UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

admissions

Pilot Stories (Video Series)

Marketing & Communications and Admissions recently launched our second set of videos in our ongoing series that captures students’ transformative experiences while attending UP. The short videos are in each student’s own words and highlight them engaging in some of their favorite activities on campus. Marketed on social media, the videos aim to help prospective students imagine themselves here, see the value of a UP education, and make connections that are relatable. 

The first three videos in the series can be viewed on our website, Instagram, or Facebook. Please feel free to share them on your social feeds as well! 

To view more Marketing & Communications videos, check out our YouTube.

Pilot Stories (Video Series)

Marketing & Communications and Admissions recently teamed up to launch an ongoing series of videos that capture students’ transformative experiences while attending UP. The short videos are in each student’s own words and highlight them engaging in some of their favorite activities on campus. Marketed on social media, the videos aim to help prospective students imagine themselves here, see the value of a UP education, and make connections that are relatable. 

The first three videos in the series can be viewed on our website, Instagram, or Facebook. Please feel free to share them on your social feeds as well! 

To view more Marketing & Communications videos, check out our YouTube.

Tuition Exchange Benefit: Fill Out Request by Dec. 16

Jason McDonald, Dean of AdmissionsFaculty and staff who would like to use the University’s tuition exchange benefit (TES or CCCTE) for dependent children for the fall 2020 semester need to visit the HR website and fill out a request for approval by Monday, December 16, 2019, according to Jason McDonald, Dean of Admissions.

For more information contact Jason at x7751 or mcdonaja@up.edu.

Silver, Merit Awards in 2017 Graphis Design Annual

trophydtThe Graphis Design Annual, an international competition that began in Switzerland more than seven decades ago, recently announced the winners of its 2017 competition. Lightner Design, working closely with the University’s marketing and communications office, received a Silver award for its work on the University of Portland’s admissions brochures, a series including Preview, Campus Visits, Financial Aid, and Study Abroad brochures. Lightner also received a Merit award for the University of Portland Outcomes brochure.

The Admissions brochure series will be presented as a Silver recipient in the 2017 Graphis Design Annual, a hardcover book that will be distributed internationally. The Outcomes brochure will be listed in the annual. Both projects will be displayed on the Graphis website.

See the admissions brochures here, and the outcomes brochure here.

For more information contact marketing and communications at mktg@up.edu or x7202.

Farewell Party for Alex Gonzalez, April 7

U of P

The admissions office invites all faculty and staff to join them for happy hour on Thursday, April 7, at 4 p.m., in the Pilot House Pub. Admissions staff are bidding farewell to Alex Gonzalez, who has accepted a position at the ECMC Scholarship Program of Oregon. A tap of beer has been donated to the celebration, and its proceeds will be donated to the UP College Access Scholarship in the Office of Admissions. These scholarships help to support college access programs on The Bluff.

For more information contact admissions at 7147 or admissions@up.edu.

Tuition Exchange Benefits for Fall 2015

mcdonald copyFaculty and staff who would like to use the University’s tuition exchange benefit for dependent children for the fall 2015 semester need to visit the HR website and fill out a request for approval by December 1, 2014, according to Jason McDonald, admissions.  The link is http://tinyurl.com/nnuvj6k.

For more information contact McDonald at 7751 or mcdonaja@up.edu.

Welcome, Class of 2018!

move-in_2013-128 copyThe University is welcoming the Class of 2018, beginning as freshmen moved into their dorm rooms on Thursday, August 21. It is the largest and among the most diverse and academically gifted classes in school history. More than 100 incoming students arrived on campus early to volunteer in the local community as part of the University’s annual Service Plunge.

At approximately 1,090 students, the new freshman class is the largest in University history. The University’s total overall registered full-time undergraduate students is about 170 more than last year at this time. Continuing a trend over the past decade, the University saw a marked increase in the number of students applying for admission with more than 11,000 completed applications—a new school record—and nearly 16 percent over the previous record of 9,500, set last year.

The UP Class of 2018 is also highly academically accomplished, with an approximate average SAT score of 1193 and average high school GPA of 3.61. The Class of 2018 is diverse in geography as well—53 percent of the class hails from outside Oregon and Washington, including 26 percent from California and 9 percent from Hawaii—and in ethnicity, with 38 percent of the class identifying as minority. Official enrollment figures will be confirmed two weeks into the academic year.

For more information contact the admissions office at 7147 or admissions@up.edu.

Fall 2014 Shaping Up As Record Class Year

Tablet - Happy woman holding digital tablet dreamstime_m_27971475.jpgThe University has received a record number of deposits – 1,145 for incoming freshmen – and the school is anticipating Fall 2014 to be the largest first-year class in its 113-year history. Jason McDonald, dean of admissions, anticipates the University’s incoming freshman class could be about 1,100, exceeding the previous record of 888. He notes that the numbers historically drop slightly as a small percentage of students change their decision over the summer months.

