The first meeting of the Faith and Intellectual Life Discussion Group for the 2013-2014 academic year will be on Friday, September 20, at 3:30 p.m., in the Murphy Room in Franz Hall, according to Norah Martin, philosophy. The group will be discussing “Farther Away: Robinson Crusoe, David Foster Wallace and the Island of Solitude,” by Jonathan Franzen, and “Antilamentation,” a poem by Dorianne Laux. The direct link to the e-reserve is http://clark.up.edu/search/p?SEARCH=eifler. All readings are on electronic reserve in the library under Martin, Norah and Eifler, Karen, Faith and Intellectual Life Discussion Group. All faculty and staff are welcome. Refreshments will be served. For more information contact Martin at martinn@up.edu or Eifler at eifler@up.edu.
08-19-2013
Emergency Response Training
University of Portland Campus Community Emergency Response Team (CCERT) training is available for all faculty, staff, and students, according to Jeff Rook, public safety. Volunteers are trained by the University’s CCERT trainers and Portland Fire and Rescue to provide emergency disaster assistance on campus and in the immediate surrounding neighborhood. Public safety offers CCERT classes at no cost to people who live or work at the University of Portland. UP CCERT program participants attend a total of 24 hours of hands-on training. Classes are on Wednesdays, 4:30-7:30, starting September 11 in Buckley Center room 310. Online registration is available at http://upccert.eventbrite.com/. For more information contact Rook at 7161 or rook@up.edu.
Fall 2013 Opening Convocation
All faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to attend the University’s Opening Convocation on Tuesday, August 27, at 4 p.m., in Buckley Center Auditorium. University president Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C., will share some thoughts to open the academic year and set the tone for what is sure to be another incredible year on the Bluff. A reception will be held immediately following the convocation in the Bauccio Commons Board Room.
As Fr. Beauchamp has said before, even though classes begin on Monday, August 26, for many the Opening Convocation is the moment when the new academic year really begins. “It is when we all come together in one place – when we see one another, say hello, share stories and news, greet new colleagues, and get strength and invigoration from one another,” he says. “This annual gathering is one of the events that marks us as a true learning community and it is for me one of the most exciting times of the year as things get underway.”
For more information, contact the president’s office at 7101 or simek@up.edu.
Senior Leadership Team Complete
Lisel Stancil has been appointed director of web & enterprise services. She has served as interim director of web & enterprise services since September 2012. She previously served as a business process analyst in the information services department and is a 2002 graduate of the University.
Stancil’s appointment completes the senior leadership team in information services which also includes Michelle Sunderland, director of technical services; Sam Williams, director of academic technology services; Kevork Isikbay, technical programs manager; and Curt Pederson, chief information officer. Janice Lundborg, procurement and administrative specialist, has taken on additional administrative support responsibilities in support of the leadership team. For more information, contact Pederson at pedersoc@up.edu.
2013 Building Community: Serving To Learn
On Saturday, August 31, University of Portland first-year students will be uniquely immersed in the three hallmarks of our University: Teaching and Learning, Faith and Formation, and Service and Leadership. Faculty and staff members are asked to consider being a part of this endeavor by participating in the ninth annual Building Community: Serving to Learn program. Junior student Megan Lester is organizing this half day of community service and discussion for all first-year students, in coordination with the Shepard Freshman Resource Center and the Moreau Center for Service and Leadership.
As University community members, faculty and staff often go beyond the boundaries of classrooms and offices in their investment in the lives of students. This generosity is one of the unique advantages that students experience at the University of Portland. By giving time on August 31 to work alongside students and serve as a facilitator for a group of fifteen students after their experience faculty and staff will be fulfilling a vital part of the University’s mission. More information and a signup form can be found at http://tinyurl.com/cnhalnl. The day’s schedule is as follows:
- 8:15 am: Meet at the Tennis Center/Breakfast
- 8:45-9 a.m.: Send-off to designated sites • 12-1:15 p.m.: Return to campus, pick up lunch, discussion in small groups
- 1:15-1:45 p.m.: Closing ceremony.
For more information contact Brenda Greiner, freshman center, at 7895 or greiner@up.edu.
Tuition Remission Deadline
Employees are reminded that fall 2013 tuition remission should be applied for as soon as possible in order to avoid late charges on students’ accounts, according to Bryn Sopko, human resources.
There is a separate application form for undergraduate course work (http://tinyurl.com/42haqs2) and graduate courses (http://tinyurl.com/7sx5zs8). A tuition remission summary is also available on the HR website at http://tinyurl.com/c8f6j2x.
For more information, stop by the HR offices on the fifth floor of Waldschmidt Hall or e-mail hr@up.edu.
Hiring For Fall Semester
All student supervisors need to make sure each of their student employees is officially on the department’s payroll before allowing students to begin working for fall semester, according to Molly Walsh, financial aid. All new student employees must submit a completed referral form to financial aid before their first day on the job. New student workers who have never worked on campus before must fill out a Form I-9 and a Form W-4 before receiving a referral form and before they may begin working. Completing the Form I-9 includes providing proof of identity and eligibility to work in the United States by providing original, unexpired documents such as:
- Social Security card and picture ID;
- Birth certificate and picture ID;
- U.S. passport.
If a student has been working during the summer and will continue in that same job for the fall the student does not need to submit a new referral form. Also, if a student was rehired on the rehire roster last spring, the student will not need to submit a new referral form for the fall. To verify whether a student may begin working in the fall, contact Walsh at 7311 or walshm@up.edu.
Fall Course Reserves
The Clark Library is at full power and ready to tackle fall semester course reserves. To ensure that reserves are available by the start of the semester, please e-mail a list to library@up.edu or drop materials off at the Service Desk as soon as possible. Library staff also handle scanning and copyright permissions, so will need to know the course name, course number, instructor, and number of students enrolled in each course. Questions about reserves can be directed to the Service Desk at 7111 or library@up.edu. The Reserves FAQ is also available at: http://tinyurl.com/ko2zkf5.
From Our Past
August 24, 1891 marked the cornerstone dedication of West Hall, home of the Methodist-sponsored Portland University. West Hall, now renamed Waldschmidt Hall, was a five-story multi-purpose structure in “Richardsonian Romanesque” style designed for classrooms, offices, dining and dormitory living. The architects, McCraw, Martin and White, were influenced by the nationally-known architect, H.H. Richardson, and possibly patterned the structure as a simplified version of Sever Hall at Harvard. A Portland architectural commission eventually designated the building an historical landmark in the 1960s. It was red brick with ground floor masonry of random coursed grey stone, approximately 85 by 135 feet, with two projecting bays in front and one in the rear. The chapel, dining hall and kitchen occupied the first floor, while the second floor contained classrooms, offices, and library. The third and fourth floors were used for dormitory purposes with the fifth or attic floor serving eventually as a small game room and scientific laboratory-museum. Methodist Bishop Oscar P. Fitzgerald laid the cornerstone on August 24, 1891, and the construction cost of the building was $32,500, according to the Report of the Oregon Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in August 1892. One of the University’s great iconic structures, West Hall was completely refurbished in 1991-1992 and renamed in honor of Rev. Paul Waldschmidt, C.S.C., who served as president of the University from 1962 to 1978.
For more University history see the University Almanac at www.up.edu/almanac.
Are You Ready for Some Kickball?
The first annual faculty/staff kickball game on August 14 was a raucous, spirited contest. By most accounts the game between the “Don’t wake the Snake” Snakes and the “Hands off my kickballs” Ballers ended in a tie. By some accounts it didn’t. View or download game photos from our SmugMug gallery.