UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

10-29-2018

Opus Prize Week Events Open to All

All faculty, staff, students, and guests are welcome to take part in activities planned for this week in celebration of the 2018 Opus Prize, one of the world’s largest faith-based awards for social entrepreneurship. Each year the Opus Prize Foundation selects one Catholic university to help nominate, select, and celebrate three faith-based unsung heroes who are using innovative strategies to address some of the great social challenges of our time. The University of Portland is honored to have been chosen as this year’s host institution.

Here is a link to learn more about UP’s story with the 2018 Opus Prize. One of the three finalists will be announced as the recipient of a $1 million prize, and the other two finalists will receive $100,000 awards, at the Opus Prize Awards Ceremony on Thursday, November 15, on the UP campus.

Please consider joining our community to meet, celebrate, and be inspired by these remarkable individuals and organizations from Chennai, India; Lima, Peru; and Chicago, Illinois. These opportunities to meet the finalists for the 2018 Opus Prize are free to attend and guests are welcome.

  • Monday, November 12: Conversations with the 2018 Opus Prize Finalists, 7:15 p.m., Buckley Center Auditorium. Be inspired hearing stories and meeting the three finalists for the 2018 Opus Prize. These faith-based, unsung heroes are successfully using innovative solutions to address and challenge persisting, social problems in their communities. Panel conversation will be moderated by Portland magazine editor Jessica Murphy Moo.
  • Tuesday, November 13: Lunch with the Opus Prize Finalists, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the Bauccio Commons President’s Board Room. The lunch will include casual conversations over a buffet meal with the three Opus Prize Finalists and their delegations. Faculty and staff are encouraged to meet these inspirational humanitarians who have devoted their lives to service. To attend the lunch, please RSVP and register at this link.
  • Wednesday, November 14: Interfaith Prayer Service: Celebrating the 2018 Opus Prize, 5 p.m., Chapel of Christ the Teacher. Join the finalists for the 2018 Opus Prize and our UP community for a prayerful reflection to celebrate the sacred foundations that prompt us to pursue lives of service.
  • Thursday, November 15: 2018 Opus Prize Awards Ceremony, 7:30 p.m., Chiles Center. Don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate the announcement of the $1.2 million Opus Prize awards. Join the campus and community to honor the remarkable Opus Prize finalists who were selected from a pool of global nominees. Be present when the $1 million 2018 Opus Prize laureate is revealed.

For questions, please contact x7596 or opusprize@up.edu.

UP Open Enrollment Period: November 1- 20

The Open Enrollment period for UP employee benefits is happening now and will end on Tuesday, November 20, at 4:30 p.m. All benefited employees are required to confirm or change their healthcare benefits during this time. During open enrollment, benefited employees can elect new Flex Spending amounts, add or change supplemental life insurance, as well as add or drop dependents from healthcare. Those on Share the Savings will need to submit new forms for 2019 enrollment. Any changes made during open enrollment will go into effect January 1, 2019. All forms can be found on the Open Enrollment website: Open Enrollment. There are new providers in 2019 for Life Insurance, Long Term Disability, and Flexible Spending Accounts.

For more information contact human resources at benefits@up.edu.

“Dostoevsky and the Catholic Literary Tradition,” Nov. 12 

The Garaventa Center invites all faculty and staff to a free lecture entitled “Dostoevsky’s Engagement with the Catholic Literary Tradition,” presented by Saint Louis University professor Elizabeth Blake, on Monday, November 12, at 7:15 p.m., in Shiley Hall room 319. In her talk, Blake, an assistant professor of Russian, discusses the “Catholic underground” Dostoevsky portrayed in his works as he was alternately repelled and fascinated by Catholicism in all its medieval, Reformation, and modern manifestations.

For ADA accommodations or more information contact the Garaventa Center at garaventa@up.edu or x7702, or go to up.edu/garaventa/events.

2018 Silent Auction: Donations Welcome!

The Annual Silent Auction fundraiser to benefit the new Tanzania Immersion service trip is coming up this month, and the Moreau Center needs faculty and staff to help them out. Donations are the backbone to the success of this fundraising event. People can donate individually or as a group. We appreciate a wide range of items, from inexpensive to expensive, purchased or handcrafted, gifts of time or services, gently used in great condition, or gift cards large or small. We request that items be delivered to the Moreau Center in St. Mary’s before Thanksgiving. Thank you in advance for your support.

For more information, questions or ideas, please contact Theresa McCreary, Moreau Center, at x7131 or mccreary@up.edu.

Kristina Walowski Lecture, Nov. 8

Kristina Walowski will present “Before It Blows: The Science Behind Volcanic Eruptions in the Cascade Arc,” on Thursday, November 8, at 7:15 p.m., in Franz Hall room 034. The lecture is free and open to all.

