The University of Portland has been selected to host the 2018 Opus Prize, a $1 million annual award which recognizes individuals or organizations who address critical social issues within their communities.
The Opus Prize Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sponsors the Opus Prize, an annual, faith-based humanitarian award recognizing individuals internationally and domestically who are addressing persistent and pressing social problems within their communities. Each year, the Opus Prize Foundation chooses a Catholic university to serve as its partner in selecting the Opus Prize laureates and finalists. The award is one of the world’s largest faith-based awards for social entrepreneurship, composed of one $1 million award and two $100,000 prizes.
The 2018 Opus Prize will consist of a year-long partnership with the University of Portland, providing unique opportunities for engagement that aim to inspire students, faculty and staff, and the greater Portland community. These partnerships are mutually beneficial, celebrating the work of faith-based social entrepreneurs around the world while inspiring the next generation of leaders to pursue lives of service.
The process will begin in Fall 2017, when the University will carry out an internal nomination process for the 2018 Opus Prize. UP alumni and friends locally and around the world will be asked to study the impact of unsung heroes in their communities and consider nominating them for the Opus Prize.
In January 2018, UP will convene an Opus Prize jury comprised of greater Portland faith and business leaders, innovators, and social entrepreneurs. The jury will consider the candidacy of each nominee and determine three finalists for the award.
During Spring 2018, the three finalists will be evaluated in the field by members of the Opus Prize Foundation, along with a delegation of UP students, faculty, and staff. These due diligence expeditions offer unique opportunities for members of the campus community to witness the powerful work of these agents for social change in action.
After the spring expeditions, the University will reciprocate by hosting all three finalists for a week-long celebration in Portland in November 2018. During the 2018 Opus Prize Week, the three finalists will be on the UP campus to visit classrooms and engage in conversation with the University community and the greater Portland community. This week will culminate in the Opus Prize Ceremony, when the $1 million award and two $100,000 prizes will be announced.
For more information about the Opus Prize, please visit www.opusprize.org. For additional information about the University of Portland’s partnership with the Opus Prize Foundation, please contact Dan McGinty, director of the Dundon-Berchtold Institute for Moral Formation and Applied Ethics, at x7596 or at mcgintyd@up.edu.
Three French teaching assistantships have been granted to University of Portland French studies graduates by the French government, according to Trudie Booth, international languages and cultures. Emma Bauer ’17, Clare Munger ’15, and Jenna Kunz ’17 will be teaching in France this coming academic year. A fourth UP alumna applied and may receive word later this summer.
Mass will be celebrated in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and Monday through Friday at 12:05 p.m. during the summer months. Reconciliation will be available on Fridays from 12:30 to 1 p.m.
As required by the City of Portland, the University will be completing required measures to take care of non-conforming issues in the main parking lot this summer. Workers will install 28 curbed planter areas with 54 new trees and an accessible crosswalk between the soccer field and Franz Hall. The plan is to start with the crosswalk and planters in the middle of the lot and then work towards the Pilot House. Lanes will be closed as needed to complete each section of this work and will create turn lanes to access all areas of the lot. Each closure will take 100 spaces off line and will take approximately two to three weeks to complete. There will be a website to track progress and to show lane and parking closures with routing changes.
Faculty members are reminded to load their scholarly activity 
Teaching this summer? As you plan for summer courses, remember the librarians are here and available to provide library instruction. We can tailor the content covered, as well as create course guides, to support your students in their academic research and projects. To schedule a class meeting, please contact Stephanie Michel, library, at x7418 or 
The following awards were presented by Chris Haug, director of residence life, on Monday, May 8, at the Residence Life Staff Appreciation Banquet:
All faculty and instructors must turn in their course pack materials for summer classes to the printing services office as soon as possible, according to Kassie Hansen, printing services. In addition, course packs for fall 2017 are due before leaving campus at the conclusion of spring semester. The lead time is needed so printing services staff can obtain copyright permissions and organize the packs for production before the start of summer and fall semesters. Submit requests to 
The complete NCAA Academic Progress Rates (APR) were released on Wednesday, May 10, and the University of Portland has maintained an elite level once again. Each of Portland’s varsity athletics programs from the 2015-16 multi-year calculation rated high on the scale and no teams are subject to penalties.
Faculty and staff are invited to apply to be an immersion accompanier with the Moreau Center for the 2017-18 academic year. The opportunity is open to UP faculty or staff members in full-time, exempt positions who have a commitment to service and community engagement, a desire to encourage student formation, and a willingness to live simply while immersed in an extended experience with students. Immersion experiences offered next year include: Rural Immersion (fall break), Urban Policy Immersion (winter break), Border Immersion (spring break), Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge Immersion (spring reak), Civil Rights Immersion (summer), and Nicaragua Immersion (summer).