UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Craig Swinyard

Nominate Students For 2019 Gerhardt Award

The Office of Alumni Relations is accepting nominations for the 2019 Thomas A. Gerhardt Award for Student Leadership. Criteria for selection include:

  • Student must be a graduating senior;
  • Student must have demonstrated leadership throughout his or her undergraduate career;
  • Student must demonstrate consistent dedication to the University and the community through service to God and neighbor.

Nominations are due by Monday, February 25. Complete a nomination form here.

For more information contact Craig Swinyard, alumni & parent relations, at swinyard@up.edu.

Nominate Students For 2017 Gerhardt Award

gerhardt-copyThe Office of Alumni Relations is accepting nominations for the 2017 Thomas A. Gerhardt Award for Student Leadership. Criteria for selection include:

  • Student must be a graduating senior;
  • Student must have demonstrated leadership throughout his or her undergraduate career;
  • Student must demonstrate consistent dedication to the University and the community through service to God and neighbor.

Nominations are due by Friday, February 24. Complete a nomination form here. A list of previous winners is available here.

For more information contact Craig Swinyard, alumni relations, at swinyard@up.edu.

Anchors Away: Thursday, April 30

anchorsAll faculty and staff invited to attend the second annual Anchors Away on Thursday, April 30 on the bluff behind Bauccio Commons from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Please join the entire UP family in gathering together to celebrate the conclusion of the 2014-15 academic year with a barbecue, beer garden, live music from The Junebugs, and lots of other fun activities.

Tickets for faculty and staff are complimentary. Just RSVP at http://tinyurl.com/k2bqpbf by Monday, April 27, and a ticket will be delivered to you. Additional tickets for family and friends may be purchased; children 10 and under may attend for free. Drinks at the beer garden will be available for $2 and $3.

To purchase additional tickets or for more please contact Joe Kuffner, marketing, at kuffnerj@up.edu, or Craig Swinyard, alumni relations, at swinyard@up.edu.

Save The Date for Anchors Away, April 30

hAll faculty, staff, and students are invited to gather together on the bluff behind Bauccio Commons for Anchors Away, featuring a barbecue, live music, a beer garden, and lots of fun, to celebrate the conclusion of the academic year. Tickets for faculty and staff are free and will be delivered to campus mailboxes soon. Additional tickets for family members are available for $10, and drinks at the beer garden will cost $3. Local band The Junebugs will perform.

Please contact Joe Kuffner, marketing, at kuffnerj@up.edu, or Craig Swinyard, alumni relations, at swinyard@up.edu with questions.

New Alumni Relations Director

swinyard copyCraig Swinyard has been selected as the director of alumni relations, according to Laurie Kelley, VP for university relations.

Swinyard has a long association with the University which began in 1994, his freshman year. He graduated from the University with a bachelor of arts in mathematics in 1998. As a student, he was a member of the Honors Program and lived in Villa Maria all four years, serving as a resident assistant his junior and senior years.

After graduation he worked in the Office of Residence Life as an assistant hall director in Corrado Hall from 1999-2001. Swinyard earned a master of science in teaching mathematics in 2002 and his Ph.D. in mathematics education in 2008, both from Portland State University. He joined the University’s mathematics faculty as an assistant professor in 2008. In 2014, he received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. He and his wife Shoshawna reside in the University Park neighborhood and are the proud parents of a daughter, Mia.

Swinyard has been a leader in developing networking and engagement opportunities for Villa Maria alumni. Earlier this year, he and other University leaders brought back the tradition now known as Anchors Away (formerly Blowout on The Bluff), bringing together more than 1,400 students, faculty, and staff.

Because of his current academic responsibilities, Swinyard will continue to teach students through the end of the fall semester. He will begin working in the alumni office on a part-time basis, moving to full-time when the spring semester commences.

For more information contact alumni relations at 7328 or alumni@up.edu.

2014 Rank and Tenure Decisions

tam copyEffective July 1, 2014, the following professors will be promoted from assistant to associate professor and granted tenure, according to the provost’s office:

  • Tanya Crenshaw, Engineering
  • Andrew Golla, Performing and Fine Arts
  • Christin Hancock, History
  • Hillary Merk, Education
  • Patrick Murphy, Performing and Fine Arts
  • Craig Swinyard, Mathematics
  • Eugenijus Urnezius, Chemistry

For more information contact the provost’s office at 7105 or staten@up.edu.