UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

04-13-2020

Temporary Closure of Franz Campus Parking Lot

Construction is moving forward on the Franz River Campus, according to David Hobbs, construction and facilities. With this happening, the parking lot on the River Campus is now closed to faculty, staff, students, and the public to ensure the safety of all. The closure will last approximately eighteen months. The soccer fields may still be accessed via the Bluff Road. It is advised that people avoid going down Van Houten as there will be considerable heavy truck traffic over the course of construction.

For more information please contact Hobbs at hobbsd@up.edu.

Have You Considered Becoming a Leadership Fellow with the Franz Center?

The Franz Center is providing free leadership training and development during the 2020-21 academic year for faculty and staff who want to learn more about their leadership gifts and habits and about becoming a Leadership Fellow. There have been over 150 faculty and staff from across the University who have been trained as Leadership Fellows thus far, and the Franz Center is seeking to include 30 additional faculty and staff who will begin their training next fall. In addition to engaging in what some who have gone through the training describe as a “transformative experience” in which faculty/staff develop a deeper awareness of their leadership strengths and practice leveraging those strengths in service of the common good, after completing the leadership training, Leadership Fellows can serve as leadership instructors and coaches in the Leader Certificate program. Instructors in the Leadership Certificate program earn a stipend of up to $2,500/semester for their teaching or coaching.

All full-time faculty are eligible to participate. Because of certain restrictions, we are able to include only exempt (salaried) staff in the program. Please contact Dave Houglum, director of leadership for the Franz Center, at houglum@up.edu if you would like to participate, nominate a colleague, or need more information, by Friday, May 8.

UP Ranked 7th As Top Producer of Peace Corps Volunteers

University of Portland is ranked 7th nationally among peer institutions as a top producer of Peace Corps volunteers according to a study released by the Peace Corps. UP currently has 12 alumni serving around the world. Since the Peace Corps’ founding in 1961, more than 230 University graduates have become Peace Corp volunteers.

“At UP, I was inspired to be a servant leader,” said Marissa Kelly ’15, an alumna and Peace Corps volunteer. “My time at UP gave me the professional tools and the service-oriented lens that I needed to be a successful volunteer and, more importantly, a compassionate human being.”

The Peace Corps annually ranks its top volunteer-producing colleges and universities based on the size of the school. University of Portland jumped to No. 7 from its No. 9 spot last year and has been a top school for the last three years. UP’s size places it among the “small school” category and is one of three Oregon universities included in this year’s rankings.

“These schools are institutions that emphasize being global citizens and service-minded students,” said Jody Olsen, Peace Corps director. “I am excited to know the graduates coming from Peace Corps’ Top Colleges are using their skills to make a positive impact on their communities at home and abroad.”

View the 2020 Peace Corps rankings.

Sabbatical Applications Due to Deans by June 15

Applications for sabbaticals for the 2021-2022 academic year are due along with faculty development plans to faculty members’ respective deans by June 15, 2020. All materials, including the letter from the dean to the provost, are due to the provost’s office by September 1, 2020. Faculty eligible to apply for a sabbatical must have completed seven years of full-time teaching at the University of Portland, or have completed at a minimum an additional seven years of full-time teaching since a previously funded University of Portland sabbatical.

Sabbatical requests are coordinated with departmental planning as well as the individual faculty member’s annual development plan. With careful planning the academic units have been able to take into consideration the needs of both the individual faculty member and the department or school. Additional information about sabbatical leaves can be found on page 42 of the Faculty Handbook.

For more information contact the provost’s office at 7105 or staten@up.edu.

Sangfroid: Poised and Professional After December 7, 1941

In the century plus since our founding, the University has been through a lot of ups and downs. Working from the Archives in the deep basements of the Bluff, we have had a chance to look back, reflect, and be inspired by those who have led the way before us. Today’s offering from the University Archives and Museum uses the pages of the December 12, 1941 issue of The Beacon as the basis for our post.  Follow this link to our blog post.

