10-25-2021

We continue our bi-weekly tour of the illuminations in UP’s great treasure, The Saint John’s Bible, with this 1 ½ minute video of “The Ten Commandments.” Thomas Ingmire’s vision could not be more different from what many of us might remember from Charlton Heston or even Mel Brooks’s enduring images. These brief videos require nothing but your presence.

The Beacon has won First Place in several categories, including Best Website, in the annual Pacific Northwest Association of Journalism Educators  (PNAJE) Awards. The winning content is especially noteworthy because the students produced all of it from a “virtual newsroom.” 

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the campus to shut down and moved classes online in Spring 2020, Beacon staff doubled down on reporting, relying heavily on Zoom, Slack, Google Docs and phone calls to collaborate. Although campus partially reopened for Spring Semester 2021, classes remained virtual and so did Beacon operations.

Unsurprisingly, the pandemic was (and continues to be) such a looming presence that there was a COVID-19 angle in many of the stories The Beacon did in the 2020-21 academic year.

COMPLETE BEACON STAFF BLOG POST WITH AWARDS DETAILS: https://upbeaconstaff.wordpress.com/2021/10/08/beacon-wins-best-website-other-honors-in-pacific-northwest-association-of-journalism-educators-awards/

For more information, contact Nancy Copic, Assistant Director for Student Media: copic@up.edu.

The University of Portland was one of 26 schools to receive the Frank Murray Recognition for Continuous Improvement, recognizing the School of Education and University of Portland for its efforts towards continuous improvement of the education program. UP is the only institution on the west coast to achieve this distinction.

Here is a link to view more information about the recognition: http://caepnet.org/about/news-room/frank-murray?utm_source=CAEP+Open+Email+Subscriptions&utm_campaign=b06d1c0853-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_NOV_8_COPY_07&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_77a041118e-b06d1c0853-51336579

Before coming to the University of Portland, Meg Goddard served as a nurse practitioner in multiple settings, including substance abuse care at DePaul Treatment Center, mental health of veterans at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center and caring for young adults with cancer at The Ohio State University, where she also taught nursing students. Meg is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner. She earned a master of nursing from the University of Akron and a doctor of nursing practice from Oregon Health and Science University. Meg is active in volunteering at her children’s school and resides in Oregon with her family and  two dogs. She enjoys reading a good mystery, traveling to Ireland to visit family, sewing projects for family and friends, and baking desserts. 

All ticket holders for House of Desires are invited to enjoy a complimentary wine, cheese, and dessert reception and pre-play panel discussion on Saturday, November 13, compliments of the Garaventa Center. Reception in the Mago Hunt Theater lobby at 6:15 p.m. Pre-Play panel at 6:45 p.m. Play at 7:30 p.m. For theater tickets: our.show/desires-up2021. Proof of COVID-19 vaccine required for entry.

Holly Peterson (she/her) is the new Study Abroad Program Coordinator in the Office of International Education, Diversity and Inclusion. Prior to coming to UP, she was the Study Away Advisor at Pacific Lutheran University in the Wang Center for Global and Community Engaged Education. Holly worked with Middlebury College students onsite in Madrid, Spain, while completing a master’s degree in International Education Management from the Middlebury Institute for International Studies at Monterey in California. As an undergraduate Spanish major at Willamette University in Salem, Holly studied in Granada, Spain, and Quito, Ecuador, through programs that UP students also participate in each year. Holly is from the Portland area and is pleased to be here near family and friends. In her free time, Holly enjoys attending Portland Thorns soccer games (cheering on Pilot Christine Sinclair!) and taking walks with her Australian cattle dog mix.

The University’s 2021 Open Enrollment period runs from Monday, November 1, through Monday, November 15, 2021. This is the time to either confirm or change medical and dental coverage, enroll in supplemental life insurance, and elect flexible spending accounts (FSA) for the coming 2022 calendar year.

The Open Enrollment Forms and the FSA Enrollment Form will be available on the HR website starting the first day of Open Enrollment. Information including medical and dental rates, FSA allowances as well as instructions on confirming or changing benefits will be sent to employees through email communications beginning Monday, November 1. Questions? Please contact Laura Barnard or Theresa Knott at benefits@up.edu.

All staff and faculty are invited to gather in the Murphy Room (4^th 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.

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.