UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

04-12-2021

New Vistas For Erin Cave, Mark Heinowski

Erin Cave, UP bookstore manager, has accepted a position with Portland State University, and will be wrapping up her service at the University on April 26. Erin has been at the University of Portland bookstore for over 18 years and has been a wonderful campus partner to many within the UP community.

Keeping the “Dream Team” intact, Erin will be joined by longtime assistant director Mark Heinowski at PSU. UP’s new Barnes & Noble manager is Melanie Keller, who comes to us from Lewis & Clark College Bookstore (also B&N).

Please join in thanking Erin and Mark for their dedication and service to the University.

Fulbright Grant Candidates Wanted

Now is the time to start sending the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (OUSE) the names of current juniors who would be strong candidates to apply for Fulbright Grants. Fulbright offers grants to countries around the world, and in many cases, the applicant is not expected to have studied the language of the host country. Likewise, Fulbright has no minimum GPA requirement, but they are looking for people who will be good ambassadors for the U.S. Fulbright is particularly interested in getting applications from underrepresented groups. Students from all disciplines and schools are encouraged to apply, but OUSE needs faculty to identify them. Send names to scholars@up.edu and we will contact the student and invite them to meet.

UP Museum: A Canopy of Blossoms

A canopy of beautiful pink blossoms heralds the arrival of spring on our campus. For some background about these flowering trees and selfie-magnets, the University Archives and Museum share some photos and write about these flowering cherry trees in their most recent post for the Museum blog.  Follow this link.

For more information, contact Carolyn Connolly, museum coordinator, at piatz@up.edu.

ReadUP Conversation With Dr. Ibram X. Kendi Available Until April 15

The culmination of this year’s Read UP series on How To Be An Anti-Racist was a wide-ranging conversation between author Dr. Kendi and the UP community, deftly facilitated by student Grace Adams and Dr. Eduardo Contreras on March 31. Their questions and Dr. Kendi’s responses were recorded in this 1 hour video now available for viewing, which will be available for just two weeks on the ReadUP website (link will be removed April 16). DVDs of the conversation are also available for checkout from Clark Library, and will remain a permanent part of the collection there.

TLC From The TLC: “Thank God for the Poets”

For this week’s Teaching & Learning tip, Lars Larson, English, suggests reading Margaret Renkl’s recent New York Times piece “Thank God for the Poets”:

Deep in the bloom of spring, we are all tired from a hard year. Here in National Poetry Month, Renkl’s short essay invites instructors to reflect on the role of the lyric in their lives and lectures.  While not directly about teaching, the piece is about suffering, solace, and the ongoing role of beauty in your life – all of which infuse our teaching. As Renkl concludes, poets “help us find the words our own tongues feel too swollen to speak. Thank God for the poets who teach our blinkered eyes to see these gifts the world has given us, and what we owe it in return.”

The article includes a shout-out to Maggie Smith’s poem “Good Bones”, which the editors of Writers magazine – UP’s student-run creative writing journal – chose for its 2021 theme. (Note that a launch party and reading of this year’s volume will take place via Zoom from 6-8 pm on Founders Day, April 20.)

And if today you lack the time for reading the article, then at least absorb four lines Renkl cites from Amanda Gorman’s shimmering inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb”: “Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true: / That even as we grieved, we grew, / That even as we hurt, we hoped, / That even as we tired, we tried.”

Rhodes & Marshall Scholarship Nominations Needed

Faculty members are encouraged to send the names of academically and experientially exceptional, ambitious rising seniors who would benefit from attending graduate school at Cambridge, Oxford, or one of the other premier UK institutions, to the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, according to John Orr, assistant to the provost.

Students applying for these awards must have a University endorsement and formally express their intent to apply by early April. Students will be contacted and given assistance in starting the application process, will participate in campus interviews in late April, and will continue to receive support over the summer so their files can be finalized at the start of the fall semester.

For more information or to pass along names, send an e-mail to scholars@up.edu or call x7857.

For more information use these links:

Last Call for Student Entries for Pilot Venture Challenge

The 2021 Pilot Venture Challenge, UP’s premier invention, business, and social venture competition hosted by the Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is still accepting applications from students across all majors and disciplines. Invention Track entries were due by Sunday, April 11 by midnight. For-Profit and Social Track entries are due by Sunday, April 18 by midnight.  Visit the Pilot Venture Challenge webpage for info on how to register and apply, or contact Kay Molkentin at molkenti@up.edu.

Pilot Venture Challenge will again be held virtually on Saturday, April 17 and Saturday, April 24.  If you are interested in being part of the audience email franzcenter@up.edu to request the meeting link.

Flexible Spending Account Changes

University of Portland is happy to announce some unique opportunities for Flexible Spending Accounts benefits this year per the Consolidated Appropriations Act which allows temporary changes to Section 125 cafeteria plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

  • All Medical and Dependent Care FSA unused 2020 account balances will automatically rollover into 2021 accounts and will be amounts that are in addition to 2021 elections.
  • Employees can elect up to $10,500 per household for Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts for the 2021 calendar year.
  • We are allowing employees to submit new enrollments or change requests to 2021 FSA elections during the month of April to go into effect May 1, 2021.  If you wish to enroll in an FSA plan please complete and submit the 2021 Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Enrollment.
  • All out-of-pocket amounts paid by an individual taxpayer for COVID-19 PPE for use by the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s spouse, or the taxpayer’s dependents after January 1, 2020 are eligible to be reimbursed under health FSAs and HSAs.

If you have any questions please reach out to the HR benefits team at benefits@up.edu.

Faculty, Staff Yoga Classes Available at Beauchamp Center

Interested in taking a faculty/staff yoga class at Beauchamp? Kaitlin Bourne is teaching on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. Class size is reduced and participants are spaced 9 feet apart. Registration is required. If you would like to join, please email Kaitlin at: bourne@up.edu.
Recreational Services continues to offer virtual fitness classes on MS Teams. If you are not yet a member of the Rec Services Virtual Fitness Team, email Kaitlin at bourne@up.edu. Below is the Virtual Schedule.
Sunday 10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. HIIT with Brie Virtual
Sunday 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Zumba with Megan Virtual
Monday 5:00 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. Barre with Katie Virtual
Tuesday 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Sculpt Yoga with Sammy Virtual
Wednesday 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. HIIT with Brie Virtual
Thursday 6:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. Zumba with Jess Virtual

Last Call for Entrepreneurship Scholars Applications

Spots are still available for next year’s Entrepreneurship Scholars Program, so get your application in. You can’t dream if you don’t apply!

E-Scholars is a highly selective program that accepts up to 25 students from across all majors and disciplines each year. The year-long academic program challenges students to find their passions, explore outside the classroom, build their network and develop their own venture. Other benefits of the program include domestic and international travel, working one-on-one with a mentor, participating in Pilot Venture Challenge, and being a member of the E-Scholar network. To learn more and how to apply, click here to watch the E-Scholar Program promotion video.

For questions, contact Kay Molkentin at molkenti@up.edu or visit the Franz Center webpage.