• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

  • Home
  • Academics
  • Athletics
  • Campus Services
  • Events
  • Human Resources
  • University Relations

Christus Magister Medal

University Announces 2019 Commencement Speaker, Honorees

February 1, 2019

The University of Portland has announced the speaker and honorees to be recognized during the 2019 Commencement ceremonies, to be held in the Chiles Center on Sunday, May 5. Commencement I begins at 10 a.m. and is for all graduates of the Pamplin School of Business, Shiley School of Engineering, and School of Nursing. Commencement II starts at 3 p.m. and is held for undergraduate and graduate students of the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Education. 

Receiving the University’s highest honor, the Christus Magister Medal, is Sr. Alberta Dieker, O.S.B. As one of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount Angel, Sr. Dieker has devoted her life to faith, scholarship, and service. She spent more than 45 years teaching history and other subjects, first as an elementary school teacher in Silverton and Mount Angel and then as a faculty member for Mount Angel College, Mount Angel Seminary, and Eastern Oregon University. She is also the author of A Tree Rooted in Faith: A History of Queen of Angels Monastery, published in 2007. Sr. Dieker is renowned for her leadership skills, having served as president of Mount Angel College, president and founding member of the Oregon Catholic Historical Society, and executive secretary of the American Benedictine Academy.  Sr. Dieker will receive her Medal in absentia at Commencement II.

Honorary doctorate recipients will be:

  • Mary Carlin Yates, Commencement I and II.Retired Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates, the speaker for both ceremonies and an honorary doctorate recipient, is a North Portland native who served for 31 years as a career member of the United States Foreign Service. Her distinguished career, which began in 1980, included serving twice as U.S. Ambassador, to the Republic of Ghana from 2002 to 2005 and to the Republic of Burundi from 1999 to 2002. In Burundi, she worked extensively to bring stability and an end to hostility through a peace process led by the former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela. She also served as a political officer and public affairs counselor in Rwanda during the genocide crisis of the early 1990s. After her retirement, she served as the Charge d’Affaires in Sudan for the Department of State until 2012. Today, Ambassador Yates is director of the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Oregon State University Honors College Board of Regents.
  • Amy Dundon-Berchtold, Commencement I. Amy Dundon-Berchtold’s first real estate transaction was selling her own house. Her second was an apartment building, and the third was an industrial warehouse–an illustrious beginning to what would become a 40-year career as a real estate investor in Southern California. Dundon-Berchtold, a member of the University of Portland’s Board of Regents, and her husband, Jim Berchtold ’63, wanted to create a place where all UP students could engage in discussions around personal values and beliefs. In 2011, this vision was realized with the creation of the Dundon-Berchtold Institute for Moral Formation and Applied Ethics, offering classes, public events, and student-faculty research support. From the success of that endeavor, Jim and Amy provided the lead gift for the University’s first academic building in 25 years, which was named Dundon-Berchtold Hall in their honor and will open in summer 2019.
  • Susan Sygall, Commencement II. As CEO of Mobility International USA (MIUSA), Susan Sygall has spent more than 38 years advancing the rights of people with disabilities around the world. Sygall, who became disabled after a car accident, went to Australia as a Rotary Scholar and a wheelchair rider. The experience made her realize that people with disabilities were not only excluded from leadership programs, but were also unable to access services that could improve their health and education. Upon returning to the University of Oregon, she and another graduate student co-founded MIUSA in 1981 to promote international exchange for students with disabilities. In 1995, Sygall was the driving force behind Congress funding the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange, and that same year she led a delegation of 350 women with disabilities to the International Women’s Conference in Beijing, which is now seen as the start of the disabled women’s movement.
  • Mucki (Pei Ling) Tan ’80, Commencement I. After graduating with a degree in business in 1980 from the University of Portland, Mucki (Pei Ling) Tan returned to Jakarta, Indonesia, to become a manager with the Rodamas Group, a company his father founded in 1951. Together, Tan and his father expanded into a diverse portfolio of joint ventures worldwide, including the food industry, construction materials manufacturing, consumer goods, and real estate. Tan devotes particular attention to educational initiatives in Indonesia but has also supported his alma mater, with gifts toward such endeavors as Dundon-Berchtold Hall and the Beauchamp Recreation and Wellness Center.
  • Robert Watzke, M.D., Commencement II. Dr. Watzke is renowned for his dedication as a retina researcher and specialist¾ a career that has spanned six decades. He developed new and innovative examination techniques, pioneered the use of lasers to conduct complex retinal surgery, and mentored more than 350 retinal specialists. Dr. Watzke was also instrumental in the development of the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, where he focused on retina and vitreous disease. He is heralded for both his surgical skill and his commitment to national randomized trials, especially related to diabetic retinopathy and macular photocoagulation. In 2016, the Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences department at that university created the Robert C. Watzke Endowment in his honor.

