Rygg (associate vice president for student development and Title IX coordinator for education) will be present, as will Tom Greene, provost. Chung and Rygg will provide an overview of the work done this year by the Title IX team, and will respond to questions. Please submit questions in advance using this form.