News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.
All staff and faculty are invited to gather in the Murphy Room (4th floor, Franz Hall) on Friday, November 5, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. for the next Faith & Intellectual Life Discussion Group. We’ll be unpacking Brian Bilston’s poem “Refugees” and George Packer’s Atlantic essay “How America Fractured Into Four Parts.” As with any Garaventa Center event, refreshments will be served, alongside convivial conversation about ideas that matter. All are warmly welcome.
Printing and Mailing Services will be closed on Friday, October 15, for Staff Appreciation day. We will resume regular business hours on Monday, October 18.
Naga Vemprala recently received his doctorate in information technology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He graduated from Andhra University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Prior to his Ph.D. studies, he worked as a software developer, consultant, and data analyst for multinational companies in the IT services industry and has extensive experience developing applications for legacy systems using mainframe technologies, SAS programming, and advanced web-based applications. He also provided technical solutions for Fortune 500 companies’ day-to-day business operations through advanced data analytics. Social media applications, data analytics, machine learning, and natural language processing are among his research interests. He is fascinated by the enormous opportunities that “Big Data” can provide, as well as the advantages of using freely available data for better decision making by non-profits, for-profit organizations, and the general public. His research has been presented at a number of international conferences and workshops, including the Bright Internet Global Summit, the DRW privacy workshop, AMCIS, ECIS, and HICSS, and has been published in the International Journal of Information Management and Decision Sciences Journal. Naga enjoys playing tennis and traveling with his family. He often enjoys putting his analytical skills to the test by developing quantitative models using stock data from the global financial markets and analyzing the model performance.
Kate Trumbo has been a family nurse practitioner since 2013. She has significant clinical experience in internal medicine, with a special interest in oncology and palliative care. Her doctoral work focused on the sustainability of independent public health programs that provide resources for underserved populations. Interprofessional communication is at the core of her clinical practice and translational research efforts. While these conversations can be challenging, Kate believes that outcomes are dramatically improved when diverse groups find a way to speak a common language. Her journey demonstrates a commitment to lifelong learning and diversity, with training and professional experience in natural and social sciences. She began with an undergraduate in bacteriology and went on to earn a graduate degree in life sciences communication. She completed her nursing education at Regis University, Vanderbilt University, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and University of Northern Colorado. Kate is a first-generation college graduate who honors the many ways in which education changes lives. She enjoys mentoring young adults who are attempting to establish their careers as well as adult learners who are balancing work, family, and new educational opportunities. Her strongest teaching experience to date lies in clinical practice where she has educated family medicine residents, nursing students, and families from all walks of life. She trained as a teacher and practitioner of Yin Yoga in Colorado, and most recently relocated to Portland from Minnesota.
Kali Abel is geographer, glaciologist, climate scientist, and educator and has been at University of Portland as an adjunct instructor since 2017. Kali completed a bachelor’s degree in environmental science at Colby College, a master’s degree in geological sciences at University of Colorado, and the coursework for a Ph.D. in geography at Oregon State University. In between academic endeavors, Kali worked as a mountaineering guide, environmental consultant, journalist, independent researcher, explorer, and instructor at Portland Community College. Her current research focuses on migration as adaptation to climate change as well as multi-hazard systems involving glacier change, sea-level rise, and human adaptation primarily within Central and South America as well as the Pacific Northwest. She is passionate about the convergence of the physical and social sciences, climate change adaptation, illicit economies, climate and migration policy, climate change communication, science education, and perhaps a thousand other related and non-related topics. A primary emphasis of Kali’s work is reforming narratives surrounding climate change in an effort to better inform policy, education, and public understanding. Kali teaches numerous classes within environmental studies, including one of her own design that centers on glacier change, climate, and human adaptation. She is passionate about teaching and is grateful to be able to spend much of the year in the classroom and the remainder working in the field internationally. A Portland native, Kali has lived or worked in over a dozen different countries and is appreciative of the opportunity to now live much of the year near her home mountain range with her family and overly energetic herding dog.