All faculty and instructors must turn in their course pack materials to the printing services office before leaving campus at the end of fall semester, according to Kassie Hansen, printing services. The lead time is needed so printing services staff can obtain copyright permissions and organize the packs for production before the start of the spring 2014 semester. For more information contact printing services at 7200 or hansenk@up.edu.
11-04-2013
2013-2014 Open Enrollment Ends Dec. 3
The open enrollment period for UP employees started on Tuesday, November 5, and concludes on Tuesday, December 3, ending at 4 p.m., according to Andy Sherwood, human resources. This will be your opportunity to make changes to your plan choices, review the dependents you have covered, and sign up for a medical or dependent care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for 2014. Specific enrollment materials were sent to employees electronically on Friday, November 1. Please note that FSAs are not automatically carried over to 2014—employees need to sign up for the plan every year they choose to participate. For more information contact Andy Sherwood, human resources, at sherwood@up.edu.
Staff Holiday Party: Save The Date
All staff members are encouraged to save the date for the University’s 2013 holiday party, which will take place on Thursday, December 19, in the Bauccio Commons. The social will begin at 11:30 a.m., with seating at 12:15 p.m., and the program begins at 1. Please keep in mind that the holiday party is for staff only; with continued growth as a university community, there is not room available for student workers or family members. For more information contact human resources at hr@up.edu.
Veteran’s Day Vigil, Ceremony
Brigadier general Steven R. Beach will be the featured speaker at the University’s annual Veterans Day ceremony on Monday, November 11, at 11 a.m., at the Praying Hands Memorial. The ceremony, sponsored by the University’s Air Force and Army ROTC programs, will recognize campus members who have served during times of war, including World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Gulf War veterans.
The Veterans Day ceremony will take place after a 24-hour candlelight vigil with Air Force and Army cadets standing guard beginning at 11 a.m. on Sunday, November 10. The vigil ends at the end of the ceremony, at approximately noon on Monday.
Beach is the Assistant Adjutant General-Army, Oregon National Guard. He has received numerous awards and decorations throughout his career, including the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service, Army Commendation with four bronze oak leaf clusters, Iraq Campaign, Global War on Terrorism, and other medals.
The Praying Hands Memorial was built by the University’s Class of 1948, in honor of the 69 University of Portland students killed during World War II. The addition of each brick wall surrounding the memorial represents four different battles: World War I, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War.
For more information, contact Eric Chastain at 8065 or chastain@up.edu.
Prayers For Peace, Nov. 11
The Garaventa Center and international student services will sponsor Prayers for Peace on Monday, November 11, at 2 p.m., at the Peace Garden in Buckley Center Courtyard. International students and members of the UP community will offer public calls for peace in their native language. All are welcome to attend this annual event, and refreshments will be provided. For ADA accomodations or any questions, contact international student services at iss@up.edu or 7367, or the Garaventa Center at powell@up.edu or 7702.
Faculty Welfare Committee Meeting, Nov. 11
The Faculty Welfare Committee’s next meeting is on Monday, November 11, according to Tamar More, physics. University provost Tom Greene will be joining attendees at this meeting, and members welcome issues from faculty.
The Faculty Welfare Committeee is the official vehicle whereby policies concerning faculty salary, fringe benefits and working conditions are to be brought to the University administration, and serves as a negotiating team to work directly with the administrative offices on areas of interest to the entire faculty. The committee assists faculty members in cases where a particular faculty member might have a problem which does not seem to be taken care of through the regular channels.
The Committee’s role in handling any matters brought to it under this consideration will be:
- To inform the faculty member of all the usual channels open to him/her
- To improve communication (if necessary, to bring the parties together for a better understanding of the situation)
- To see if correct procedures and processes are followed and that a report, when appropriate, is made to the Senate.
Faculty who would like the committee’s assistance may contact any member: Tamar More, Mike Eom, Lara Trout, Caroline Mann, Ken Kleszynski, and Barbara Braband.
Alan Shapiro Reading, Nov. 12
Poet and memoirist Alan Shapiro will read from his work on Tuesday, November 12, at 7:30 p.m., in Buckley Center room 163. His talk, part of the English department’s Readings and Lecture Series, is free and open to faculty, staff, students, and the public.
As the author of eleven collections of poetry, Shapiro has explored family, loss, domesticity, and the daily aspects of people’s lives in free verse and traditional poetic forms. His most recent book of poems is Night of the Republic (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012). His poetry frequently appears in The New Yorker. In his memoirs, The Last Happy Occasion and Vigil (1997), Shapiro has written about the death of his sister and the role that poetry has played in his life. He is also the author of a collection of essays on poetry, In Praise of the Impure: Poetry and the Ethical Imagination: Essays, 1980–1991.
For more information, contact the English department at 7228 or english@up.edu.
Tuition Remission Due Nov. 15
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
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 here. For more information contact human resources at 7461 or hr@up.edu.
Advent Concert Tickets Available Now
Free tickets are now available for the Advent Concert on Saturday, December 7, at 8 p.m., at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Contact the performing and fine arts office at 7228 or pfa@up.edu to be sure of getting tickets to this popular holiday concert. The University Singers will present selections from Handel’s Messiah with professional orchestra and student soloists Rodrigo Gaspar-Barajas, Amelia Segler, Meagan Usselman, Katrina Welborn, and Ashley Woster. Michael Connolly with conduct. This concert is always full and tickets will likely be gone before Thanksgiving, so please get yours right away.
Sen. Patrick Leahy Lecture, Nov. 8
United States Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont since 1974, will speak on faith and public service when he presents “How Faith Can Inform and Enhance Public Service” on Friday, November 8, at 3:30 p.m., in Buckley Center Auditorium. Leahy is active on human rights issues, especially through his humanitarian work for victims of land mines. He led efforts in Congress to aid mine victims by creating the Leahy War Victims Fund, a special fund in the foreign aid budget which now provides up to $14 million of relief to these victims each year. He also wrote and enacted civilian war victims relief programs in Afghanistan and Iraq. Leahy is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the senior-most member of the Appropriations Committee and the Agriculture Committee. He ranks first in seniority in the Senate and is the President Pro Tempore.
For more information contact the Garaventa Center at 7702 or powell@up.edu.