UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Human Resources

Home Purchase Opportunity Exclusively for University of Portland Employees

In an effort both to support the University’s strategic investment plans and to benefit our employees, the University is offering two of its residential properties for sale to interested faculty or staff employees.  These properties are located on Portsmouth Avenue between Willamette Blvd. and Harvard St. (6719 and 6727 Portsmouth Avenue), half a block from Lund Hall and the Chiles Center.

This opportunity will allow qualified employees to purchase the home at a pre-determined price (based upon an independent appraisal) under our Employee Home Loan Program with a $40,000 forgivable loan (the maximum loan for non-UP properties is $18,000).  This loan is forgiven over a period of seven (7) years of continuous employment and requires that this be your primary residence during the forgiveness period (details of the loan program can be found HERE).  The only other two caveats are that you must maintain the street appearance of the property and if, in the future, you decide to sell the property, University will be given the opportunity to buy back the property at an updated independently appraised price first.  The homes are being sold AS-IS.

If more than one employee is interested in purchasing a particular home, the choice will be made by a random drawing.

To qualify, employees must:

  • Be a full-time, benefited faculty or staff employee of the University of Portland for two or more consecutive years prior to December 31, 2024.
  • Qualify for the University home loan program, which means it must be their first purchase of a home within the North Portland area as defined in the UP Home Loan Program.
  • Be in good standing with their employment at the time of purchase (i.e., not placed on a performance improvement plan or under any current or pending disciplinary action within the past six months).

Important Dates:

  • Open House #1 (must show UP ID to enter – both houses will be open): Saturday, January 11, 2025 – (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
  • Open House #2 (must show UP ID to enter – both houses will be open): Saturday, January 18, 2025 – (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
  • Deadline to Indicate Interest: Thursday, February 27, 2025
  • Target Closing Date: Monday, March 31, 2025

The University will make both the home appraisal and the home inspection reports available to prospective buyers as well as the sale and purchase agreement, covenant of codes and restrictions (CC&R), and repurchase agreement.  A lender will likely require their own appraisal of the properties and the appraisals may or may not agree on value.

Property Details

6179-N-Portsmouth
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6727-N-Portsmouth
Download PDF

Please refer all questions to homesales@up.edu. Thank you!

Bridging Differences: Effective Communication in a Diverse Environment (Oct. 31)

Register today to learn essential strategies for inclusive communication in our diverse campus community. This presentation will equip you with practical tools to navigate cross-cultural interactions, mitigate biases, and leverage diverse perspectives. Enhance your ability to foster a respectful, creative, and collaborative university environment. 

The workshop will be held on October 31, from 12-1 p.m. in Franz 120.

Register Today

For questions, contact pfeifer@up.edu

Faculty & Staff Autumn Retreat (Nov. 8)

The Mission Committee, the Office of the Provost, and Human Resources invite all faculty and staff to attend a day-long spiritual retreat on Friday, November 8, 2024. The retreat will be held on campus from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and will highlight themes of Catholic Social Teaching. Retreat leaders are Dr. Jordan Skornik, Executive Director of the Borland Free Clinic & Adjunct Faculty in Theology and Fr. Peter Walsh, CSC, Co-Director of the Garaventa Center.

The goal of the retreat is to provide a time for individual and communal spiritual reflection and renewal, to deepen faculty and staff connections to one another and to the University’s Catholic, Holy Cross mission and identity, and to invite staff and faculty to reflect on and embrace their vital contributions to our shared mission.

For more information and the retreat schedule, visit the link below. 

AUTUMN RETREAT

Please note that participation in the day-retreat will be considered a regular workday for staff, per supervisory approval.

To sign up for the retreat, please send an RSVP to Shannon Mayer, Co-Director of the Garaventa Center, at mayers@up.edu. You can also contact Shannon with any questions about schedule, participation, accommodations, etc.

Annual Required Training Courses For All Employees (Due Oct. 18)

As a reminder from the Fall 2024 Human Resources Newsletter ALL employees (part-time or full-time, staff or faculty) must complete the 3 annual training courses listed below (found in Moodle, accessed through PilotsUP).  

  1. Annual 2024-2025 Cybersecurity Training (Information Services) Required by the Federal Trade Commission via the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Employees are the University’s best defense or “shield” when it comes to cybersecurity, so employee completion of this training is critical. (Course completion time varies based on pre-test completion.)
  2. Annual Protection from Heat and Wildfire Smoke Safety Training 2024 (Environmental Health & Safety) This training is required by OSHA and will help teach how to recognize heat-related illness and dangers to keep each other safe during extreme weather events. (Estimated course time 15 minutes.)
  3. Annual Title IX Training – Fall 2024 (Office of Title IX) State law requires annual training in the area of Title IX and the University continues the important work to address concerns of sexual misconduct and violence and provide support as outlined in our existing Title IX policy. For more information about Title IX, please visit: https://up.edu/titleix (Estimated course time 45-50 minutes.)

