Tamara Herdener, J.D., has been named Associate Vice President for Student Development and will share in Deputy Title IX-related duties at the University of Portland. With Father John Donato, C.S.C., UP Vice President for Student Affairs, Tammy will provide leadership support of the division, in particular the areas represented by the Health and Counseling Center, the Care Team, the Moreau Center for Service and Justice, and the Office of Student Activities. Tammy’s first day on campus will be August 24, and she succeeds Dr. Matt Rygg, who left UP in June.
Prior to her appointment at the University, Tammy managed strategic initiatives and projects for the Division of Student Affairs at Oregon State University. Tammy taught legal studies for more than fifteen years at American Public University, served as the City Attorney for Cannon Beach, Oregon, the General Counsel for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, rose to the rank of Major in the US Army JAG Corps, and was a residence director at the University of Notre Dame. Still, Tammy said her work promoting equity and developing students to become their full true selves is her greatest motivation and source of inspiration.
Tammy earned bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and World Languages from Seattle University and her Juris Doctorate from University of Notre Dame Law School. She is from the Pacific Northwest and, after serving throughout the US, came back with her husband to raise her twin boys.