Fr. Mark Poorman C.S.C.

UP’s First VP for Marketing & Communications: Michael Lewellen

July 19, 2019

University of Portland President Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C., has appointed Michael E. Lewellen to the newly formed position of vice president for marketing and communications. He will lead the offices of marketing and communications, public affairs, and printing and mailing services effective July 15.

Before joining UP, Lewellen was the vice president of corporate communications and public engagement for the Portland Trail Blazers and Rose Quarter, overseeing media relations, crisis response, and civic engagement.

Lewellen served as senior vice president for corporate communications at Black Entertainment Television (BET) Networks and worked in corporate development and urban and minority affairs for NIKE. His career has also included senior positions with Heart of Florida United Way, NBC Universal/Universal Orlando Resort, and Fox Sports Network.

Lewellen is active in the local community. He is the chair of the board of directors of the Urban League of Portland and is on the board of the Legacy Emanuel Medical Center Foundation, All Hands Raised, and the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs. He is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, and in 2018, was awarded the Pat Tobin Award for career achievement by the National Black Public Relations Society – Los Angeles.

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

Register For Faculty Research Day, Jan. 8

October 20, 2014

More than fifty University professors from across campus have committed to present their perspectives on a wide range of themes on Faculty Research Day, taking place on Thursday, January 8. Each panel has faculty from across disciplines and schools offering brief five-minute perspectives on the theme and then the discussion is open for new insights and potential collaboration. University president Rev. Mark Poorman, C.S.C., and Tom Greene, provost, will host lunch and a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres to complete the day.

Register for Faculty Research Day by following this link. Contact Lauretta Frederking, political science, at tas@up.edu, for more information.

Beauchamp Center Construction Underway

June 16, 2014

Construction on the Beauchamp Recreation & Wellness Center started on May 19 with removal of the sod and retaining wall, according to Paul Luty, director of facilities planning and construction. Job trailers were set up and fencing put in place to keep curious onlookers at a safe distance. Site excavation commenced next, with all soil removed from the site being trucked down to the River Campus to be reused for future soccer and track facilities. The oak trees and the old public safety house came down next, with the help of Fr. Mark Poorman and Jim Ravelli (pictured before their turn at the controls of the excavator). All the concrete from the old site was hauled down to the River Campus to be ground up for use elsewhere. Next the workers excavated the two lower recreation courts and started digging and setting four new stormwater drywells. The first footings for the new building will be dug and formed this week, with a concrete pour scheduled the week of June 23. The oak tree trunks will be milled to be used in the new recreation building and/or the Cove project.

For more information on campus construction projects contact Luty at 8874 or luty@up.edu.

$4M Dundon-Berchtold RISE Campaign Gift

February 17, 2014

The University of Portland has announced a RISE Campaign donation of $4 million from Amy Dundon-Berchtold and Jim Berchtold ’63, to create an endowment for the Dundon-Berchtold Fund for Moral Development and Applied Ethics. The gift, which was announced at the recent annual retreat of the board of regents, will have a significant and lasting impact on the University, according to president-elect Rev. Mark Poorman, C.S.C., who was instrumental in the creation of the fund. The gift will create an endowment, providing for sufficient operating funds and an endowed directorship.

The Berchtolds provided seed money two years ago to create an initiative that focuses on character formation and applied ethics. The initiative includes “The Character Project,” which offers a venue for students to engage in guided discussions as to how personal value systems and beliefs can influence moral character. Fr. Poorman created a similar program at the University of Notre Dame, where he previously team-taught a class with University regent Carolyn Woo. Amy Dundon-Berchtold is also a member of UP’s board of regents.

Amy Dundon-Berchtold became familiar with the Portland community and University of Portland largely through her husband, Jim Berchtold, a 1963 UP graduate. The couple met following the loss of both of their spouses. The couple began discussing the idea of moral formation and applied ethics during a University trip in 2011 that included several priests from the Congregation of Holy Cross. During discussions on that trip with Fr. Poorman and others, the couple made an on-the-spot exploratory gift of $25,000. Several months later, after the initial project was fine-tuned, the couple donated $500,000 to bring Fr. Poorman’s vision to reality.

The Dundon-Berchtold gift is part of the University’s RISE Campaign, which was announced in December 2010 and seeks to raise $175 million by 2014. The campaign has raised more than $172 million to date and is one of the largest development campaigns ever for a Pacific Northwest private college or university. For more information contact the development office at 7395 or hanna@up.edu.

Faculty/Staff Presidential Forums

January 13, 2014

Interviews of the two University of Portland presidential candidates will take place on Tuesday, January 14 and Wednesday, January 15. A crucial part of that process is feedback from faculty and staff who have had the opportunity to meet with the candidates and ask questions. To that end, all faculty and staff are invited to the following forums:

Staff Forums (Bauccio Commons Boardroom):

Tuesday, January 14, 11 a.m. to noon, with Fr. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C.
Wednesday, January 15, 9:15 am to 10:15 a.m., with Fr. James M. Lies, C.S.C.

Faculty Forums (Buckley Center room 163):

Tuesday, January 14, 11 a.m. to noon, with Fr. James M. Lies, C.S.C.
Wednesday, January 15, from 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., with Fr. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C.

Forms will be available at the conclusion of the forums to provide feedback to members of the Presidential Search Committee, who will provide a report and recommendation to the board of regents. The board will vote to elect the next president of the University of Portland on Saturday, January 25.

For more information contact Danielle Hermanny, president’s office, at 8715 or hermannd@up.edu.

Fr. Jim Lies, Fr. Mark Poorman Named as UP Presidential Candidates

January 3, 2014

On September 27, 2013, University president Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C. announced his intention to end his term at the conclusion of the 2013-2014 academic year. The process has begun to name a successor to Fr. Beauchamp as the next president of the University of Portland. Fourteen members of the University of Portland community have been asked to serve on the Presidential Search Committee, which consists of members of the faculty, staff, administration, the Holy Cross community, and the board of regents. University regent Thomas D. Arndorfer (pictured) is serving as the chairman of this committee.

The search process for a new president begins with the Congregation of Holy Cross, as outlined in the Bylaws of the University of Portland. The Holy Cross Provincial Superior, Rev. Thomas J. O’Hara, C.S.C., invited members of the United States Province of Priests and Brothers to submit nominations from within the membership to fill this critical position. Two final candidates have emerged from that process: Rev. James M. Lies, C.S.C., and Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C.

Fr. Lies is currently the vice president for mission at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. He also serves on the Stonehill College faculty as an associate professor in the Department of Psychology. He previously served at the University of Portland from 2006 through 2012 as an associate professor in the Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, and as the executive director of the Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life & American Culture from 2009 through 2012. He is a graduate of the University of Saint Thomas, received a Master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and his Master of Divinity at the Jesuit School of Theology, and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Fr. Poorman has been the executive vice president of the University of Portland since 2011, as well as serving as a professor of theology and the pastoral resident of Schoenfeldt Hall. Prior to arriving on The Bluff, he served as vice president for student affairs at the University of Notre Dame from 1999 through 2010. Fr. Poorman is a graduate of the University of Illinois, received his master of divinity from the University of Notre Dame, and earned his Ph.D. in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

An interview process will take place at the University of Portland on January 14 and January 15. The Presidential Search Committee has asked the two candidates to meet with numerous constituencies of the University during these two days. The Presidential Search Committee will then provide a recommendation to the board of regents, who will meet to elect the next president of the University of Portland on Saturday, January 25, 2014. Shortly after this election has been completed, an announcement will be made to the University of Portland community.

For more information contact the president’s office at 7101 or simek@up.edu.