As an incentive to kick off the yearly training campaign, employees who complete all three annual trainings by the deadline October 18, 2024, will be entered into a raffle to win one of ten $50 Amazon gift cards. Employees not actively working this Fall semester or who are taking an approved leave of absence are not eligible for the raffle and should complete trainings when they return to work. Employees do NOT need to email when the trainings are completed but are strongly encouraged to keep their own records of training completion dates. Gift card winners will be notified via UP email.  

HR Brown Bag Sessions (Sept. 24)

Human Resources will host a series of Brown Bag education sessions for information on hiring, benefits, and employment policies.

All sessions will be held in Franz Hall 120 from 12-1 p.m. 

  • Tuesday, September 24 – Hiring Manager Resources – Review the recruitment, hiring and onboarding practices for staff employees. Learn tips and ask questions on how to navigate People Admin as a Hiring Manager.
  • Tuesday, October 22 – Benefits/Open Enrollment – Refresher of University benefits to make sure you are taking advantage of all that is offered. Learn about Open Enrollment processes and important dates.
  • Tuesday, November 19 – Staff Handbook – Information session on updated policies and progress of the Staff Employee Handbook.

Registration is required, please RSVP.

Register for Sessions

Faculty and Staff Autumn Retreat (Oct. 6)

The Committee on Mission, Campus Ministry, the Office of the Provost, and Human Resources invite you to attend a day-long spiritual retreat for Faculty and Staff on Friday, October 6, 2023. The retreat will be held on campus. The goal of the retreat is to provide a time for spiritual reflection and renewal, to deepen faculty and staff connections to one another and to the University’s Catholic, Holy Cross mission and identity, and to invite staff and faculty to reflect on and embrace their vital contributions to our shared mission. 

Sign-up information can be found here: https://pilotsprevent.qualtrics.com

Please note that participation in the day-retreat will be considered a regular workday for staff, per supervisory approval.

Please contact Mission Committee chair Shannon Mayer at mayers@up.edu with any questions about schedule, participation, accommodations, etc. 

Free COVID-19 Testing Kits

The Office of Human Resources would like to share the ways in which you can obtain FREE COVID-19 testing kits. As the University will no longer be providing free kits once the remaining supply has been distributed, the following are resources available to you: 

  • Every household is eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. Click here for the US government website to order. 
  • Most health insurance companies will provide free test kits to their subscribers.  

Kaiser members can go here to order tests from Kaiser Permanente.  Members may also call 800-413-2000 to schedule a time to pick up free testing kits from a Kaiser Pharmacy (based on availability of supply).  

Employees who are not covered under the University’s health care should contact their insurance company for information about how to obtain home test kits from their insurance.  

If you are symptomatic or feeling ill, HR reminds you to please stay home, rest, wear a mask, test, and quarantine and/or isolate as appropriate. If you do test positive for COVID-19, please report here for contact tracing purposes.  

Both sick time and COVID time remain available to you, along with other resources and guidance found here.  

Please direct any questions you may have about COVID time, COVID protocols, or other related concerns to Human Resources at hr@up.edu.

Title IX Advisory Meeting, April 26, 11 a.m.

All members of the UP community are invited to join the Title IX Advisory Committee and attend our meetings on Mondays at 11 a.m. this spring. Title IX Advisory Committee Meetings for Spring will take place at the following times on Zoom (https://uportland.zoom.us/j/97562343235). Our remaining meeting takes place on Monday, April 26, at 11 a.m.

If you aren’t able to make the Monday morning meetings you can stay in the loop about meeting discussion topics by checking out the meeting minutes available on the Title IX website, https://www.up.edu/titleix/titleixupdates.html.

Regardless of your ability to attend the Monday morning meetings, you’re invited to join a subcommittee to work toward positive change. Subcommittees focus on a particular need identified for our community and work towards their goals and meet outside of the main Title IX Advisory Committee meeting.

  • Cultural Change and Education Committee
  • Student Advocacy Program Committee
  • Non-UP Confidential Resource Program Committee

Please email titleix@up.edu if you are interested in joining a subcommittee. Contact Sarah Meiser, human resources, at 8484 or meiser@up.edu for more information.

Flexible Spending Account Changes

University of Portland is happy to announce some unique opportunities for Flexible Spending Accounts benefits this year per the Consolidated Appropriations Act which allows temporary changes to Section 125 cafeteria plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

  • All Medical and Dependent Care FSA unused 2020 account balances will automatically rollover into 2021 accounts and will be amounts that are in addition to 2021 elections.
  • Employees can elect up to $10,500 per household for Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts for the 2021 calendar year.
  • We are allowing employees to submit new enrollments or change requests to 2021 FSA elections during the month of April to go into effect May 1, 2021.  If you wish to enroll in an FSA plan please complete and submit the 2021 Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Enrollment.
  • All out-of-pocket amounts paid by an individual taxpayer for COVID-19 PPE for use by the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s spouse, or the taxpayer’s dependents after January 1, 2020 are eligible to be reimbursed under health FSAs and HSAs.

If you have any questions please reach out to the HR benefits team at benefits@up.edu.