News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.
#GivingTuesday is nearly here, and the University community is reminded to get ready for fundraising for all departments, centers, clubs, or schools with the 2020 #GivingTuesday Social Media Toolkit. This year’s #GivingTuesday takes place on December 1.Contact Jessie Lamb, director of annual giving, at lamb@up.edu if you have questions or need support.
The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship is now accepting nominations for the 2020-2021 Teaching Award and Scholarship Award. These awards are an opportunity for the University community to recognize and celebrate two faculty members for outstanding achievements in teaching and scholarship.
Qualified candidates can self-nominate or be nominated by other faculty. Submit nominations by sending a simple “I nominate X person” to tas@up.edu by January 22, 2021. Nominees will then be contacted, and their supporting materials will be due by March 12, 2021.
Visit the Faculty Awards Moodle site for more information regarding the nomination process, award criteria, and supporting materials that will be needed by the committee. Contact Jen Lovejoy with questions.
Dear Colleagues,
Open Enrollment is happening now to renew or change medical, dental, flexible dpending accounts, supplemental life insurance, or Share the Savings plans. All benefitted employees must confirm or take this opportunity to change their healthcare and dental benefits each year. You can do this today by logging into Online Open Enrollment and taking action at the bottom of the page. A change or confirmation must be done by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, November 20, 2020.
FAQ’S ABOUT OPEN ENROLLMENT
When is open enrollment? November 5, 2020, through 11:59 pm on Friday, November 20, 2020.
What is open enrollment? This is the period of time when you can sign up for new benefits or make changes to benefits. If you do not change benefits, you still need to confirm via Online Open Enrollment.
What happens if I miss the open enrollment deadline of 11:59 p.m. on November 20, 2020? If you miss the deadline, you will not be able to sign up for or make changes to benefits until open enrollment occurs next fall 2021, unless you have a situation that is considered a life event for benefits purposes.
Is there a grace period or can exceptions be made to the open enrollment deadline of 11:59 p.m. on November 20, 2020? Because of compliance requirements, there is no grace period and we cannot provide exceptions to the deadline.
What benefits are part of open enrollment? Medical and dental insurance (including Share the Savings benefits), flexible spending account benefits, and life insurance. You can find links to these forms on our HR Open Enrollment website.
Do I need to do anything if I have no changes? You still need to log into Online Open Enrollment and click on the confirm button.
Where can I find Health Plan Summaries? Health Plan documents are posted in the Human Resources pages in Pilots. Not all 2021 documents have been received by vendors so we will be posting them as they become available. Plans will remain the same as 2020. Rates can be found on the attached flyer.
If I need help or have questions, what should I do? You can email benefits@up.edu or leave a message at 503-943-8752.
In accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Oregon Health Authority, the University of Portland will track and post via this dashboard relevant data pertaining to the presence of COVID-19 on our campus. The information posted is based on University-led testing of UP students only, and does not reflect self-reported student cases or test results of faculty and staff. As we partially open our campus next semester, we will report all COVID test results administered by the University, including faculty and staff tests results. The athletics department continues baseline and surveillance testing consistent with NCAA and Oregon mandates.
Information monitored includes the number of COVD-19 tests administered; positive test results identified; number of students isolated and/or quarantined; and aggregate data of positive cases both on and off-campus. This statistical dashboard will be updated weekly on Wednesdays, or more frequently as dictated by the pandemic.
Pilots Prevent is the University’s health initiative that provides resources and information to keep our campus community healthy and safe. Visit the Pilots Prevent website to learn more about COVID-19 related health and safety practices, find out tips for optimizing health, access downloadable resources, and discover how we can all do our part to care for the health of our communities.
For more information, contact the Office of Wellness & Prevention, wellness@up.edu.
Please join the Office of International Education, Diversity, and Inclusion (OIEDI) in wishing Kallan Picha a fond farewell as she leaves UP to accept a position with one of the longest-serving study abroad organizations in the United States, Semester at Sea. Since Kallan joined the University in the summer of 2019 she has brought her considerable experience, enthusiasm, and student-focused approach to her role as Director of Studies Abroad. Since then, she has revitalized the study abroad application process, introduced new mechanisms for short-term study abroad programs, and developed collaborative relationships throughout the UP community.
Kallan has led our study abroad students through the COVID-19 pandemic with care and professionalism. Beyond her emergency triage and evacuation, she communicated with concerned parents at the time of evacuation and worked closely and professionally with colleagues abroad and on campus to navigate the repercussions of our cancelled study abroad programs. Most recently, she also served in the Shepard Academic Resources Center overseeing the first-year workshops. We will miss working with Kallan, but our diminished spirits will be buoyed knowing that the move will be a good one for her. Gute Reise Kallan!
For more information contact Eduardo Contreras, international education, diversity, and inclusion, at contrera@up.edu.
The marketing and communications office would like to announce the launch of ShareUP on November 18, 2020. ShareUP is an online portal where University of Portland faculty and staff can search, download, create, and learn about such brand elements as templates, logos, colors, fonts, and available photography. ShareUP will provide a comprehensive and creative resource to support UP-branded marketing and promotional materials for internal and external audiences.
The ShareUP portal will be available through the MyApps page and the QuickLaunch in PilotsUP beginning November 18.
By launching ShareUP, marketing and communications will help the campus community deliver consistent, high-quality printed and online content and empower ShareUP users to become skilled brand ambassadors.
For more information or for any questions, please contact marketing and communications at mktg@up.edu.
The Moreau Center’s service and justice coordinators (SJCs) are thrilled to again be partnering with Because People Matter to provide Thanksgiving meal baskets to families in need in North Portland, according to Sophie Charles, Moreau Center. In past years, the partnership relied on student-donated meal points to provide the fixings for Thanksgiving meal baskets for over 200 North Portland families. This year, with most students living off-campus, there needs to be a new fundraising strategy.
The U.S. State Department’s International Education Week (IEW) is November 16-20 and will be hosted by the University of Portland International Club, according to Rebecca Seibert, international education, diversity, and inclusion.
The slogan for this year’s International Education Week is “Alone Together.” We want to emphasize that even though we cannot be together in person, we are still all here for each other. Participants will be able to connect with others through these events and celebrate and learn about various cultures around the world, an essential step as we work to advocate for the BIPOC community and for diversity. We hope that you will enjoy our educational and recreational cultural events.
Please use this link to view and join the week’s activities.
This week’s moment of quiet beauty is the opening of the Book of Psalms. Fun fact: the squiggly lines in various hues are voiceprints of different groups praying; Benedictine monks, Jews, Native Americans, Muslims, Taoists, Buddhists, Hindus, and Greek Orthodox. Each form of prayer—an essential human urge—has a distinct shape, producing this lustrous tapestry of humans reaching out to the Divine in joy, pain, confusion, contrition, and awe. UP’s Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible is a gift from Allen and Kathleen Lund. Questions about these glimpses of the illuminations can be directed to Karen Eifler, Garaventa Center, at eifler@up.edu.