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This Issue: October 13, 2024
Call for Exploration Level Course Proposals for the UP Core (Oct. 1)
The Undergraduate Core Curriculum Committee (UCCC) is readying for its annual October 1 priority review deadline to consider new exploration level (X) courses for the UP Core. These courses are upper division offerings that emphasize interdisciplinary thinking with some grounding in the liberal arts–but they can come from any UP discipline. The UCCC will review courses at other times in the year, but October 1 is our only annual priority deadline. (Read More).
Vice Presidential Debate Watch Party (Oct. 1)
Join us in the P-House for the VP debate on October 1 at 6 p.m. Come watch JD Vance (Republican) and Tim Walz (Democrat) discuss policies, politics, and issues. There will be snacks, VP Bingo, tips and goodies from the Wellness Center, and more! Sponsored by VoteUP, BridgeUP, and Constructive Dialogues.
Pre-Play Reception & Panel: “You Can See All The Stars” (Oct. 5)
Ticket show holders for “You Can See All The Stars,” a story by local playwright E.M. Lewis, are invited to join us for a complimentary small bites reception and expert led pre-show panel discussion. (Read More).
Performing & Fine Arts Presents: “If Music Be the Food of Love” (Oct. 5)
You are cordially invited to a Fall choral concert featuring the UP Chamber Choir, Bel Canto and Singers. This literary inspired event features musical settings of Shakespeare by Verdi and others, as well as additional music by Clara Schumann, Morten Lauridsen, Sarah Quartel and Portland’s own Judy A. Rose. (Read More).
Poetry Reading with Joan Naviyuk Kane (Oct. 7)
Join award-winning Inupiaq poet and Reed College Professor Joan Naviyk Kane for a reading of her latest work on Monday, October 7 at 5:15 p.m. in the UP Bookstore. A graduate of Harvard and Columbia for her M.F.A., Kane has taught at numerous campuses, including Santa Fe’s Institute of American Indian Arts. Her poems explore the intersection between language, the environment, and indigineity. (Read More).
Don’t Miss a Core Samples Lunch this Semester! (Oct. 8)
Learning from gifted teachers over free food and without exams: could it be any better? All staff and faculty are invited to attend one or both of this fall’s Core Samples Lunches, as guests of the Garaventa Center and Core Program. These gatherings are a terrific way to build your knowledge of what happens in UP’s Core Curriculum. (Read More).
WIFI SYSTEM MAINTENANCE (Oct. 14)
Information Services will be performing WiFi system maintenance from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Monday, October 14. During this window users may experience intermittent authentication issues with campus WiFi networks (UPStaff, UPStudent, UPGuest, UPIoT) and wired network connections in campus dorms. (Read More).
Annual Required Training Courses For All Employees (Due Oct. 18)
As a reminder from the Fall 2024 Human Resources Newsletter, ALL employees (part-time or full-time, staff or faculty) must complete 3 annual required training courses. The digital courses can be accessed through Moodle and, as an incentive to kick off the yearly training campaign, employees who complete all three annual trainings by the October 18 deadline will be entered into a raffle to win one of ten $50 Amazon gift cards. (Read More).
Be UP’s Collegium Participant in June 2025! (Apply by Oct. 20)
Faculty of all disciplines are invited to be part of Collegium, an annual week-long colloquy that integrates faith and intellectual life, held on the campus of St. John’s University. All travel, accommodations, and fees are covered by UP’s annual dues. (Read More).
Campus Community Brand and Web Refresh Workshops (Oct. 22-23)
The Division of Enrollment Management, Marketing, and Web Services is pleased to announce that we have officially broken ground on our highly anticipated Brand Refresh and Web Redesign! All members of our community are eligible to participate in a series of brand workshops to help us define “Who is University of Portland at its best?” (Read More).
2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Delayed Until December 1, 2024
The U.S. Department of Education announced that the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will be available to all students starting December 1, 2024, which is approximately two months later than the standard October 1 date. (Read More).
OUTober Celebration and the NEW Center for Gender and Sexuality
October is LGBTQ+ History Month! Uniquely known as OUTober, it is a time to recognize and celebrate the rich history, contributions, and struggles of the LGBTQ+ community. University of Portland’s Center for Gender and Sexuality (CGS) will celebrate OUTober with a series of programs and events for our campus community. (Read More).
New to The Bluff—TJ Buckley–Leadership Giving Officer, University Relations
We are very excited to welcome TJ Buckley to The Bluff. TJ joins us from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where he graduated with his Master of Library & Information Science in May of 2024. We are grateful to have him as a part of our University Relations division. Welcome TJ!
September 2024 Zoom Update
We hope that this message finds you well as we have settled into the Fall term. You can now head on over to the Techtalk blog for your monthly installment of Zoom new features and update information. As always, thank you for reading and helping us keep applications up to date!
Introducing: Pilot Family Portal
We are excited to introduce the Pilot Family Portal, an online platform launching this month. This portal will replace the monthly UP Parent & Family Newsletter and will continue to provide valuable resources including campus updates, information on upcoming events, and other timely information to enhance the Pilot Family experience. (Read More).
PortLog: Yesterday’s New Faculty, 2024
Since we all were once new to The Bluff, our newest edition of PortLog shines the spotlight on some of our longest-serving colleagues. These individuals are trailblazers who have shaped our campus and established traditions of excellence in this community since arriving at UP twenty years ago—or more! (Read More).
Lunch Discussion: Civil Discourse in our Classrooms (Oct. 1)
Engaged Humanities @UP and the NEH-funded Civic Humanities Working Group invite all interested UP faculty to join a discussion (and lunch on us) on cultivating genuine conversation, and even disagreements, in our classrooms. Prior to the event, attendees will read a brief Washington Post article on how other campuses are encouraging spaces for open discussion, then we’ll talk over lunch about what conversation at UP looks like right now. (Read More).
The Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers Series Welcomes Viet Thanh Nguyen (Oct. 23)
The Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers series is delighted to welcome novelist and memoirist Viet Thanh Nguyen to our campus for a talk on Wednesday October 23. Nguyen is the author of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer” and works as a professor at the University of Southern California. (Read More).