The University museum and archives have created another post for the Museum WordPress site on Founders’ Day, celebrated this year on Tuesday, April 8. This post covers the origins of Founders’ Day, which in years past featured an annual visit from Portland Archbishop Alexander Christie, who founded what was then named Columbia University in 1901. See more at https://wordpress.up.edu/museum/april-8-founders-day/.
University Museum
New Museum Displays: Lewis & Clark Expedition, World War I
Museum coordinator Carolyn Connolly and archivist Fr. Jeff Schneibel, C.S.C., have created two new posts for the University Museum WordPress site: for April 3, 1806 and the Lewis and Clark Expedition; and for April 6, 1917 and the U.S. entry to World War I.
The Lewis and Clark posts connects to the Clark memorials on campus; and the World War I post links to Columbia University’s reaction, with student editorials/articles from the Columbiad. See the Lewis and Clark post at http://tinyurl.com/k3cp3uv. See the World War I post at http://tinyurl.com/ogblkjd.
Museum Feature: Feast of the Annunciation, March 25
The Feast of the Annunciation takes place on Tuesday, March 25, and the University Museum has included a post on its WordPress site at http://tinyurl.com/n27352z. All are invited to learn more about this important feast day and more. For information contact Carolyn Connolly, museum coordinator, at 8038 or piatz@up.edu.
From Our Past: Howard Hall Fire of 1949; Feast of St. Joseph
The University museum has posted new entries on its WordPress site at http://wordpress.up.edu/museum/. One contains information on the 1949 fire that did heavy damage to Howard Hall; the other is about the Feast of St. Joseph and St. Andre Bessette, C.S.C. See the Howard Hall story at https://wordpress.up.edu/museum/march-19-1949-howard-hall-fire/ and the Feast of St. Joseph post at https://wordpress.up.edu/museum/march-19-feast-of-st-joseph/.
New Museum Displays
University community members are invited to view two new museum displays, according to museum coordinator Carolyn Connolly.
Blue Key Display: Blue Key has been part of University of Portland since receiving its local charter in April 1951 and inducting the first class of honor society members the following month. From its beginning, Blue Key has sponsored an annual literary contest and invited speakers to campus, and members also participate in service opportunities on and off campus. Thompson Faller (pictured with Blue Key officers in 1978) has been the advisor for the group since 1970. Stop by the display case in Buckley Center hallway across from the Shepard Freshman Resources Center to view photographs and Blue Key memorabilia, including the Blue Key banner and charter from 1951.
University Mission Display: All are welcome to view a display in Buckley Center Auditorium foyer focusing on the University’s mission. Each of the three display cases highlights a part of our mission—Teaching and Learning; Faith and Formation; Service and Leadership—using photographs, articles, and information from the University archives and museum as well as from departments and campus resources.
All are welcome to visit the museum and learn more about the University’s long history. The museum is located in the basement of Shipstad Hall, room 014. Hours are Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and also by appointment. Contact Carolyn Connolly at 8038 or piatz@up.edu for more information.
From Our Past: Br. Raphael Wilson, C.S.C. Inauguration
March 11, 1979 was the date of the inauguration of Brother Raphael Wilson, C.S.C., as the sixteenth president of the University of Portland. He had served as professor of biology at University of Scranton and on the UP faculty prior to becoming president. In 1982 he left the University and in 1996 was ordained a priest for the diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania. The University museum has posted an entry on Br. Wilson on its WordPress site at http://tinyurl.com/n42l9xy.
From Our Past: Inauguration of Rev. David Tyson, C.S.C.
On March 3, 1991, the University celebrated the inauguration of its 18th president, Rev. David T. Tyson, C.S.C. Prior to his election by the board of regents, Father Tyson served as the vice president for student services at the University of Notre Dame, where he also held an appointment to the faculty of the School of Business Administration. Fr. Tyson took over from Dr. Art Schulte, Jr., who had been serving as interim president following the sudden death of UP president Rev. Tom Oddo, C.S.C., in 1989. The University Museum has posted an entry on Fr. Tyson’s inauguration on the museum Wordpress site at http://tinyurl.com/n7tzp33. Please visit the site for more about Fr. Tyson and other historical figures from UP’s past.
From Our Past
The University’s need for a dedicated library facility had been a pressing concern for many years before librarian Br. David Martin, C.S.C., wrote a strongly worded article published in the February 1943 edition of The Bookman, stating: “The greatest need of the University of Portland is a new Library. The need is so great that it is actually holding back the general advancement of the University.” He and the University’s library collection would languish in the basement of Christie Hall for the next 12 years, however, before a special committee of Friends of the Library began a drive in February 1955 to raise funds for a new library. Headed by Portland businessman Edgar W. Smith, the committee raised $88,000 in direct contributions and pledges in less than a month; the total goal at that time was $150,000.
Plans submitted by Portland architectural firm Wolff and Zimmer made it clear that more funds would be needed; the University’s president, Rev. Howard Kenna, C.S.C., secured a major gift from the Ford Foundation. Construction began on the $377,000 structure and it was opened in 1958, named in honor of benefactor Maurie Clark’s father, Wilson W. Clark. The library’s dedication may well have been the happiest day of Br. David’s life; he was still librarian and would be for many more years, thankfully above ground. Because of its elegant simplicity, the library won the American Institute of Architects award as the best major building erected in Oregon in 1959.
For more University history see the University Almanac at www.up.edu/almanac.
Schoenfeldt Series Museum Displays, Postings
The University museum now offers a post about the Schoenfeldt Distinguished Visiting Writers Series on the UP Museum WordPress site. Click here for the page with the new post, or here for the post itself.
This year marks 25 years of the Schoenfeldt Distinguished Visiting Writers Series, founded by the late Rev. Arthur Schoenfeldt, C.S.C. (pictured) and his late sister, Suzanne Fields, in honor of their parents. Since writer Barry Lopez inaugurated the Schoenfeldt Writers Series in 1989, the University of Portland has hosted many of the finest writers to campus for classroom visits and public readings. Some of the past Schoenfeldt Writers include William Stafford, Ursula Le Guin, Peter Matthiessen, Sally Tisdale, Terry Tempest Williams, Kim Stafford, and more. The 2013-14 Schoenfeldt Writers are David James Duncan and Louise Gluck. For more information contact Carolyn Connolly, museum coordinator, at 8038 or piatz@up.edu.
25 Years of Schoenfeldt Writers
This year marks 25 years since the first Schoenfeldt Distinguished Visiting Writer, Barry Lopez, appeared on campus. Since the Schoenfeldt Writers Series was founded by the late Rev. Arthur Schoenfeldt, C.S.C. (pictured, with the right half of novelist David James Duncan) and his sister, the late Suzanne Fields, many of the finest writers in the United States have offered public readings and visited classrooms at the University. In honor of this milestone for the Schoenfeldt Series, all are welcome to view a display of some of the past Schoenfeldt visitors in the display case across from the Shepard Freshman Resource Center on the first floor of Buckley Center, created by the University Museum. The museum is located in the basement of Shipstad Hall in room 014. Hours are Monday & Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and also by appointment. Faculty, staff, students, and alumni are invited to stop in and learn more about the University’s history. Contact museum coordinator Carolyn Connolly at 8038 or piatz@up.edu for more information.