UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

University Relations

President’s Biennial Address, Feb. 25

University president Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C., will share the latest campus developments and showcase how UP continues to thrive in uncertain times for higher education at the President’s Biennial Address on Tuesday, February 25, at the Sentinel Hotel’s Governor Ballroom. Doors open at 11 a.m. and the program runs from noon to 1 p.m. Individual tickets are $25 and table sponsorships for eight are available for $200.

Please Register here prior to February 18. For questions, contact Celeste Robertson at robertso@up.edu or x7397.

ReadUP & Schoenfeldt Book Discussions, Feb. 4-6

Fr. Charlie Gordon, C.S.C., will lead discussions of this year’s ReadUP selection, The Leavers by Lisa Ko, on Tuesday, February 4; Wednesday, February 5; and Thursday, February 6 from noon to 1 p.m., in the Clark Library conference room. Light refreshments will be provided and all are welcome to bring their lunch, questions, and insights as we sink our teeth into Ko’s wonderful novel.

Ko will be speaking on February 10 as part of this year’s annual Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers Series. The Leavers was a 2017 National Book Award Finalist and winner of the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.

For more information about this year’s ReadUP selection, including a reading guide and video highlighting compelling themes, visit up.edu/readup. For questions about discussion groups, contact the Garaventa Center at x7702 or garaventa@up.edu. These events are sponsored by the Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers Series, the Office of the Provost, Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life & American Culture, Clark Library, Office of Residence Life, the Office of University Relations, and the Office of Marketing and Communications.

UP’s 25 Days ’til Christmas Advent Calendar Is Here

This Advent season, count down to Christmas with UP’s 25 Days ’til Christmas online calendar. Share Advent prayers, cookie recipes, historical winter photos of campus, and more with the rest of the UP community. Be sure to visit the site for a new surprise each day leading up to Christmas. Find the calendar here at giving.up.edu/25days.

#GivingTuesday, Dec. 3: Together We Can Shine!

This Tuesday, December 3 is #GivingTuesday, a day of global generosity when millions of people around the world give in support of the causes that matter most to them. On the UP campus, we will celebrate the generosity of the donors who have supported our mission of teaching and learning, faith and formation, service and learning.

We get to see philanthropy in action every day at UP, whether it be while teaching students in the newest building on campus, Dundon-Berchtold Hall, cheering on our Portland Pilots cross country teams from the Pilot House, or by enjoying a reflective moment in the Marian Garden. Our experiences and ability to make a difference in the world around us through teaching, research, and service have been enhanced by the thousands of donors who support UP and our mission each year.

This #GivingTuesday, one special family has challenged the UP community to come together and secure gifts from 1,000 donors. When we do, we will unlock $100,000 in funding for student scholarships.

Make your gift online here (giving.up.edu/givingtuesday) or consider inviting others who believe in UP’s mission. Donors can give to any area of campus that matters most to them, and every donor counts toward the 1,000 donor goal, no matter the amount.

Other ways you can help us celebrate #GivingTuesday this year:

Thank you for celebrating #GivingTuesday and the generosity of UP donors. When the UP community comes together, it is amazing what we can achieve.

Latest CASE Awards: Gold, Silver, Bronze

The marketing and communications office received notification of the following awards in the 2020 Best of CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Awards:

  • A gold award for University of Portland Junior Viewbook, produced by Rachel Barry-Arquit, Elizabeth Gilmore, Amy Shelly, Patricia McDonald, Frances Pimentel, Jason McDonald, Tanya Wangsmo, Ologie Agency, in the category “Alumni, Student, Donor and Community Engagement: Viewbooks and Prospective Student Publications.”
  • A gold award for “UP Admissions Rebranding Campaign: Wonder,” in the category “Visual Design: Print Design: Series of Related Publications.” Team: Rachel Barry-Arquit, Elizabeth Gilmore, Amy Shelly, Patricia McDonald, Frances Pimentel, Jason McDonald, Tanya Wangsmo, Kris Travis of Firesign Design, and Ologie Agency.
  • A silver award for “UP Wonder Transit Design” (ads appearing on Tri-Met buses), in the category “Visual Design: Environmental Graphic Design.”
  • A silver award for “First Gen: Changing the Possible” by Anna Lageson-Kerns, Adam Guggenheim, Amy Shelly, and Connie Ozyjowski in the category “Video and Multimedia: Multimedia for Special Events.
  • A silver award for Portland Magazine, Winter 2019, in the category “Magazine: Print General Interest Magazines, Circulation Under 30,000.” Editor: Jessica Murphy Moo.
  • A silver award for “Here Goes” by Jessica Murphy Moo, in the category “Editorial Shorts (Print or Web, less than 1,000 Words”
  • A bronze award for the “Love on The Bluff” campaign in the category “Advancement Practices and Initiatives: Alumni, Student, Donor and Community Engagement Programs,” by Roya Quirk, Petra Khan, Frances Pimentel, and Amy Shelly.
  • Honorable mention for Portland Magazine’s “J.H. Carroll, We Remember You,” in the category “CASE Platinum Awards: Best Article of the Year.” Author: Eileen Bjorkman.

