03-10-2014

Flexible Spending Account Grace Period

March 31, 2014

All current FSA Plan participants had through March 15, 2014 to complete eligible transactions for the 2013 plan year. Participants now have until March 31, 2014 to file all claims for reimbursement with Flex Plan. There will be no 2013 funds available beyond this grace period.

Beginning with the 2014 plan year, all savings under the plan must be used by December 31, 2014, with the exception of up to $500, which can be rolled into the 2015 plan year and used throughout 2015.

Questions regarding the plan years, grace periods, and carryovers may be directed to Andy Sherwood at 8981 or sherwood@up.edu.

Apply For Summer Tuition Remission By April 4, Please

March 31, 2014

Eligible employees who intend to use their tuition remission benefit during the summer semester are encouraged to apply using the online request tool no later than Friday, April 4, according to Bryn Sopko, human resources. It is required that remission requests are approved at least 2 weeks before the first class, or late charges may be applied to an employee’s account.

There are separate application forms for undergraduate (http://tinyurl.com/42haqs2) and graduate course work tuition remission (http://tinyurl.com/7sx5zs8). Any graduate level tuition remission benefit will be taxable to the employee on the value above $5,250 for attempted credits and subject to applicable withholdings and will be reflected on the W-2 of the tax year the remission was applied. Time away from an employee’s regular work day must be approved in advance by the supervisor. Tuition exchange at other universities is not available to employees.

See the Tuition Remission Policy Summary at http://tinyurl.com/czyvnrb for further details.

Bauccio Lecture in Entrepreneurship, March 27

March 24, 2014

The 2014 Bauccio Lecture in Entrepreneurship will be delivered by Whole Foods Market co-CEO Walter Robb III on Thursday, March 27, at 4:15 p.m., in Buckley Center Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to all faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the public.

Robb joined Whole Foods in 1991, operating the Mill Valley, Calif., store until he became president of the Northern Pacific Region in 1993. In that capacity he grew the region from two to 17 stores. He became executive vice president of operations in 2000, chief operating officer in 2001, and co-president in 2004. In 2010, Robb was named co-CEO (along with John Mackey) and joined the Whole Foods Market board of directors. Robb is an ardent organic advocate who works in his own organic garden. He serves on several boards and is chairman for the Whole Kids Foundation.

The Bauccio Lecture in Entrepreneurship was established with a $250,000 Defining Moment Campaign gift from Fedele Bauccio ’64,’66 and his wife, Linda. The gift enables the University to stage a series of lectures with visiting entrepreneurs. Bauccio is CEO of Bon Appetit, an onsite custom restaurant company which controls all beverage and food at over 170 locations in 26 states and employs more than 8,000 people.

Past lecturers include San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer, polar explorer and environmental leader Robert Swan, Continental Mills CEO John Heily, former WalMart executive Jack Shewmaker, and, in 2003, Fedele Bauccio.

For more information contact Peter Rachor, Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, at 7782 or rachor@up.edu.

DJ Wilson Leadership Speaker Series Lecture, March 24

March 24, 2014

DJ Wilson, president and general manager of KGW Media Group Portland since 2007, will be the guest speaker for the University of Portland’s Leadership Speaker Series at 7:10 p.m. on Monday, March 24, in Buckley Center Auditorium. Her talk is free and open to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the public.

Wilson is president of the Professional Advisory Board for the Edward R. Murrow College of Communications at Washington State University, and has served two terms on the board of governors of the WSU Foundation. In 2012, Wilson was inducted into the Edward R. Murrow Hall of Achievement and received the Portland Business Journal “No Glass Ceiling” female leadership award.

The Leadership Speaker Series features business leaders and innovators from around the region and is sponsored by the Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation and the Pamplin School of Business Administration. For more information contact the Franz Center at 7769 or the Pamplin School at 7224.

