On September 27, 2013, University president Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C. announced his intention to end his term at the conclusion of the 2013-2014 academic year. The process has begun to name a successor to Fr. Beauchamp as the next president of the University of Portland. Fourteen members of the University of Portland community have been asked to serve on the Presidential Search Committee, which consists of members of the faculty, staff, administration, the Holy Cross community, and the board of regents. University regent Thomas D. Arndorfer (pictured) is serving as the chairman of this committee.
The search process for a new president begins with the Congregation of Holy Cross, as outlined in the Bylaws of the University of Portland. The Holy Cross Provincial Superior, Rev. Thomas J. O’Hara, C.S.C., invited members of the United States Province of Priests and Brothers to submit nominations from within the membership to fill this critical position. Two final candidates have emerged from that process: Rev. James M. Lies, C.S.C., and Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C.
Fr. Lies is currently the vice president for mission at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. He also serves on the Stonehill College faculty as an associate professor in the Department of Psychology. He previously served at the University of Portland from 2006 through 2012 as an associate professor in the Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, and as the executive director of the Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life & American Culture from 2009 through 2012. He is a graduate of the University of Saint Thomas, received a Master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and his Master of Divinity at the Jesuit School of Theology, and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.
Fr. Poorman has been the executive vice president of the University of Portland since 2011, as well as serving as a professor of theology and the pastoral resident of Schoenfeldt Hall. Prior to arriving on The Bluff, he served as vice president for student affairs at the University of Notre Dame from 1999 through 2010. Fr. Poorman is a graduate of the University of Illinois, received his master of divinity from the University of Notre Dame, and earned his Ph.D. in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.
An interview process will take place at the University of Portland on January 14 and January 15. The Presidential Search Committee has asked the two candidates to meet with numerous constituencies of the University during these two days. The Presidential Search Committee will then provide a recommendation to the board of regents, who will meet to elect the next president of the University of Portland on Saturday, January 25, 2014. Shortly after this election has been completed, an announcement will be made to the University of Portland community.
For more information contact the president’s office at 7101 or simek@up.edu.