Update

Matthew Warshawsky, international languages and cultures, taught a five-part course via Zoom called “From Jews to New Christians to New Jews: Sephardic Identity in the Early Modern Era” for the nonaffiliated Jewish Graduate Study Program, February–March 2023. He also served as an invited speaker for a virtual program of the Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust called “The History of Antisemitism: The Alhambra Decree” on March 28. Students from his SPN 330 class (Together and Apart: Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Medieval Spain) also attended this program via Zoom. 

Tammy VanDeGrift, engineering, presented the paper “Alumni as Teachers and Mentors for CS 1 Students: Solving the Staffing Shortage and Students’ Reflections about Career and College Advice” at the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group in Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) Symposium March 14–18 in Toronto, Canada. 

Samuel Holloway, business administration, presented “Stay Small, Stay Beautiful, Be Profitable: Business Strategies To Grow By Becoming Smaller” at the KombuchaKon Conference in Long Beach, California. April 2023. Holloway will also be a part of a panel presentation of “Beer Competitions – Do they make sense? If yes, How and Why?” at the Brewers of Europe Forum, Prague, Czechia. May 2023. Co-presenters: Luc de Raedamaeker, Alessandra Agrestini, Bart Wellens, Amandine Gierens. 

Greg Peterson, student affairs, won the American Counseling Association 2023 Best Practices in Research, Student, Award for his dissertation titled “Construction and Validation of the Climate-Aware Counselor Scale.” 

Simon Aihiokhai, theology, published “Reimaginar El Futuro De La Iglesia En Africa.” in Concilium: Revista Internacional de Teologia. Volume 400: Perspectivas Sobre La Teologia Y La Iglesia En Africa. April 2023. 263–273. 

Nancy Copic, assistant director for student media and adviser to The Beacon, moderated the keynote panel at the Women’s Leadership Summit at Jesuit High School on March 18. The panel included Anarghya Vardhana, a partner in Maveron, a venture capital firm; Theresa Maxie, Head of Human Resources for Nike North America; Klarissa Oh, Executive Director of Oregon Abuse Advocates and Survivors in Service; and Marguerite Stewart, French instructor at West Linn High School. The theme of the panel was “Leading with Intention.” 

Katherine Trumbo, school of nursing & health innovations, received a $750 grant for Hidden Hunger: Food Insecurity and First-Generation College Students, Sigma Theta Tau International. Collaborator: Kala Mayer. March 2023. 

Chloe Littzen, school of nursing & health innovations, co-published “Unbearable Suffering While Working as a Nurse During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Descriptive Study” in the International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, 100127. Co-authors: Jessica Rainbow, Claire Bethel. Student co-authors: Angie Norton, Hanne Dolan, Jennifer May. April 2023 

Molly Hiro, English, published “The Emperor Jones and the Moral Meanings of the Black Past” in Arizona Quarterly: A Journal of American Literature, Culture, and Theory (Spring 2023; Vol. 79. No. 1, pp. 23-50).  

Ian Parkman, business, had an article published in the Strategic Design Research Journal entitled, “Using Design Briefs to Empirically Replicate and Extend the ‘Designence’ Model of Strategic Design Value.” (15, 2) DOI: 10.4013/sdrj.2022.152. 07 

Matthew Barner, engineering, will be awarded the 2022 William Elgin Wickenden Award by the Journal of Engineering Education Editorial Board. June 2023. 

Paige Hall, chemistry, was a science consultant on the latest video What They Don’t Teach You About Climate Change from the PBS and American Chemical Society YouTube channel “Reactions.” If you’ve ever wondered WHY carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and how it heats the atmosphere, give this one a watch! 

Former UP staff and faculty member Danielle Hermanny was recently appointed new president of Benilde-St. Margaret’s School. Hermanny previously worked in the Office of the President as General Counsel and special assistant to the president, and was an adjunct instructor of theology at University of Portland. Her appointment is effective May 15. 

Barbara Bloom-Groshong and Lisa J. Reed, business, co-presented “US Department of Education’s 2022 Proposed Amendment’s to Title IX Regulations: What Higher Education Faculty Should Know About Potential Expansion of Reportable Claims and Mandatory Reporting Issues” on April 15, 2023, Pacific Northwest Association of Legal Studies (PNALSB) Annual Conference in Seattle, WA.

