UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Eduardo Contreras

UP Student Wins Fund for Education Abroad Scholarshp

University of Portland student David Vargas Puga ’21 recently became one of only 22 students nationwide to receive a scholarship from  (FEA), a program which focuses on making study abroad opportunities accessible to all students. Vargas Puga, a Spanish and computer science double major, is the first student from UP to receive the award since the program was created in 2010. All 22 students who received the award for spring 2019 are first generation college students, and many come from minority backgrounds.

Vargas Puga, who will use his scholarship for a semester abroad in Spain, is a first generation college student from Hillsboro, Oregon with Mexican-American heritage. He speaks Spanish as his first language and decided to major in it because he believes there is always room for improvement and wants to learn how to speak the language more formally. Vargas Puga leaves for Spain in January and will stay in the country until May. He was encouraged to apply to FEA by Eduardo Contreras, assistant provost for international education, who works closely with the University of Portland study abroad programs.

In addition to the Fund for Education Abroad scholarship, Vargas Puga also received the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship for U.S. undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study and intern abroad programs worldwide.

Office of International Education, Diversity, and Inclusion Announced

Effective July 1, 2018, a new academic unit, the Office of International Education, Diversity, and Inclusion, will be created that will include the following functions and personnel: 

  • Director of Equity and Inclusion: To Be Announced
  • Director of International Students: Michael Pelley
  • Director of Studies Abroad: Eduardo Contreras 
  • The Collaborative for International Studies and Global Outreach (CISGO)

Offering support to the director of equity and inclusion will be Yuri Hernandez Osorio, coordinator for diversity and inclusion programs in the Office of Student Activities. 

Based on Tactic D 1.1 of the University’s Vision 2020 Strategic Plan (“Create a position to lead and support existing campus-wide international and intercultural endeavors, and to expand opportunities”), Eduardo Contreras will assume responsibility for this unit as assistant provost. The unit will be housed in Buckley Center and it will include a space where students can gather in a supportive environment that embodies the University’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity. 

For more information contact the president’s office at x7101 or simek@up.edu.

Administration Promotions, President’s Leadership Cabinet Appointments Announced

University president Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C., has announced that Andrea Barton, general counsel, and Sandy Chung, associate vice president for human resources and interim title IX coordinator, will be promoted to Vice President and General Counsel, and Vice President for Human Resources, respectively, effective July 1, 2018.

Barton joined the University of Portland in January 2017 as General Counsel and Special Assistant to the President. She oversees all legal matters on behalf of the University and advises the University and members of the campus community in connection with higher education issues.

Chung joined the University of Portland as Director of Human Resources in December 2015. In 2017 she was promoted to Associate Vice President for Human Resources and in May 2018 was named Interim Title IX Coordinator. She has extensive experience in human resources, and is also a member of the California and Oregon State Bars.

There are also four new appointments to the President’s Leadership Cabinet: Rowena Bramlette, who has been promoted to associate vice president for budgeting; Eduardo Contreras, assistant provost and studies abroad; Elise Moentmann, associate provost; and Matthew Rygg, associate vice president for student development.

CISGO Fall Update and Presentation by Blair Woodard, Oct. 12

The Collaborative on International Studies and Global Outreach (CISGO) invites faculty members and staff to attend their next fall meeting on Thursday, October 12, 4-5:30 p.m., in the Bauccio Commons Terrace Room. There will be a brief update on the many university-wide initiatives that are advancing core strategy 4 of Vision 2020, “to infuse our entire community with a sense of internationalization and diversity.”

Following the updates, Blair Woodard, history, the first recipient of the Kate Regan Faculty Development Award for Junior Faculty in the Humanities, will discuss the research he conducted in Cuba this past summer and the ways in which this work will enhance his own teaching materials and further develop intercultural and international learning at UP.

Light adult refreshments will be served. Please RSVP here. For more information contact Eduardo Contreras, international languages and cultures, at contrera@up.edu.

Teaching Across Cultures and Borders with Hala Jadid al Kash

al-kash-copyHala Jadid al Kash, a professor with IES Abroad in Spain and longtime supporter of Syrian refugees, will present “Teaching Across Cultures and Borders” on Thursday, November 3, from 4 to 6 p.m., in the Terrace Room in Bauccio Commons. Her talk, which begins with refreshments and a brief social, is free and open to all.

Al Kash will discuss the challenges and opportunities to teaching American students in Spain, describing how she approaches teaching different types of American students; how she supports the intercultural development of her students; and how she covers contemporary topics such as the use of social media in mass movements, the Arab Spring, and the current Syrian refugee crisis.

Al Kash is a faculty member with IES Abroad in Granada, Spain, and teaches courses on Arabic language, social media, and Islamic culture to American study abroad students. Her classroom teaching uses media and contemporary issues to develop intercultural awareness in students. Al Kash was born in Syria, and has lived in Spain for 18 years. She founded Souriyat sin fronteras (Syrian Without Borders) which focuses on supporting Syrian refugees.

 

Please RSVP at this link. The talk is sponsored by the Office of Studies Abroad. For more information contact Eduardo Contreras, studies abroad, at contrera@up.edu.

 

CISGO Workshop Rescheduled to Friday, Sept. 30

contreras-copy-copyWith so much going on this fall on the weekends, CISGO has retooled its Saturday half-day workshop into a 90-minute Friday afternoon session, now scheduled for Friday, September 30, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., in Franz Hall Murphy Conference Room. The diversity-focused presentations and panels will provide plenty of food for thought and plans for action.

In anticipation of lots of good dialogue and curricular improvements, CISGO invites faculty to participate in a conversation on using the new Global and Intercultural Learning Outcomes (GILOs). Moving from broad learning outcomes to assignments and activities can feel like a steep climb, but CISGO is here to help. Learn more about work already taking place on campus to increase international and intercultural teaching and learning. Participants will have the opportunity to learn from colleagues who are integrating the GILOs into their courses here on campus and for study abroad.

Please register here.

Thanks to the provost’s office, generous libations and refreshments will be served. Look for two workshops in the spring semester focused on using the GILOs in your own courses.

Please contact the CISGO executive committee if you have questions: Eddie Contreras (chair), Mark Kennedy, Laurie McLary, Norah Martin, and Lisa Reed.

PDX Abroad Think Tank, Sept. 23

contreras-copy-copyThe Office of Studies Abroad is hosting the next PDX Abroad Think Tank, where participants will discuss ways to engage with students who have the status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), on Friday, September 23, from 1 to 5 p.m., in the Chiles Center Hall of Fame Room. These students are eligible to study abroad, but there are many challenges to supporting them in their pursuit of overseas study. The Think Tank will consider those challenges and seek solutions to supporting these students. Participants may attend for some or all of the event.

For more information contact Eduardo Contreras, studies abroad, at contrera@up.edu.

 

 

First Recipient of Kate Regan Junior Faculty Grant: Blair Woodard

U of P

The CISGO Executive Committee has announced Blair Woodard, history, as the first recipient of the Kate Regan Faculty Development Fund for Junior Faculty in the Humanities. Woodard’s proposal is a compelling embodiment of Kate’s vision for supporting junior faculty members in their efforts to internationalize scholarship and teaching at the University of Portland. His research will generate new knowledge that demonstrates how images such as billboards, comics, films, cartoons, and posters have contributed to the development of understanding of Cuban and U.S. foreign relations in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This important work will also expand the intercultural and international content of classes and potential study abroad options for students at the University of Portland. The $10,000 grant will support Woodard’s research, course development, and travel for a period of one year (July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017).

For more information, contact Eduardo Contreras, studies abroad, at 8266 or contrara@up.edu.