biology

Your 2019 ACUBE Excellence in Teaching Award Winner: Tara Prestholdt

November 8, 2019

Tara Prestholdt, biology, won the 2019 Excellence in Teaching Award at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Association of College and University Biology Educators (ACUBE). The award is offered annually to honor faculty who both practice and promote effective, innovative teaching in the biology classroom. While the entire campus is no doubt aware of Prestholdt’s polymathic […]

Science Students Shine at Sigma Xi Conference

November 11, 2016

University of Portland science students swept the undergraduate awards in the “Earth & Environmental Sciences” category at the Thirteenth Annual Sigma Xi Student Research Symposium, held on Friday, November 4 at Portland State University, according to faculty advisor Ted Eckmann, environmental studies. Summer Grandy won 1st place for her coauthored paper, “Developing New Soils to […]

Come See The Crab Lab, Oct. 3

September 29, 2014

All students, staff, faculty, and friends are invited to visit the Crab Lab during its open house on Friday, October 3, from noon to 5 p.m., in Swindells 139 and 128, according to Tara Maginnis, biology. With over 500 gallons of saltwater and six species of crabs, there is plenty to explore. Maginnis and her […]

Come See The Crab Lab

September 13, 2013

All students, staff, faculty, and friends are invited to visit the Crab Lab during its open house on Friday, September 27, from noon to 6 p.m., in Swindells 139 and 128, according to Tara Maginnis, biology. With over 1,000 gallons of saltwater and six species of crab, there is plenty to explore. Maginnis and her […]

Nick McRee, Sociology and Social Work, published “Academic debate and civic engagement in adolescence and young adulthood: evidence from a national longitudinal study.” Argumentation and Advocacy, 61(3–4), 323–338. He also published “When Chairs Shield Faculty from Service Opportunities: Protecting Colleagues or Hindering Community?” The Department Chair, 36(3), 11-13.

Katie Danielson, Education, was awarded a grant from The Spencer Foundation in the amount of $374,940.00 for the “Collaborating Towards Transformational Visions for Digital School Systems” project. Danielson also published “Learning to let go: Transformations in teachers’ pedagogical reasoning about classroom discussion.” Co-authors: Gotwalt, E., Kavanagh, S. Teaching and Teacher Education. January 2026

Daniel Bulek, Nursing & Health Innovations, published “From monoamine deficits to multiscale plasticity: Twenty-five years of ketamine and the neurophysiology of depression.” Journal of Neurophysiology, jn.00516.2025.

Dave Houglum, Director of Leadership Studies and Leadership Professor of Practice in the Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, facilitated a multi-day series of invited leadership development workshops for the staff team at Lutherhaven Ministries in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Houglum led six interactive sessions focused on DiSC-informed leadership, coaching-centered leadership, servant leadership and accompaniment, powerful feedback, and the co-creation of team commitments to support healthy culture and sustainable impact. In addition, Houglum provided multiple individual leadership coaching sessions for staff members throughout the engagement. January 2026.

Simon Aihiokhai, Theology, published the following articles in VoiceAfrique.org: “The Saturated Wisdom of Saint Joseph: Relevant Virtues for Our Times.” (Reflections on the Readings of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, 2025). December 19, 2025. “The Gift of the Nativity is Grounded in an Ethics of Neighborliness.” (Reflections on the Readings for the Mass on Christmas Day, December 25, 2025). December 24, 2025. “The Spirituality of Ambition and the Grace of the Incarnation.” Reflections on the Readings for the Vigil Mass of Christmas, 2025. December 24, 2025. “The Theotokos: A Mirror in Which We Discover Ourselves as Bearers of God’s Life to Each Other.” (Reflection on the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.) December 31, 2025. “Jesus Christ: The Revealer of the Grace of Encounters and an Embrace of Difference.” (Reflections on the Readings for the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. January 4, 2026.) January 3, 2026. “Christian Baptism as a Summon for Global Justice: What We Must Embrace for Our Times.” (Reflections on the Readings for the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord. January 11, 2026.) January 10, 2026. Aihiokhai also published a review of The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology Amid Gaza. Edited by John S. Munayer and Samuel S. Munayer. Orbis Books, 2025. Catholicbooksreview.org

Jeff Kerssen-Griep, Communication and Media, presented “Teaching with Transformative International Conflict Partners” on the panel, “Healing Divides and Elevating Connections within Conflict & Peacebuilding.” National Communication Association Convention. November, 2025.

Christi Richardson-Zboralski, Director of Marketing – Graduate Programs, published a short story under pen name, Christi R. Suzanne, entitled “Outlaw’s Dust.” In Lisa Diane Kastner (Ed.) 27 Stories: An LA Wildfire Anthology. Running Wild Press. January 7, 2026. All proceeds from this anthology go toward Habitat for Humanity LA. Find it on the Broadway Books website or on Bookshop.org.

Fr. Pat Hannon, CSC, published From Glory to Glory: A Pilgrim’s Notes From the Badlands of Grace. Occasioned by the author’s walking, with siblings, the famous Camino de Santiago in the fall of 2024, the book traces all manner of other pilgrimages—to and from home, family, love, self, and God. One Subject Press, Saint Paul, Minnesota. November, 2025.