Karen Eifler, Garaventa Center, had her essay “Why Religion Needs Ted Lasso” published in National Catholic Reporter on March 18, 2023. 

Lezlie Cross, performing and fine arts, presented as a part of a panel: “Household Critics,” Renaissance Society of America, San Juan Puerto Rico, March 2023. Sponsored by the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies. 

Paige Hall, chemistry, co-authored “Physical Chemistry in Context: Using Quantum Mechanics to Understand the Greenhouse Effect,” J. Chem. Educ. 2023, 100, 1333 – 1342. Co-author: Lily Gunning. February 2023. 

Chloe Littzen, nursing & health innovations, presented “Analyzing Theoretical Perspectives in Research on Nature-Based Interventions for Pain Management.” Virtual Nursing Theory Week. March 2023. 

Aziz Inan, engineering, and Farmers’ Almanac staff published “When Is the Next Palindrome Date?” in Farmers’ Almanac, March 20, 2023. 
 
Heidi Senior and Xan Arch, Library, presented “Building a Bridge: A Library Outreach Program for Students in Transition” at the Association of College and Research Libraries conference, Pittsburgh, PA, March 2023.  

Xan Arch, library, presented “Integrating Anti-Bias Strategies in Library Faculty Hiring and Evaluation” at the Association of College and Research Libraries conference, Pittsburgh, PA, March 2023. 

Laura Dyer, biology, received a grant in the amount of $394,183 to study the effect of shear stress on coronary smooth muscle maturation from the National Institutes of Health. 

Andrew Lafrenz, nursing & health innovations, presented “Translating Community Level Health Data into Multifunctional Urban Green Spaces” at the American Academy of Health Behavior Annual Conference. March 2023.  

Alice Gates, social work, and Lauren Alfrey, sociology published “Engaging Antiracism Through Interdisciplinary Teaching” in the Journal of Social Work Education. 

Jessica Murphy Moo, marketing & communications, co-chaired the 2023 CASE Editors Forum in Chicago with Rin-rin Yu, editor of Howard University’s magazine. 

Heidi Senior, library operations, co-presented “Reimagining Library Learning Experiences for Novice Undergraduate Students” at the RUSA Virtua Forum. March 2023. Co-presenters: Bridgid Fennell and Summer Peng. 

Alice Gates, social work, was an Associate Editor on the recently published Encyclopedia of Macro Social Work, edited by Darlyne Bailey and Terry Mizrahi. Published by Oxford University Press, this 3-volume set (also available electronically) includes 200 long-form overview articles focused on macro-relevant social work topics, including practice in community, organizational, and policy settings. Gates also participated in Next Generation PFML: A Convening of Research and Practice Experts on March 8–10. Hosted by the Evans Policy Innovation Collaborative at the University of Washington, this invitation-only event focused on understanding and improving Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) programs across the United States.   

John Orr, English, presented “Seeing From the Inside: Henry Adams’s Affective Transformation” at Colloque International: Henry Adams et les Memoires de Ariitaimai. University of French Polynesia, Tahiti. February 2023. 

Dave Houglum, director of leadership, earned the Collective Leadership Assessment Certification on March 8, 2023, with Leadership Circle. The Collective Leadership Assessment measures collective leadership effectiveness for groups, teams, and entire organizations. It’s a powerful tool that provides a comprehensive view of where employees view collective leadership effectiveness compared to desired collective effectiveness, thereby revealing important development opportunities. If you’d like to explore using the Collective Leadership Assessment with your team, please contact Dave Houglum at houglum@up.edu. 

Karen Eifler, education and Garaventa Center, provided two sessions on “Pilgrimage to the Birthplace of Holy Cross” at the annual convocation hosted by the Holy Cross Institute at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, March 1–3. Simon Aihiokhai, theology, published “Where/How/For What Purpose is Christ Being Proclaimed Today?: Rethinking Proclamation in the World of Peripheries.” Religions. Special Issue: Religious Pluralism in the Contemporary Transformation Society. Volume 14. No. 3 (2023): 1–14. March 2023. 