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Amy Long received her master of science in nursing from Case Western Reserve University in 2010 and immediately began her 11-year career at Housecall Providers providing primary, palliative, and hospice care to medically fragile individuals in their homes. While lead clinician at Housecall, she was able to develop a structured one-year mentorship program for newly hired medical providers, addressing the clinical, logistic, and personal challenges that accompany the demanding role. The program allowed them to feel more prepared, effective, and connected, and as a result stabilized turnover. Prior to her work as a nurse practitioner she was a R.N. in the medical/surgical units at the county hospital serving Cleveland, Ohio, and unlicensed clinical support for both Outside In and Planned Parenthood. Her undergraduate degree is a self-designed major from Fairhaven College of Western Washington University, “American Social Stratification: Society, Economy, and Policy.“ Aside from her ongoing interest in supporting the medical needs of marginalized and underserved populations, she also has a commitment to addressing nursing burnout, moral injury, and resilience. This is her first teaching position, and she is enthusiastic about utilizing her clinical experience to help create a strong, flexible nursing workforce. Amy is an avid sewist, crafting much of her own wardrobe, loves hiking, and enjoys volunteering walking dogs at the local animal shelter.
Join us for the 6th Annual OTM Symposium as we hear from Portland’s thought leaders in operations and technology management.
The Symposium will offer virtual sessions presented by professionals across Portland (including Nike, Intel, Portland Timbers, and more!) discussing the Future of Work in this World of Technology.
Register >> https://bit.ly/2WyjvXK
Most recently, all first-year students spent some time considering the role of imagination and beauty in a full life, and creativity in their work as thinkers and doers. They watched Gregory Pulver’s talk on The Meaning of Color, and pondered living in a world without attention to beauty. Of special note to instructors in all fields, they also explored how to follow through on open-ended assignments and why some instructors get discouraged by the question “exactly what are you looking for in this creative assignment?”
John Beckman, inventor of the photo finish, provided an endowment to help UP faculty and students “use or explore humor as a gentle sideways weapon against the forces of darkness.” Proposals are being accepted now for projects to be created over the next two years: scholarship and creative works of any kind are encouraged. Recent examples have included teacher/student collaborations on the “Why Theology Needs…” series, financial support to help with publication fees for a refereed journal with a focus issue on humor psychology, Music and Laughter as a Survival Tool During the Nazi Era, and others archived on the Beckman Humor Project site. Proposal guidelines are also on that site, and are considered on a rolling basis through the end of this semester. Completed proposals can be sent to garaventa@up.edu. Questions? Contact Karen Eifler, eifler@up.edu.
Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Mitchell Jackson joins our campus as a Schoenfeldt Writer joins us for a talk “Prison to the Pen: Mitchell S. Jackson’s Extraordinary Journey.” A native of Portland (now a professor at Arizona State U.), Jackson’s work explores his hometown, including the systemic forces that shaped his community, his family, and his early life. His acclaimed novel The Residue Years won the Ernest J. Gaines Prize for Literary Excellence. His memoir Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family explores hardships that shaped his life, including the racial history of Oregon, American whiteness, mass incarceration, the economics of sex work, violence, and family cohesion – a microcosm of forces blighting untold disenfranchised Americans. This year, his profile of Ahmaud Arbery in Runner’s World “Twelve Minutes and a Life”, won the Pulitzer Prize. Jackson’s honors include a Whiting Award and fellowships from TED, Guggenheim, the Lannan Foundation, and many others. He serves on the board of Literary Arts in Portland, and is at work on his next novel, John of Watts, which follows the rise and fall of a cult leader in Oregon.
Mitchell S. Jackson will speak on his life and work on Wednesday, November 10 at a 7:30 p.m. lecture, followed by a time for questions and book signing. This event will be held in Buckley Center Auditorium and livestreamed; advanced registration is required for all attendees.