Gary Malecha
Dean Robin Anderson Announces Retirement
Constitution Day Presentation, Sept. 17
William Curtis and Gary Malecha, political science, will present the 2018 Constitution Day Lecture, “Supreme Court Nominations in a New Political Order,” on Monday, September 17, at 7 p.m., in Franz Hall room 120. The lecture is free and open to all.
For more information contact political science at x7274 or mackinno@up.edu.
New CAS Dean Announced: Herbert A. Medina
Herbert A. Medina has been appointed as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, effective July 1, 2018. Medina, who will join the University in mid-July, will oversee the College’s core curriculum education program in the liberal arts for all students at the University, as well as 15 departments offering 28 majors and 25 minors.
Medina was born in El Salvador and was brought by his parents to Los Angeles, California, where he has lived most of his life. Prior to his appointment at the University of Portland, he served since 2015 as associate dean for faculty/staff development and student success at the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering at Loyola Marymount University.
He earned his B.S. in mathematics and computer science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1985. In 1987, he earned an M.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley, then completed his Ph.D., also at UC Berkeley, in 1992. He is a member of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). Medina has published mathematical research in functional analysis, wavelets, and polynomial approximations (collaboratively with undergraduates). He also has written articles and delivered several professional presentations addressing issues of under-representation in mathematics and other challenges facing the U.S. mathematics community.
Medina follows former dean Michael Andrews, who departed in 2017 to become director of the John Felice Rome Center, a campus of Loyola University Chicago located in Rome, Italy. Gary Malecha, political science, has served as the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since July 1, 2017.
Gary Malecha To Serve as Interim Dean of CAS
Gary Malecha, professor of political science, will serve as the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018. Malecha, who has been at the University since 1992, has served on numerous committees at the University of Portland, having recently led the University Ad Hoc Committee on Mental Health. He provided leadership as chair of the Political Science Department for many years, currently serves as the faculty athletics representative to the NCAA, and he has served in many more leadership roles throughout his time at UP. His excellence in the classroom is well known and he is an accomplished scholar. He was awarded the University’s highest honor for faculty, the James Culligan Award, in 1999.
Malecha has agreed to serve the University in this capacity for one year to allow for a national search for the new dean of CAS, and he has requested that he not be a candidate for the permanent position. Dean Michael Andrews has resigned from his position at the University of Portland to accept a position as director of the John Felice Rome Center, a campus of Loyola University Chicago located in Rome, Italy.
For more information contact the president’s office at 7101 or simek@up.edu.
Constitution Day Presentation, Sept. 13
On Tuesday, September 13, the Department of Political Science will conduct a presentation in honor of Constitution Day, titled “Is the System Fair? Perspectives on the American Electoral System,” in St. Mary’s Lounge at 7 p.m. This presentation will discuss the constitutional foundation of the electoral system in the United States and then consider the implications of that system in today’s world.
For more information contact Gary Malecha, political science, at malecha@up.edu.
Integrative Conversations Event, Nov. 4
The second “Integrative Conversations” event will take place on Wednesday, November 4, from 7-9 p.m., in the Pilot House bookstore. Titled “A Call to Action: Pope Francis and the Integrity of Creation: The Encyclical on the Environment,” the program will be moderated by College of Arts and Sciences dean Michael Andrews and will include presentations by Christina Astorga, theology; Bill Barnes, business; Steve Kolmes, environmental studies; and Gary Malecha, political science. Members of the Student Leadership and Advising Council (SLAC) will lead student questions and conversation. Faculty and staff are invited to attend, and are asked to encourage their students to come as well.
No RSVP is required. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served. The new Papal Encyclical can be found at this link. For more information contact Laura Hogue, college of arts and sciences, at 7760 or hogue@up.edu.
Constitution Day Lecture With Jeffrey Meiser, Sept. 17
The political science department and provost’s office will present “Constitutional Foundation of American Foreign Policy” by Jeffrey Meiser on Thursday, September 17, from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m., in Buckley Center Auditorium. His lecture will celebrate Constitution Day, which honors the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787, and is free and open to all.
Meiser is an assistant professor in the political science department. He was previously on the faculty of the College of International Security Affairs and director of the South and Central Asia Program. He also taught at the University of California at Santa Barbara, The Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Mannheim. His book, Power and Restraint: The Rise of the United States, 1898-1941, was published this year by Georgetown University Press.
For ADA accommodations or event information contact Gary Malecha, political science, at malecha@up.edu.
Celebrate Feast of Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C., Jan. 20
All University community members are invited to celebrate the feast day of Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C., founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, on Tuesday, January 20, at 5 p.m., in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. Political science professor Gary Malecha will be honored as a recipient of the 2014 Spirit of Holy Cross Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Congregation on its lay collaborators. Malecha was one of six award recipients announced on Sept. 15 by Rev. Thomas O’Hara, C.S.C., provincial superior of the United States Province of Priests and Brothers.
For more information, please contact Campus Ministry at 7131 or ministry@up.edu.
Malecha Wins Spirit of Holy Cross Award
Gary Malecha, a longtime professor of political science at the University of Portland, has received the Spirit of Holy Cross Award, given annually to lay collaborators of the Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers. The award recognizes lay collaborators who devotedly work to make Blessed Basil Moreau’s vision and mission to “make God known, loved, and served” a reality at the Congregation’s education, parish and mission apostolates.
Malecha was one of six award recipients announced on Sept. 15 by Rev. Thomas O’Hara, C.S.C., provincial superior of the United States Province of Priests and Brothers, to mark the Solemnity of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Malecha, who has been a professor at the University since 1992, served as chairman of the Department of Political Science for 13 years and currently serves as the University’s NCAA faculty athletic representative.
Malecha was nominated by Rev. Jeffrey Allison, C.S.C., on behalf of the Holy Cross Community at the University of Portland. Fr. Allison said Malecha is supportive of the mission of Holy Cross and is deeply committed to students at the University.
The 2014 recipients also include Melanie Chapleau, assistant to Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., University of Notre Dame; Lori Gorny, office and payroll manager, Provincial Administration Office (Notre Dame, Ind.); Patti Schlarb, seamstress at the Basilica of Sacred Heart, Notre Dame; and Edwin J. and Lea M. Zorn, parishioners, Sacred Heart Parish (Tri-Community Parish), Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Holy Cross community will formally honor Malecha at a Mass and dinner in January 2015 as part of the celebrations of Congregation found Blessed Basil Moreau’s life. Honorees will receive a proclamation of gratitude signed by provincial superior Fr. Tom O’Hara, C.S.C., on behalf of the entire U.S. Province.
For more information contact the Congregation of Holy Cross office at 8024 or doll@up.edu.