Rebekah Hanson, performing and fine arts, co-published “Chamber Music by Female Composers: A Pedagogical Analysis and Historical Overview” in American String Teacher Journal, 73 (1), 41-48, February 2023. Student co-authors: Amber Shen, Tyler Lawrence, and Corryn Bottenfield. 

Simon Aihiokhai, theology, is currently serving as a peer reviewer of Exchange: Journal of Contemporary Christianities in Context. 

An American Dream, the one-act opera written by librettist Jessica Murphy Moo, marketing & communications, and composer Jack Perla, was produced by Opera Santa Barbara on February 18, 2023. Reviews: Santa Barbara Independent, Classical Voice 

Salvador Orara, engineering, participated in a panel discussion, “Anthropologists as Entrepreneurs, Part II: Creating an Interdisciplinary Educational Culture and Preparing Students for Work Outside the Academy.” Salvador shared his experiences as a Design Ethnographer and User Researcher both within industry and academia. He also shared his experiences integrating and administering the interdisciplinary Innovation Minor program and leading the innovative mindset at the University of Portland. The pre-recorded online panel will be hosted at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) scheduled for late March. (virtual) 

Steven Kolmes, environmental studies, published “The Greenhouse Gas Crisis and the Logistic Growth Curve” in Air, 1: 80-88, 2023.

Salvador Orara, engineering, lectured and facilitated a workshop on design and innovation with the Graduate Integrated Design Online Program at the USC Iovine and Young Academy for the Arts, Technology, and Business Innovation. The event supported graduate students in advancing their creativity and critical thinking skills in exploring and developing ideas that seek to redefine the future of all aspects of life. (virtual) 

Karen Eifler, Garaventa Center, provided an invited session for presidents and mission officers at the most recent convening of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities entitled “Gently Introducing Faculty to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition,” on February 5, in Washington, DC. 

Corey Pressman, IHW, had two poems accepted for publication: “In the Dim” will be published in the next edition of the Santa Clara Review, and “Homecoming” will be published in the next edition of the Clackamas Literary Review.

Linda Mantel, former assistant vice president for technology services, was recently honored with a Sigma Xi Award in her name: The Linda H. Mantel Next Generation Women’s Leadership Award.  

Kiya Riverman, environmental studies, co-authored “Suppressed Basal Melting in the Eastern Thwaites Glacier Grounding Zone” in Nature.

Genevieve Brassard, English, published “’Not the Mother Type’: Exploding the Myth of Maternal Devotion in Marghanita Laski’s To Bed with Grand Music” in Literature & History 31:2 (Fall 2022): 134-151. 

Stephanie Salomone, mathematics, presented “A Leadership Toolkit for Advancing Change,” (with Susan Elrod, Indiana University South Bend, Adriana Kezar, USC, Andrew Lawson, CSUMB, Angel Gonzalez, USC), AAC&U Annual Meeting: Reclaiming Liberal Education, San Francisco, CA. January,2023. 

Dave Houglum, director of leadership, presented a two-hour leadership workshop to the University of Portland Theater Club Board entitled, “The Show Must Go On: Raising the Curtain on Effective Leadership in the Arts” on January 20, 2023. 

Larry Larsen, performing & fine arts, designed the scenery for Stephen Schwartz’s musical “Snapshots” at Broadway Rose Theatre Company in Tigard. The production runs through February 19 at the New Stage Theater. He also is featured in an article on his design on their webpage.  

Corey S. Pressman, integrative health and wellness, is exhibiting The Love Story, a show of new works at the Dee Denton Gallery at Lakewood Center in Lake Oswego. The work will be on display from January 30 to February 27. An opening reception will be held there on Monday, February 13, at 3 p.m. 

Alexa Dare, communication studies, co-published “Understanding sustainability as a cyclical process: insights from social innovation and the adaptive cycle.” International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. Co-authors: Ruth Dittrich and Gregory Hill. Student co-authors: Macey Schondel and Molly Lowney. 2023. 

Michael DeVaughn, dean of the school of business, appeared on Portland Business Journal’s podcast, Thought Leadership, to discuss why the applied ethics discipline is crucial for business school. January 2023. 

Ian Parkman, business, along with his co-author Alan Krause (Univ. of Puget Sound), published “Avoiding the Tragedy of the Reputational Commons in Sustainable Design” in The Design Management Review, 34:1, 9. 

