UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

12-10-2012

Mock Trial squads earn honors

Both of the University’s mock trial squads competed at the 3rd annual Emerald City Open at the University of Washington during the weekend of December 1-2. The teams earned 5th place out of 20 teams, both squads had winning records, and four UP students were recognized with awards for outstanding performances. Those students were Hilary Simpson, Outstanding Witness; Charity Taylor, Outstanding Attorney; Emma England, Outstanding Attorney; and Jordan Jones, Outstanding Attorney. Jordan Jones received a perfect score in the rankings, and the UP teams were the most decorated in the tournament. For more information contact Aaron Jones, head coach and adjunct professor of political science, at johnsocu@up.edu.

 

Investment Association participates in national challenge

A team of students from the Investment Association (a student-led club which makes investments and manages investment portfolios), attended the 2012 University Trading Challenge in New York City November 17-18. The Challenge is an international competition which requires students demonstrate outstanding analytical and strategic decision making skills by simulating realworld trading scenarios.

 

CISGO Students Honored

Three UP students have been awarded CISGO (Collaborative in International Studies and Global Outreach) sponsorships to attend the student-led Human Development Conference on February 8-9 at the University of Notre Dame, according to Kate Regan, CISGO chair. The students are: Julia Sheets, civil engineering, environmental track and Spanish minor; Ruby Machado, political science and Spanish; and Andrea Merrill, sociology and psychology. CISGO works with the political science department and Congregation of Holy Cross to choose students for this honor. For more information contact Regan at 7364 or regan@up.edu.

 

Basketball double-header

The men’s and women’s basketball teams are back in action this Friday for a double-header. The games tip-off at 5:15 p.m. when the women’s team takes to the court to take on Fresno State University. Then following the women’s game the men’s team will take on Portland Bible College with a scheduled 7:30 p.m. start time. All staff and faculty can receive 50 percent off single-game general admission tickets or full season tickets. For more information: www.portlandpilots.com or call 7431. Go Pilots!

 

Please Help T.I.P. Program

As the semester draws to a close, faculty are asked to take a moment to reflect on freshmen and sophomores who might be strong candidates for University-endorsed awards, such as Fulbright grants. The Office of Fellowships and Grants’ Talent Identification Program (T.I.P.) uses faculty to help identify high achieving students early in their careers, marking them as potential candidates for various fellowships, grants, and scholarships. Once identified, the fellowships and grants office will meet and work with these students to identify goals for their upcoming years, identify potential scholarship opportunities, and assist in applying for appropriate awards. Submit recommendations at http://tinyurl.com/5r3tyh6.

For more information visit www.up.edu/fellowships or contact the fellowships and grants office at 7857 or scholars@up.edu.

MAT Informational, December 11

Faculty, staff and students are invited to a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Informational on Tuesday, December 11, at 6 p.m. in Franz Hall Murphy Room (room 426). The MAT is an intensive program designed to prepare individuals with baccalaureate degrees for teaching in K-12 schools. MAT graduates earn a master’s degree and are eligible for Oregon initial licensure at two contiguous levels of authorization: early childhood, elementary, middle and/or high school. To attend, please RSVP to the School of Education at 7135.

Need A Break?

Vermont Hills Family Life Center (which administers the UP daycare program) will be offering their Parents Morning Out service on Saturday, December 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the University daycare facility. Families are welcome take advantage of this opportunity to get some Christmas shopping done without the stress of wrangling their kiddos from store to store. One child will cost $30 and two will cost $40. Lunch will be provided, naps offered, and kids can knock themselves out with lots of Christmas related activities.

For families who don’t celebrate Christmas there will be alternate activities for their children to explore and create. VHFLC also offers a monthly Parents Night Out on the first Friday of every month. For more information (including location of the UP daycare house) contact site supervisor Cala Richman at calar@vhflc.com or (503) 283-9688.

Reduced Hours After Finals

The Pilot House bookstore will operate on reduced hours during the week after final exams, according manager Erin Bright. They will be open Monday, December 17 to Friday, December 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed on Saturday, December 22. The bookstore will reopen on Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at 9 a.m. For more information contact Bright at bright@up.edu.

Don’t Be Remiss

Faculty and staff applications for tuition remission are now accepted via online forms only and can be accessed through the HR website at www.up.edu/hr/, according to HR director Bryn Sopko. In addition to this easier access, HR has updated the application dates for remission to match the deadline in student accounts, so please keep these dates in mind:

  • Spring term: November 15
  • Summer term: April 5
  • Fall term: July 1.

Since the spring term deadline has passed, all faculty or staff who wish to apply for spring 2013 remission should do so as soon as possible. Please note that there are separate tuition remission application forms for undergraduate and graduate course work, and that any graduate level tuition remission benefits will be taxable to the employee on the value above $5,250 for attempted credits and subject to applicable withholdings, and will be reflected on the W-2 form of the tax year the remission was applied. A summary on tuition remission and links to the online forms are available at http://tinyurl.com/c8f6j2x.

For more information contact human resources at 7461 or hr@up.edu.

Holiday Payday Information

Due to the Christmas holiday there are some changes to the regular payroll schedule that employees and student workers need to know, according to Debbie Schwartzkopf, payroll. Monthly (exempt) employees must submit their time records by Monday, December 17 for the entire month of December and will be paid on Friday, December 21. Note that monthly employees are being paid early and will not receive another check until January 31, 2013.

Semi-monthly employees must submit time cards by Thursday, December 20 for the December 16-31 pay period and will be paid according to the usual schedule on Friday, January 4. Note that most semi-monthly employees will have holiday time from December 24 through the end of the month as well as New Year’s day.

For the first student payroll in December (December 1-15), time cards must be approved by December 14 so students can be paid on December 21. The second student payroll in December will follow the usual schedule in January.

A new upgrade in Banner will now lock out approvers at 9 a.m. the day after timecards are due. Please be sure to have all timecards submitted by your employees so you have time to approve them prior to the 9 a.m. deadline. For more information, contact payroll at 8338 or payroll@up.edu.