For more information contact the president’s office at x7107 or leadem@up.edu.

 

Filed Under: 02-04-2019, Academics Tagged With: 2019 Commencement, Amy Dundon-Berchtold, Christus Magister Medal, Mary Carlin Yates, Mucki Tan, Robert Watzke M.D., Sr. Alberta Dieker OSB, Susan Sygall

Let Us Commence

April 29, 2013

Noted ethicist and scholar Kirk Hanson, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, will address the 2013 University of Portland spring commencement exercises, set for 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 5 at the Earle A. and Virginia H. Chiles Center. Hanson will receive an honorary doctorate as part of the school’s 112th commencement. University president Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C., will confer an anticipated 744 bachelor’s degrees.

The Right Reverend Monsignor Tim Murphy will be awarded the University’s highest honor, the Christus Magister Medal, in honor of his many years of service to Central Catholic High School as teacher, principal, and president, as well as service to the local Catholic community.

The University will hold a separate commencement ceremony for graduate students on Saturday, May 4, at 1 p.m., in the Chiles Center. Fr. Beauchamp will confer an anticipated 160 master’s degrees. Former University provost Br. Donald Stabrowski, C.S.C., will deliver the graduate commencement address.

Tickets are required for all undergraduate (not graduate) commencement events. Please visit http://tinyurl.com/axmryjw for ticket information. For those unable to attend, the University will be providing a free live web stream of Sunday’s commencement at www.up.edu/commencement/video.

Also receiving honorary doctorates on May 6:

  • Brian Druker, M.D., director of the Oregon Health and Science University’s Knight Cancer Institute since 2007;
  • Karen Gaffney, famed swimmer, Portland native, Down Syndrome activist, and president of the Karen Gaffney Foundation;
  • Tribal leader Kathryn Jones Harrison of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde;
  • Running and coaching legend Roberto Salazar;
  • Former University provost Br. Donald Stabrowski, C.S.C., now assistant provincial for the Congregation of Holy Cross in America.

All graduates and faculty are to be present at the Chiles Center no later than 1:15 p.m. The academic procession will form in the north corridors of the Chiles Center. Enter the building through the north doors, off Portsmouth Street. The marshals will begin the procession at 1:25 p.m. Academic regalia will be worn, and all faculty are expected to attend unless excused by their dean.

For more information contact university events at 7523.

Filed Under: 04-29-2013, Academics, Events, Featured, University Relations Tagged With: Br. Donald Stabrowski C.S.C., Brian Druker, Christus Magister Medal, Commencement 2013, Graduate commencement 2013, Karen Gaffney, Kathryn Jones Harrison, Kirk Hanson, M.D., Msgr. Tim Murphy, Rev. E. William Beauchamp C.S.C., Roberto Salazar

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • YouTube

News Categories

UpDate

Dave Houglum, Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, completed a six-year commitment on the Board of Directors for the Maybelle Center for Community, with two of those years serving as the Executive Board Secretary. Founded by Fr. Richard Berg, C.S.C. (former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at University of Portland from 1978-1991), the Maybelle Center disrupts social isolation so we can all experience a healthy, connected life and contribute to a thriving Portland.

Chloe Littzen, nursing, co-presented “Pronoun recognition for inclusive excellence across the UACON.” [Abstract]. LGBTQ+ National Symposium.

Eli Goldwyn, mathematics, published “Calculating prescription rates and addiction probabilities for the four most commonly prescribed opioids and evaluating their impact on addiction using compartment modelling.” Mathematical Medicine and Biology: A Journal of the IMA, dqab001.

Aziz Inan, Shiley School of Engineering, published the article titled, “Numerical curiosities for Bob Moore’s 92nd birthday,” in Clackamas Review, Pamplin Media Group, Portland, Oregon, February 16, 2021.

Simon Aihiokhai, theology, was a manuscript reviewer for Springer’s Journal: SN Social Sciences.

Barbara Braband, Amber Vermeesch, Corey Pressman, nursing, published “Piloting the perfect Storm: A vision for the vital practitioner.” Journal of Nursing Education (accepted/in press).

Barbara Braband, nursing, published “Working with community populations to increase wellness.” In A. Vermeesch (Ed.), Integrative health nursing interventions for vulnerable populations, (pp. 73-87). Springer.

Update Archive

About

UPbeat is a newsletter for University of Portland faculty and staff published through the marketing & communications office; submit information to Marc Covert, upbeat editor, at 8132 or upbeat@up.edu. Submission deadline is noon the Thursday prior to publication. Submissions may be edited for clarity, consistency, brevity, or style.

Copyright © 2021 · University of Portland