Friday, November 8 is National First Generation Day, and the Shepard Academic Resource Center invites the entire UP community to join in recognizing all students and families, faculty, and staff that are the first in their family to pursue a 4-year college degree. First generation students currently make up 20 percent of the UP student body.The FGEN program will be hosting a variety of events throughout the day, and we welcome the entire UP community to opt in and to participate in our day-long celebration.
Faculty and staff, if you are first generation yourself, or consider yourself an ally to first generation students – reach out via email to firstgen@up.edu. We have plenty of ways (from simple to large) that you can participate.
Students, both first generation and continuing generation, can take advantage of wisdom workshops throughout the day to offer personal insights and support. More info to come. We also will be hosting external guests in a forum. More information is set to come via engage.
For more information or questions contact the FGEN program at firstgen@up.edu.
Ryan Henley has been hired by Accessible Education Services as testing and accommodation coordinator, within the Shepard Academic Resource Center. You might know Henley from his previous position at the University where he served as administrative assistant to the associate dean for students, College of Arts and Sciences. Henley previously served as administrative assistant for the Albertina Kerr Center. Additionally, for over ten years Henley has volunteered his time as an event graphic designer for a local nonprofit, My Voice Music, Inc. which serves at-risk Portland-area youth.
A First-Generation (FGEN) college student is defined as when an individual attends college when neither their mother nor father earned a 4-year college degree. The Shepard Academic Resource Center supports programming specifically for UP First-Generation (FGEN) students, and can use the help of faculty and staff. We would love to update our master roster of current UP faculty and staff that were FGEN students themselves. If you were an FGEN student, please take a moment and contact Matt Daily, assistant director, program manager for special populations in the Shepard Center, at 
Feeling fresh from summer’s rest, research, and writing? The new academic year provides new opportunities to design or redesign courses to increase support for student learning. Nationally, more faculty, departments, and institutions are adopting Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies to provide students with multiple pathways to learn, individualized opportunities to demonstrate course competencies; and communities of learners to support individual and collective student learning outcomes. To learn more, please check out the “