Naveen Gudigantala, business, presented “An Exploratory Study of the Healthcare Analytics of the US Hospitals,” in the Ninth International Conference on Business Analytics and Intelligence, December 2022, Bangalore, India. 

Andrew Lafrenz, school of nursing & health innovations, was elected to Scappoose City Council in November and Sworn in on January 3, 2023. 

Alexa Dare, communication studies, co-published “Labors of Love and Loss: Radical Acts of Human, Plant, and Nonhuman Mothering” in the Journal of Ecohumanism. Co-author: Vail Fletcher. January 2023. Dare also  

Patrick Murphy, performing and fine arts, conducted the Oregon Music Education Association District 3 Honor Band at Forest Grove HS on January 7-8. Over 90 students from 16 different high schools participated. Murphy also presented “It Isn’t Supposed to Hurt! Preventing and Eliminating Conducting Pain” at the Oregon Music Education Association Annual Conference, Eugene, Oregon, January 2023. 

Aziz Inan, engineering, published “When is the Next Friday the 13^th?” in Farmers’ Almanac. January 2023.  

Simon Aihiokhai, theology, presented “Christologies of the People: Embodiment and Proclamation.” A Panel Presentation for Westar Institute’s Christ Seminar. Thursday, January 19, 2023. (Virtually). 

Laura Dyer, biology, co-published “Baseline heart rate in infants with prenatal alcohol exposure: A systematic review and independent analysis” in Birth Defects Research, 1–14. Student co-authors: Peyton McDonnell, Pia Fornell, and Sarah Ponce. December 2022. 

Christine Weilhoefer, biology and environmental studies, and Ryan Kenton, microbiology, along with two professors from Willamette University and Walla Walla University, are the recent recipients of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust RAISE grant to study harmful algae and bacterial blooms in the Pacific Northwest and the Caribbean Sea. This $353,290, three-year grant will support at least four undergraduate research students each year at University of Portland, as well as provide course-embedded research opportunities across the biology curriculum. This collaborative research team will develop new molecular approaches to better understand how environmental conditions influence the dynamics of these harmful blooms. This project will transcend traditional campus boundaries, allowing students and professors to collaborate across three institutions. 

Simon Aihiokhai, theology, published “African Philosophy Post 1994: In Conversation with Alena Rettova” in Modern Africa: Politics, History and Society. Volume 10. No. 2 (2022): 101–118. December 2022. Aihiokhai also published “A Prophetic Response to the Ethics of Empire.” (Reflections on the Readings for Year C – Christmas Nativity of the Lord – Proper 1). In The Politics of Scripture Series. Political Theology Network. December 2022. 

Warren Wood, chemistry, received a Lake Industries Equipment Grant for $34,000 from Moses Lake Industries. December 2022.  

Dave Houglum, director of leadership, earned the Leadership Circle Profile 360 Certification on December 18, 2022. The Leadership Circle Profile is a robust 360-degree assessment that measures a leader on 29 key dimensions of leadership and connects them with underlying motivating habits of thought and internal assumptions. It is rooted in the Universal Model of Leadership and supported by numerous scientific studies that demonstrate how the dimensions are associated with effective leadership and business results. If you’d like to explore using the Leadership Circle Profile 360 for your leadership development, please contact Dave Houglum at houglum@up.edu. For more information about the Leadership Circle Profile, check out this short video. 

Fr. Jeff Schneibel, university archivist, published an article in the October 2022 issue of Archival Spirit titled “Transitions: Fidelity to the Core & New Leadership.” The article calls attention to the PortLog as a vehicle for educational outreach and the celebration of the values and mission of UP. 

Tamara (Tammy) Herdener, student affairs, presented a workshop on Values Based Leadership and Strategic Planning at the NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, regional conference on November 13. The presentation was geared towards mid-level student affairs professionals focusing on the role of leadership in defining direction, choosing personnel to move goals forward, and allocating resources from a values-based perspective.  

Lora Looney, international languages & cultures, published a chapter in the recent SUNY volume, Representing Childhood and Atrocity, “The Uses of Allegory to Tell Youth Disappearance and Mortality under Spain’s Dictatorship in Ana María Matute’s 1956 Los niños tontos (The Foolish Children).” 