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

 

2019-2020 Butine Spring Cycle Recipients

The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship (TAS) has determined award recipients for the 2019-2020 Butine Faculty Development Fund Spring cycle, according to committee chair Hannah Highlander, mathematics.  Butine award recipients are: 

  • Alexa Dare, $2000, “Streams Transformative Environmental Humanities Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, August 5-8, 2020.”
  • Vail Fletcher, $1890, “North American Association for Critical Animal Studies Conference (NAACAS), University of British Columbia, Kelowna, May 27-29th, 2020”
  • Eli Goldwyn, $1990, “18th Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease meeting in Montpellier, France. June 14-17.”
  • Amber Vermeesch, $2000, “American College of Medicine’s 67th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, May 26-30, 2020.”
  • Cara Hersh, $616, “New Chaucer Society 2020 Congress, Durham, UK, July 12-17, 2020”
  • Jakob Kotas, $2000, “Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Pacific Northwest Section Annual Meeting, Anchorage, Alaska, June 25-27, 2020”
  • Deirdre Katz, $1350, “International Mind, Brain, and Education Society Biennial Conference Montreal, Canada, May 18-20, 2020”
  • Ian Parkman, $2000, “Design Management Institute (DMI)‚ AI Academic Design Management Conference 2020, Toronto, CA, Aug, 5-6, 2020”
  • Angela Hoffman, $1330, “Natural product research for spring 2020 sabbatical”
  • Kathleen Bieryla, $2000, “2020 ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) Annual Conference & Exposition, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, June 21-24, 2020”
  • Simon Aihiokhai, $2000, “Catholic Theological society of America, Baltimore, MD June 11-14, 2020”
  • Tara Prestholdt, $1800, “The effects of EÑSO (El Niño Southern Oscillations) on marine bio diversity and abundance”

For more information, contact Highlander at x7162 or tas@up.edu.

 

Controller’s Office: Electronic Submission of Payment Requests

The Controller’s Office will temporarily accept electronic submission of payment requests while the University is closed due to COVID-19, according to Lori Watson. Please combine all documents into one PDF file and submit to accounts_payable@up.edu.  Payments will continue to be processed but please note there may be some delays.  Thank you for your cooperation during this difficult time.

“Cosmology, Catholicity, & Consciousness” with Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF

Ilia-Delio 2-3

Presenting this week’s brain food-packed podcast from the Garaventa Center vault: “Cosmology, Catholicity & Consciousness: Why Wholeness Matters” by brilliant polymath Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF. Taking her cue from Laudato Si’, Sr. Delio explores a new understanding of catholicity today by drawing on insights from quantum physics, neuroscience and evolutionary biology and the nascence of a third millennium theology.

For other uplifting and stimulating presentations, we invite you to check out some of our greatest hits from the last 5 years, or browse our complete archive of podcasts. The Garaventa Center will be featuring some of our favorite podcasts here weekly through the end of the term; contact Karen Eifler (eifler@up.edu) with questions or requests.

 

Big Change for Maureen Briare: Welcome (Back) to Nursing

Maureen Briare will be returning to her nursing career by joining the School of Nursing faculty as an instructor for fall 2020. Maureen states, “I am beyond excited for the privilege of being able to accompany students on their journey of self-discovery, synthesis of skills and information, and especially their growth as caring, loving, human beings who will serve in the world of health care, and the professionalism that it requires.” Maureen has a vision to create a course in which “prescriptive’ music for anxiety, mindfulness, emotional health, compassionate listening and caring for self are all explored in depth and she hopes that this focus will serve the hearts and minds of our stellar students. Father Jim Gallagher, Director of Campus Ministry, shares “We have been blessed with the many years of Maureen guiding our liturgical music and more. Her gifted direction of the Chapel Choir will be missed, yet we look forward to seeing how she continues to be a blessing to our UP community in this new role.”