These latest awards follow a strong showing in the July 2019 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards, which recognized advancement work on a national level:

  • The hard-bound edition of Sweet Dreams, Storycatcher was a Grand Gold winner for book design, one of only 26 Grand Golds awarded. The book is a collection of essays written for Portland Magazine by the late Brian Doyle.
  • The Junior Viewbook earned a bronze award in the viewbook/prospectus category, out of 132 bronzes awarded, citing “The University of Portland’s viewbook beautifully conveys the university’s interest in the life of the mind, beginning with the cover statement, ‘when we wonder’…” It was one of four to be recognized in the viewbook/prospectus category.

Award recipients will be recognized at the Best of CASE VIII Awards Luncheon on Thursday, January 30. Gold awards will be considered for the Grand Gold in their award categories. The Virginia Carter Smith Grand Crystal award, recognizing the most outstanding entry of the year, will be selected from the Grand Gold winners.

U.S. News & World Report: We’re No. 2!

University of Portland is now ranked second out of 113 institutions listed in the “Regional Universities – West” classification – its highest ranking to date – according to U.S. News & World Report. In the 2018 and 2017 rankings, the University placed sixth in the same “Regional Universities – West” category. This ranking marks the 25th consecutive year the University has received a Top 10 ranking. The full rankings can be seen on the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges website.

Among notable measures in the U.S. News & World Report methodology was the University’s 90 percent first-year retention rate and annual graduation rate of 82 percent. In addition, the University’s Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering’s reputation for excellence continues to rise. This year, the engineering program was ranked 26th nationally among engineering schools whose highest degree is a bachelor’s or master’s – up from last year’s ranking of 29th nationally.

According to U.S. News & World Report, regional institutions are those that provide a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s programs, but few – if any – doctoral programs. The universities in this category are not ranked nationally but rather against peers in one of four regions – North, South, Midwest and West – because they tend to draw students primarily from surrounding states.

U.S. News & World Report’s methodology for this category weighs heavily on student retention rates, peer assessment and faculty resources; as well as on student selectivity, financial resources earmarked for educational purposes and the alumni giving rate.

University of Portland’s commitment to its mission of teaching and learning, faith and formation, and service and leadership has been successfully proven through its graduates. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the University of Portland ranks among the highest in the nation alongside peer institutions for the number of students and alumni earning Fulbright grants for several consecutive years.

Earlier this summer, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance ranked University of Portland as the top university in Oregon in an annual ranking of “Best College Values: Private Universities.” Forbes.com listed the University 18th nationally in its “The Top 25 STEM Colleges of 2018” rankings. STEM is an acronym used to identify fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The University of Portland was one of only five universities in the west to make the STEM list, and the only university in Oregon or the Pacific Northwest.

New CASE Awards for Development Efforts

The University of Portland development office has been recognized with a 2019 CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Educational Fundraising Award, an honor given each year to exceptional fundraising programs at educational institutions in the United States. UPN is among a select group of more than 90 colleges and universities receiving awards this year. The University is being recognized for Overall Performance, based on the judges’ blind analysis of three years of fundraising data submitted to CASE’s AMAtlas Voluntary Support of Education Survey (VSE).

In addition, the University of Portland is being honored with a Sustained Excellence Award, which is granted to those exceptional organizations that have been recognized with Overall Performance and/or Overall Improvement in three of the past five years.

For more information, contact Connie Ozyjowski, development, at ozyjowsk@up.edu.

Columbia Sportswear Employee Store: You’re Invited!

University of Portland faculty and staff are invited to shop at the Columbia Sportswear Company Employee Store from April 5 to 28. The Columbia employee store has discounted items marked at 40-50 percent off regular retail pricing, with all of the latest product from the Columbia Sportswear family (SOREL, Mountain Hardwear, prAna, and, of course, Columbia Sportswear).

To access the store, please bring the official invitation, printed or digital versions. Also bring your UP ID or business card, paystub, signature of work email, as well as a personal ID. This invitation is valid for each employee plus four guests (you must be present for guests).

Find store location and hours here or on the invitation. To find out more contact Columbia Sportswear at portlandemployeestore@columbia.com or Hannah Pick, university relations, at pick@up.edu.

Together We All Add UP!

Mark your calendar for April 3-4, noon to noon, and get ready for one of the biggest days of the year for the University of Portland!  #PilotsGive is a day of worldwide Pilot pride that raises critical support for scholarships, programs, innovative learning experiences, and student success. Will you help the University set a record with $1M in annual gifts in only 24 hours?

Last year over 2,000 Pilots made a gift and helped unlock challenge dollars that resulted in a total of $700,000 for programs and funds around campus. With #PilotsGive we can all continue creating positive change and amazing opportunities for students.

Together we all add UP!

For more information contact development at giving@up.edu  or x8003.

New Grants & Gifts for UP

The development office reports that UP recently received a $700,000 grant from the E.L. Wiegand Foundation to create the E.L. Wiegand Environmental Laboratory, which will be a part of the Franz Campus Boat House.

The University also secured a commitment in the amount of $500,000 to the recreation fields on the Franz Campus. This grant is made possible through Monica Names King, Class of 1990, from the Tom & Meg Names Family Foundation.

And, in honor of the one and only Jim Kuffner, former HR director and longtime UP neighborhood liaison, the Kuffner family recently made a $250,000 donation. $175,000 will go to the James J. Kuffner MBA ’88 Franz Campus Beautification Fund, since Jim played a key role in helping to secure the 35 acres that created the Franz Campus; and $75,000 will go to the Kathleen E. Kuffner MEd ’88 Chapel Choir Fund.

For more information contact development at x8607 or fookes@up.edu.