Karen Eifler, Garaventa Center, provided an online contemplative retreat on December 7 for the Fellowship of Executive Leaders, a consortium of faculty and administrators at LeMoyne College and Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. 

Ian Parkman, business, was quoted in the Business Insider article entitled, “Nike basketball sales aren’t expected to suffer after cutting ties with Kyrie Irving as anticipation builds for a Ja Morant signature shoe.”  

Corey S. Pressman, integrative health and wellness, will be featured in The Light at the Center, a one-month solo show at Blackfish Gallery opening on January 5. 

Chloe Littzen, Layla Garrigues, and Amber Vermeesch, nursing & health innovations, co-published “Integrative Wellness Approaches to Mitigate Perceived Stress, Increase Vitality, and Build Community During COVID-19: A Pilot Study” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(24), 16463. December 2022. 

Rebekah Hanson, performing and fine arts, published Motivation and Retention in Teens: A research study on what motivates and inspires music students in American String Teacher, 72 (4), 27-30. November 2022.

Steven Kolmes, professor emeritus, environmental studies, published “Searching for an Ecological Civilization: Air Pollution and Children in China” in Ecological Marxism and Ecological Civilization (Translated into Chinese for Publication, Central Compilation & Translation Press, Beijing). 2022. In January, Kolmes will also begin to serve as Editor-in-Chief of Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development. Faculty with appropriate areas of scholarly activity are invited to examine the periodical’s website for its Aims and Scope and contact him with any questions about the submission and review process. 

Ian Parkman, business, was quoted in the Portland Business Journal in an article entitled, “Portland Thorns fans, sponsors weigh the nuances of supporting the club amid abuse scandal.” 

Genevieve Brassard, English, published a review of Elizabeth Anderson’s Material Spirituality in Modernist Women’s Writing in Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 41:2 (Fall 2022): 359-61. 

Maria Echenique and Matthew Warshawsky, international languages and cultures, participated in a panel entitled “Spain, Portugal, and Latin America: Jewish Culture and Literature in Trans-Iberia” at the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association (PAMLA) conference November 11–13 at UCLA. Echenique presented “Representations of Bolivian Culture in Autobiographic Narratives by Jewish Immigrants in the 1940s” and Warshawsky presented “‘The Perfect Holy Love of God Prevailed in Our Martyrs’: Remembrances from Amsterdam of Iberian Crypto-Jews (1654-55).” 
 
Warren Wood, chemistry, co-published 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinones with 3-alkyldiarylether groups: synthesis and Plasmodium falciparum inhibitory activity in Future Medicinal Chemistry 2022, 14, 1611-1620. Co-authors: Yuexin Li, Teresa M. Riscoe, Aaron Nilsen, Warren J. L. Wood. Student co-authors: Amanda Berg, Chelsea B. Swartchick, Noah Forrest, Matthew Chavarria, Madeleine C. Deem, Alyson N. Sillin. 

Karen Eifler, Garaventa Center, provided the plenary for the recent Chicago area convocation of mission and academic officers in Catholic higher education, hosted by Lewis University on October 14. Her address was called “Oui, Whee, We: Delivering the Promises of Catholic Intellectual Tradition.” 

Donnie Norton, music, and Karen Eifler, Garaventa Center, were the focus of a recent Scribe, the outreach publication of The Saint John’s Bible. This essay detailed the original experimental jazz music Donnie composed, inspired by two illuminations from the SJB. Norton premiered these pieces with his quartet Facing West at the CD Release celebration for their eponymous recording, hosted by the Garaventa Center on October 10. 

Jessica Murphy Moo, editor of Portland magazine, took part in a two-day workshop of the libretto she is writing for a forthcoming opera about Loving v. Virginia, the US Supreme Court decision that made interracial marriage the law in every state in the country. Virginia Opera and Richmond Symphony are co-commissioning the work, and Jessica is collaborating with composer Damien Geter. 

Simon Aihiokhai, theology, published “Deconstructing the Idolatry of White Supremacy: Embracing a Trinitarian Identity as Solidarity with Others” in Filosofia Theoretica: Journal of African Philosophy, Culture and Religions. (Themed Issue: Honorary Whiteness: Delusions of Racial Hierarchy). Volume 11. No. 3 (2022): 19 – 32. November 2022.