11-02-2015

Open Enrollment Coming Nov. 2-Dec. 1

October 30, 2015

The 2016 open enrollment period will run from Monday, November 2 through Tuesday, December 1 at 3 p.m. This is the time to either confirm or change medical and dental coverage and flexible spending account (FSA) elections.

The Open Enrollment Tool and the FSA Enrollment Form are available on the HR website. To access these resources, visit “up.edu/hr”. To confirm or change healthcare coverage, select “Open Enrollment Tool” and login with UP user name and password.

The University is switching FSA vendors for 2016 to Discovery Benefits. This new vendor will provide a higher level of customer service and more online resources to support employees. Any qualifying carry-over dollars will be kept whole during the transition. Employees who are not electing the benefit for the new year and have a balance must be sure to use the 3-month grace period to send in remaining receipts. All receipts for 2015 will be submitted to Flex Plan Services (recently rebranded to Navia Benefits).

Everyone who wishes to enroll in FSA for 2016 must complete a new enrollment form. To access the form select “FSA Enrollment Form” on the HR website and return to Nicole Bresnahan at bresnaha@up.edu.

Summer Research Celebration, Tuesday, Nov. 3

October 30, 2015

The second annual Summer Research Celebration will occur on Tuesday, November 3, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Franz Hall lobby. All are welcome to come see the amazing research opportunities many students had this past summer, both at UP and all across the nation and the world. Students will be presenting posters of their work and will be available to answer questions about their research.

For more information go to up.edu/undergraduateresearch or contact Lauretta Frederking at frederki@up.edu or x7857. The Summer Research Celebration is sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement.

Music At Midweek: Valerie Saul and Laura Thoreson

October 30, 2015

Valery Saul and Laura Thoreson, the mezzo sopranos of the performing and fine arts voice faculty, and some of Portland’s most lauded musical organizations, including Portland Opera and Portland Baroque Orchestra, will perform a recital highlighting French vocal repertoire on Wednesday, November 4, at 12:30 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center recital hall. The performance is free and open to all.

For more information contact performing and fine arts at 7228 or pfa@up.edu.

Lunch & Learn Session, Nov. 4

October 30, 2015

The next Lunch & Learn session, titled “Cholesterol Counts: What You Should Know,” will take place on Wednesday, November 4, from noon to 1 p.m., in the Clark Library conference room (222). Lean about what cholesterol is and why the level of cholesterol in your body is important. A representative of Kaiser Permanente will review symptoms, diagnosis, and monitoring of cholesterol. Prevention and treatment strategies that can improve cholesterol and reduce risk of heart disease will also be covered.

For more information contact human resources at 8981 or hr@up.edu.

Integrative Conversations Event, Nov. 4

October 30, 2015

The second “Integrative Conversations” event will take place on Wednesday, November 4, from 7-9 p.m., in the Pilot House bookstore. Titled “A Call to Action: Pope Francis and the Integrity of Creation: The Encyclical on the Environment,” the program will be moderated by College of Arts and Sciences dean Michael Andrews and will include presentations by Christina Astorga, theology; Bill Barnes, business; Steve Kolmes, environmental studies; and Gary Malecha, political science. Members of the Student Leadership and Advising Council (SLAC) will lead student questions and conversation. Faculty and staff are invited to attend, and are asked to encourage their students to come as well.

No RSVP is required. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served. The new Papal Encyclical can be found at this link. For more information contact Laura Hogue, college of arts and sciences, at 7760 or hogue@up.edu.

Fields Hall Trivia Night Fundraiser, Nov. 3

October 30, 2015

Residents and staff of Fields Hall will present their signature fundraiser event, Trivia Night, on Tuesday, November 3, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., in St. Mary’s Student Center lounge. All funds benefit Holy Cross Missions. All are encouraged to form five-member teams early and ask professors, students, and other staff members to join up. It’s great fun and open to all members of the UP community.

Prizes are being offered, including meal points from Bon Appétit, gift certificates, and a study week package given by Tom Greene, provost, and Fields Hall resident director/den mother Sr. Sue Bruno. There will be three game prizes, including Holy Cross packages such as dessert at the president’s house with Fr. Mark Poorman, a tour and history of the bell tower with Fr. Gerry Olinger and Fr. Jim Gallagher, and dessert at Papa Haydn with Fr. John Donato and Fr. Ed Obermiller.

For more information contact Bruno at 8476 or bruno@up.edu.

Faith & Intellectual Life Discussion Group, Nov. 6

October 30, 2015

The next meeting of the Faith and Intellectual Life Discussion Group will be Friday November 6, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., in the Murphy Conference Room in Franz Hall. The group will be discussing Oliver Sack’s essay “Sabbath,” a short excerpt from Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, titled “The Need to Protect Employment,” and a poem by Raymond Carver, “Loafing.” All readings may be found on the Faith and Intellectual Life website at https://sites.up.edu/garaventa/fildg/. Refreshments will be served. All faculty and staff are welcome.

For more information contact Norah Martin at 7138 or martinn@up.edu.

UP Students Named University Innovation Fellows by NCE

October 30, 2015

Two University of Portland students have been named University Innovation Fellows by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation. Students Ryan Cebula ’16, engineering, and Katie Heitkemper ’17, business, have completed training to join the national program that empowers student leaders to increase campus engagement with innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and design thinking. Cebula and Heitkemper are two out of 150 students from 52 U.S. higher education institutions who were accepted into the program. The new fellows join three UP alumni from previous cohorts: Taylor Hendricks, Cole Preece, and Kevin Bastien.

The University Innovation Fellows program is run by Epicenter, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and directed by Stanford University and VentureWell. Fellows design innovation spaces, start entrepreneurship organizations, host experiential learning events and work with faculty to develop new courses. For more information go to this link.

UP Senior Shannon Danforth Wins Bryon E. Jones Scholarship

October 30, 2015

Shannon Danforth, a senior in civil engineering, was awarded a Byron E. Jones Scholarship, which supports a student each at Portland State University, University of Portland, Oregon State, and Oregon Institute of Technology with a $1,500 annual scholarship. The award is given through the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) Oregon Section.

Byron E. Jones was a senor field engineer for the Portland Cement Association and the 1982 recipient of the “Engineer of the Year Award” for the Oregon ASCE section (Mark Kennedy, engineering, won the award in 2015). Jones was president of the ASCE Oregon Section in 1969. His family started the Byron E. Jones Scholarship Fund, originally for programs at OSU and PSU, after his death in 1984.

For more information contact Kim Spir, engineering, at spir@up.edu.

Nicaragua Silent Auction Donations Needed

October 30, 2015

Donations from faculty and staff have been the backbone of the success of the annual silent auction fundraiser for the Moreau Center’s Nicaragua Immersion service program. All faculty, staff, students, and UP friends are welcome to participate in the silent auction, either as a donor of items or a bidder. This year’s auction will take place from Monday, November 30 through Friday, December 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the Bauccio Commons main entrance hallway. Single items, gift baskets, tickets to events, signed books, weekends at vacation homes or timeshares, gift certificates to local restaurants, and UP merchandise are just some of the items that have been popular at the auction in the past. Donations can be brought to the Moreau Center any time during the workday from now through Monday, November 23.

Please contact Theresa McCreary at 7131 or mccreary@up.edu if you have any questions about the auction.