UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

John Orr

Please Help T.I.P. Program

Orr copyAs the semester draws to a close, faculty are asked to take a moment to reflect on freshmen and sophomores who might be strong candidates for University-endorsed awards, such as Fulbright grants. The Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement’s Talent Identification Program (T.I.P.) uses faculty to help identify high achieving students early in their careers, marking them as potential candidates for various fellowships, grants, and scholarships. Once identified, the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement will meet and work with students to identify goals for their upcoming years, identify potential scholarship opportunities, and assist in applying for appropriate awards. Submit recommendations at this link.

For more information visit www.up.edu/fellowships or contact Michele Leasor at 7857 or scholars@up.edu.

Please Load Scholarly Activity Data To Portal

University of Portland, upFaculty members are reminded to load their scholarly activity on the portal in PilotsUP. Data obtained through the portal will be used to populate A Community of Scholars, published by the provost’s office. That data will also be used for the Clark Library’s annual celebration of UP authors. Faculty members will send the data to their respective deans as a part of annual self-evaluation, and they can also use it to develop their personal curriculum vitae.

For any questions about uses of the portal, please contact John Orr (orr@up.edu); for questions about how to use the tool, please contact Michele Leasor (leasor@up.edu).

Orr, McRee Receive Fulbright Grants To Teach Overseas

orrmcreeTwo University of Portland professors have received prestigious Fulbright grants to teach overseas, according to the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. English professor John Orr will teach in China at a location to be determined, and sociology professor Nick McRee will lecture at Hitotsubashi University and Tsuda College in Japan. Orr and McRee will be two of approximately 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in 2015-2016. The program is administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, a division of the Institute of International Education.

Orr has taught at the University since 1993, serving as chair of the English department from 1998 to 2005. He was associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 2007 to 2008, and is now assistant provost in the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement. Orr will teach American Literature in his role as a Fulbright Scholar.

McRee joined the UP faculty in 1999. Before that he worked as a research analyst for the Oregon Department of Corrections. His teaching interests include criminology, juvenile delinquency, stratification, and political sociology. McRee will teach undergraduate and graduate-level courses in criminology and the American criminal justice system in his capacity as a Fulbright Scholar.

Since 1996, fifteen Faculty Fulbrights have been awarded to UP professors, including business professor Arjun Chatrath in 2005, English professor John McDonald, education professor Blaine Ackley, and business professors Richard Gritta and Mark Meckler in 2007, biology professor Katie O’Reilly in 2012, and English professors Lars Erik Larson and Molly Hiro in 2014. The Fulbright Program is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries, and operates in over 155 countries worldwide. Since its establishment in 1946 by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given over 318,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, scientists and other professionals the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright or contact Elaine Clayton at 202-632-6445 or e-mail ECA-Press@state.gov.

Scholarly Activity Portal Always Ready For Faculty Input

books-20747367-copyThe scholarly activity portal is always ready for faculty input on PilotsUP under the “Academics” tab. Faculty members are encouraged to update their scholarly activity as it occurs; the portal offers a one-stop opportunity to update recent activity.  The data obtained via the portal are used to populate A Community of Scholars, published annually by the provost’s office. That data are also used for the Clark Library’s annual celebration of UP authors.

Faculty members will download the report for their school and send the PDF copy of the report to their respective deans as a part of the annual self-evaluation, and they can also use the data entered to develop their personal curriculum vitae.

For any questions about uses of the portal, please contact John Orr (orr@up.edu); for questions about how to use the tool, please contact Michele Leasor (leasor@up.edu).

Six UP Students Awarded Fulbright Grants

Orr copySix University of Portland students have been awarded prestigious Fulbright grants to work and study abroad. Four of the Fulbrights are for English teaching positions in Germany, one is for an English teaching position in Turkey, and the other is for an English teaching position in Mexico.

Recipients of the German teaching grants are Megan Lester, an English and German studies double-major from Veradale, Wash.; Erin Petersen, an organizational communication and German studies double-major from Sioux Falls, S.D.; Mikayla Posey, a communication and German studies double-major from Kingman, Ariz.; and Michelle Wilcox, a history and German studies double-major from Folsom, Calif. The recipient of the Turkish teaching grant is Rebecca Parks, an English major from Pittsburgh, Pa., and the recipient of the Mexican teaching grant is Megan Fitzgerald, an elementary education major from Hillsboro, Ore.

The University was ranked first nationally among its peers for Fulbright recipients in 2012-13, 2011-12, 2010-11 and 2007-08, and second nationally in 2009-10, 2008-09 and 2006-07. Since 2001, 54 students from University of Portland have earned Fulbright grants.

The United States Fulbright program began in 1946 after World War II to “assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic and peaceful relations between the United States and other countries of the world” through the exchange of students, scholars and professionals. The program operates in more than 140 countries worldwide.

For more information contact John Orr, assistant to the provost, at 7286 or orr@up.edu.

Rhodes and Marshall Scholarship Candidates Wanted

smart studentsFaculty members are encouraged to send the names of academically and experientially exceptional, ambitious rising seniors who would benefit from attending graduate school at Cambridge, Oxford, or one of the other premier United Kingdom institutions to the fellowships and grants office, according to John Orr, assistant to the provost. Students applying for these awards must have a University endorsement and formally express their intent to apply by early April. Students will be contacted and given assistance in starting the application process, will participate in campus interviews in late April, and will continue to receive support over the summer so their files can be finalized at the start of the fall semester. For more information or to pass along names, send an e-mail to scholars@up.edu or call 7857.

For more information use these links:

Travel Grants Available Now

Orr copyThe Provost’s Initiative for Undergraduate Research offers a limited number of small grants to help offset the cost of attending the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, to be held from April 16-18 at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Wash., according to John Orr, assistant provost. For more information or for access to the grant application, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement at ur@up.edu.

Learn More About Faculty/Student Research

University of PortlandFaculty who are interested in learning more about conducting research with their students can take advantage of upcoming Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement brown bag lunches, according to John Orr. Winners of this year’s Provost’s Initiative for Undergraduate Research as well as past veterans of faculty/student research collaboration will be meeting to talk about problems, solutions, joys, and trials of collaborative research with students.

Lunch dates are Friday, January 30; Friday, February 20; Friday, March 27, and Friday, April 24. All will be held in the Bauccio Commons Teske Room from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Please bring your own lunch.

For more information contact ur@up.edu.

University Museum World War I Display

US Army WWIAll are welcome to view the second of a two-part series commemorating the beginning of World War I in 1914 with memorabilia from the collections of Steve Mayer, John Orr, and Laurie McLary, and materials from the University museum and archives. The display case is located across from the Shepard Freshman Resource Center on the first floor of Buckley Center. For more information contact Orr at 7283 or orr@up.edu; McLary at 7255 or mclary@up.edu; or Carolyn Connolly, museum coordinator, at 8038 or piatz@up.edu.

Honors Mentors Needed

Orr-copyFaculty members are invited to serve as honors program mentors, according to honors program director John Orr, assistant to the provost. Faculty mentors assist with selecting the incoming honors class and are assigned two incoming honors student mentees and are encouraged to meet with them on a regular basis during their first two years at the University. Those who would like to learn more about being a mentor starting next fall are asked to contact Orr at 7286 or orr@up.edu.