Kristina Walowski is an assistant professor of geology at Middlebury College with a specialty in volcanic geochemistry. Her dissertation work focused on the eruptions of several volcanoes at Lassen National Park. She has also used boron isotopes to understand ocean island volcanism.

Walowski’s lecture is sponsored by the Department of Environmental Studies. For ADA accommodations or more information call x7653 or email sweeneyk@up.edu.

Faith & Intellectual Life Discussion Group: Nov. 9

The next meeting of the Faith and Intellectual Life Discussion Group will be held on Friday, November 9, at 3:30 p.m., in the Murphy Room, according to Norah Martin. The group will be discussing “Seeing is Believing: What Flannery O’Connor Meant by ‘Vision” by Cassandra Nelson, “Practice Makes Reception: The Role of Contemplative Ritual in Approaching Art” by Joanna Ziegler, and the poem “Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians” by Matthew Minicucci. All readings can be found at this link. Refreshments will be served. All faculty and staff are welcome.

Annual UP Month of Remembrance

Catholics believe in the Communion of Saints—the spiritual connection with those loved ones who have gone before us and the saints that lived as examples for us. Through the month of November we remember all of those who have gone before us in faith, especially our loved ones who have died.  

Campus Ministry invites the UP community to remember loved ones who have died through prayer. Starting Wednesday, October 17, stations will be available in many offices around campus where anyone is welcome to inscribe the names of loved ones on a card and place it in the accompanying basket. The cards will be placed near the altar in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher during Mass for All Saints Day on Thursday, November 1, and they will continue to be a focus of prayer throughout November, the month of remembrance.

We will also celebrate Mass on Sunday, November 11, at 10:30 a.m., with special intentions for the loved ones of our UP community who have died in the past year.

For more information contact Rev. James Gallagher, C.S.C., Campus Ministry, at x8011 or gallaghe@up.edu.

Staff Award Nominations: Submit by Nov. 8

Every year at the Christmas luncheon for staff members, the University presents four staff awards:

  • Rev. Charles Miltner, C.S.C. Award: Awarded to employees who have been of exemplary and outstanding service to the University. This is University of Portland’s highest award and includes all categories of staff employees.
  • Margaret Henzi Award: Awarded to administrative or office support employees who have performed their jobs in an exemplary manner, while positively representing the University to the many and varied constituencies it serves.
  • Deiss/Dodson Award: Awarded to outstanding physical plant employees who exemplify the qualities of pride in their work, and dedication to the University. Beginning in 2011, the Deiss and Dodson award were combined into one award; prior to 2011, they had been separate awards.
  • Hooyboer Award: Awarded to outstanding professional staff members who exemplify quality and collaboration, and who make a positive impact on the University community.

If you would like to nominate a staff member, please do so by November 8, 2018. The nomination form can be accessed using this link.

A list of former award recipients can be found here.

For more information contact HR at hr@up.edu.

Learn to Row With Pasha Spencer-Levitan, Nov. 10

Head women’s rowing coach Pasha Spencer-Levitan will offer a free rowing class to faculty and staff on Saturday, November 10, from 8 to 10 a.m., at the the UP boathouse on Vancouver Lake (8612 NW Erwin O Rieger Memorial Highway, Vancouver, WA 98660). Please allow yourself 30 minutes to drive to the boathouse. If transportation is needed, please contact recreational services and a van may be made available.

The rowing class is open to all faculty and staff and is a great opportunity to get out on the water to learn a new recreational skill with guidance from the experts. Please RSVP using this link.

For more information contact Kaitlin Bourne. recreational services, at x7294 or bourne@up.edu.

New Course Pack Ordering, Printing Process

Printing and mailing services and the UP bookstore are partnering for the purchase of course packs, worksheets, lab manuals, and other class materials. This new process goes into effect for apring term orders and is meant to streamline processes.

Faculty will still send their requests to printjobs@up.edu. Printing services will now submit all materials to be purchased for classes through an outside vendor called Xanedu, which will in turn create print-ready documents with a barcode embedded so the bookstore can sell them.

To ensure there are no delays in students receiving class materials, please follow these guidelines:

  • For copyrighted content: Submit your request to printjobs@up.edu six weeks prior to sale date.
  • For non-copyrighted content: Submit your request four weeks prior to sale date.

Once your order is finalized, Xanadu will send it to printing services. Printing services will no longer directly handle copyright clearance authorization or file preparation. When the order is complete, printing services will deliver the order to the bookstore. All class materials will then be picked up by students at the bookstore.

If you have any questions about this change, please contact Linda Gill or Mary Scroggins at x7200.