Continuing a trend of the past decade, the University saw a marked increase in the number of students applying for admission with more than 11,000 completed applications, a new school record, and a nearly 16 percent increase over the previous record of 9,500. McDonald says the growth is in all academic areas, adding that a higher percentage of students are coming from outside of Oregon, with about 75 percent from out of state, which speaks to the University’s expanding reputation nationwide. The incoming class will be one of the University’s most academically talented and diverse.

University of Portland is Oregon’s only comprehensive university to feature schools of business, education, engineering, nursing, a College of Arts and Sciences and a graduate school. For more information contact the admissions office at 7147 or admissions@up.edu.

Employee Discount For Membership in World Affairs Council of Oregon

WACOThanks to the University of Portland’ status as a sponsor of the Speaker Series of the World Affairs Council of Oregon, all UP employees are being offered a 20 percent discount on all levels of individual membership, according to John Goldrick, university relations. Membership starts at $40. If employees choose to join as individual members, this will give them member privileges on all Council programs throughout the year, including the Speaker Series, which is a substantial savings. Take advantage of this discount opportunity by using the promotion code UP when purchasing your membership. To learn more about Council programs visit: www.worldoregon.org.

Upcoming speakers include U.S. Senator Ron Wyden on March 18; T.V. Paul, professor of international relations at McGill University on March 31; John Kauffman, a fellow at the Post-Carbon Institute on March 28; and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on April 8.

For more information contact Jackie Roth, membership manager at the World Affairs Council of Oregon, at jackie@worldoregon.org.

2012 University Staff Awards

Employee awards for 2012 were presented at the annual employees’ holiday banquet on Thursday, December 22. The winners are:

Sandy Galati, physical plant, won the MargaretW. Henzi Award for outstanding office/clerical employees, and was cited as “the primary conduit through which literally thousands of work orders pass every year…by virtue of the nature of her job, she has the task of fielding what are often urgent and demanding calls from customers who may be understandably frustrated or experiencing difficulty and yet—without fail—she is always cheerful, helpful, and friendly.”

Anthony Torres, physical plant, won the TedDeiss/Joyce and Virgil Dodson Outstanding Physical Plant Employee Award. He was praised as one who “demonstrated his versatility and proved himself to be a team player by stepping up and playing an extremely critical role when the university had to re-key every room in our residence halls…in July 2012 he was promoted to foreman and given the additional responsibility of supervising the athletics/events crew.”

The winner of the Hooyboer Outstanding Professional Staff Award is Heidi Keller, student accounts. The Hooyboer Award honors the sort of dedication and commitment that drives and infuses the University’s best and most creative and visionary staffers, the sort of men and women who take the University utterly to heart, and work brilliantly for its success, which made the choice of Heidi nearly a foregone conclusion. She was cited in part as “someone whose inspirational spirit causes her employees to hail her as a University treasure.”

A new honor, the President’s Team Award, was presented to the Office of Admissions. The award was established in 2012 by University president Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C. to honor staff teams whose collective effort demonstrates unwavering commitment to the mission and goals of the University.

Winning the Father Charles Miltner, C.S.C., Award was Jason McDonald, admissions. He was lauded as “among the most cheerful, trusted, admired, and accomplished employees in modern University history…in his fourteen years on The Bluff, he has played a crucial part in the University’s amazing rise in national renown, respect, and popularity.” Beginning with the late Fr. John Hooyboer, C.S.C., the first recipient, the award has been presented to diligent and creative men and women who have gone to sometimes extraordinary lengths to further the mission of the University. It is the highest employee honor bestowed by the University.

Employees were also honored for milestone years of service to the University, including Mary Beebe, Leah Teixeira, Cynthia Blanding, Brian Toole, Kurt Bottcher, Maria de los Angeles Vega, John Carleton, Christina Wall, MingXia Chen, Jack Welch, John Donato, Gregory White, Jonathan Down, Gwen Guderjohn, Sharon Hogan, Joseph Houck, Cathleen Kelley, Bradley Kerr, Paul Le Clercq, Mary Louie, Shizuko Madsen, Bryce Majors, Elisa Majors, Kelly Margheim, Matthew Ortiz, Debra Schwartzkopf, Bradford Scott, Russell Seidelman, Mary Beth Snell, Kimberley Spir, Malathi Sundramurthy, and Mary Virnig (5 years); Pat Alderman, Jim Axling, Maureen Briare, Matthew Gerber, Vinci Halbrook-Paterson, Jeromy Koffler, Michael Kranyak, Colin McGinty, Andrea Nelin-Roth, Khiet Nguyen, Natalie Shank, Sheila Smith, Bryce Strang, and Patricia Wood (10 years); Carol Bruce, Lori Coulson, Tim Crump, Teresa Freemont, Joann Jeffers, Jim Ly0ns, Arja Nelson, Scott Pitka, Chris Sperry, Melissa Thongtan, and No Vo (15 years); Rayne Funk, Meridee Kaiel, Paul Luty, Patty Rubin, and Carolyn Strong (20 years); Bill Irwin, Shaun Shepherd, and Cindy Sturm (25 years); Stephen Hafer, Jim Haines, Ron Scott, and John Soission (30 years); and Virginia Asuncion (40 years).

For more information contact Bryn Sopko, human resources, at 8987 or sopko@up.edu.