The University of Portland’s Portland magazine has won a national Silver Award from CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) in its annual Circle of Excellence awards. Portland won second place in the “Magazines, Alumni/General Interest 3x Per Year category.
In announcing the award, CASE’s statement about Portland reads: “After Portland magazine’s two-year hiatus following the death of beloved, longstanding editor Brian Doyle, editor Jessica Murphy Moo put the wheels in motion again with new designer Darsey Landoe (using partial redesigns from Zehno). They had an audience eager to receive Portland again, and expectations were high in terms of both content and design. Portland magazine has a strong and unique brand; it is more literary and heartfelt than many alumni magazines. The brand was also very much attached to the previous editor. So the team needed to figure out how to continue to give the audience what they wanted—authentic, deeply human stories—with a new editor at the helm. This first year of the redesigned magazine offers great stories—a balance of personal essay and reporting. A New York Times writer described his work with the Compton Cowboys, and the founder of a nonprofit named Girls Build told a personal story about her work to encourage girls to consider careers in the trades. The editor wrote about an archeological dig in Mallorca, Spain, and an alumnus wrote about his summer answering phones at the White House. The tradition of spiritual writing continues as well. The elements of the Portland magazine tradition are there. In the first year of the redesigned magazine, the team delivered the authentic, deeply human storytelling our readers wanted and expected.”
Please congratulate Jessica Murphy Moo for her outstanding vision and leadership in continuing Portland magazine’s reign as one of the top university magazines in the U.S. and beyond.
The Garaventa Center cordially invites all faculty and staff to a special edition of Thirst Friday on April 26, from 4-6 p.m., in Franz Hall room 330. With live jazz from 4-5, a 5 p.m. toast to Jessica Murphy Moo and the re-launch of Portland Magazine, and an “Only in Portland” tasting menu, this is a Thirst Friday not to be missed! It’s the last one for this academic year, so bring along a colleague or two and (weather permitting!) enjoy our beautiful patio along with tasty treats, assorted libations and great conversation. For more information contact Karen Eifler at 
Jessica Murphy Moo has been appointed editor of Portland magazine, the award-winning publication of the University of Portland. A writer, editor, and teacher, Murphy Moo comes to UP from Seattle, where she has been senior communications manager for the Seattle Opera, as well as an adjunct instructor teaching nonfiction writing for the University of Washington’s Professional and Continuing Education program. She was formerly a staff editor at The Atlantic and fiction editor at Memorious, an online literary magazine.