Father Thomas C. Oddo, C.S.C. Memorial Scholarship

March 24, 2014

Shortly after his untimely death in 1989, University of Portland president Rev. Thomas C. Oddo, C.S.C., was memorialized by faculty, staff, students, and friends with the establishment of an endowed scholarship fund named after him. Every year the University awards scholarship funds in Fr. Oddo’s name to one or two students who meet a set of criteria which includes demonstrated commitment to service and to service learning.

Nominations are welcome at this time for the next awards to students. For more information and a nomination form there are links on both the Moreau Center (http://tinyurl.com/lfwpxxf) and campus ministry (http://tinyurl.com/mpc398t) websites.

Lenten Prayer Opportunity: Visio Divina

March 24, 2014

For all who would like to step outside the frenzy of daily life for an opportunity to pray and contemplate in an ancient way, here’s your chance. This Lent, the Garaventa Center and campus ministry are teaming to offer Visio Divina in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. Visio Divina has its roots in monastic tradition, and is a meditative means of entering into an image to see what God might have to say to you in silence. Each encounter will focus on a different image each week from the University’s St.John’s Bible Heritage Edition.

In response to feedback from staff and faculty who would like to participate in the community’s prayer life but prefer not to come back to campus after their work day ends, there will be two Visio Divina sessions each Wednesday in Lent, starting March 19 at 12:45 p.m. (30 minutes) and 7:15 p.m. (40 minutes). Visio Divina requires nothing from you but your quiet presence, and all are welcome. For more information, please contact Karen Eifler (eifler@up.edu) or Beth Barsotti (barsotti@up.edu).

State of UP and Alumni Awards, April 1

March 17, 2014

University 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.

MAT Informational, March 18

March 17, 2014

Faculty, staff, and students are invited to a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Informational on Tuesday, March 18, at 6 p.m., in the Franz Hall Murphy conference room (Franz 426). The MAT is an intensive program designed to prepare individuals with baccalaureate degrees for teaching in K-12 schools. MAT graduates earn a masters degree and are eligible for Oregon initial licensure at two contiguous levels of authorization: early childhood, elementary, middle and/or high school. To attend, please RSVP to the School of Education at 7135.

Annual Mazzocco Lecture in Distributive Justice, March 19

March 17, 2014

Ted Gurr from the University of Maryland will present the 2014 William J. Mazzocco Lecture in Distributive Justice on Wednesday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m., in Buckley Center room 163. His talk, titled “When Injustice Breeds Internal War: Evidence from Kosovo and North Africa,” is free and open to all.

Gurr serves as University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Maryland, served as a consultant to several presidential administrations, and is the author of the prize-winning work, Why Men Rebel. His presentation, based on Crime-Terror Alliances and the State, co-authored with Lyubov Mincheva, examines the trans-border connections known as “unholy alliances” between militant and criminal networks and the relationship between these and the states in which they operate.

The William J. Mazzocco Lecture in Distributive Justice was established at the University in 2006 to honor a 1937 graduate. Bill Mazzocco had a long, distinguished career in military intelligence with various World War II assignments at diplomatic posts, and made significant contributions to the Marshall Plan. He credited his years at UP with giving him a solid moral foundation that guided his steadfast belief in the principles of equitable and fair distribution of wealth.

For ADA accommodations or any questions, please contact Gary Malecha, political science department, at malecha@up.edu or 7452.

Barbara Harff Lecture, “A Murderous Century,” March 20

March 17, 2014

The Garaventa Center will present “A Murderous Century: The Detection, Explanation, and Prevention of Genocide,” a lecture by Barbara Harff, on Thursday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m., in Buckley Center room 163. The presentation is free and open to faculty, staff, students, and the public. Harff is professor emerita of political science at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and received the 2013 Auschwitz Institute’s Raphael Lemkin Prize in outstanding contribution to the cause of genocide prevention. Harff pioneered the systematic comparative analysis of the preconditions of genocides and political mass murders, and continues to prepare updated global risk assessments for governments, the United Nations, and non-governmental organization (NGOs).

For ADA accommodations or any questions, please contact Jamie Powell in the Garaventa Center at powell@up.edu or 7702.