Opus Prize

Opus Prize Week Events Open to All

November 9, 2018

All faculty, staff, students, and guests are welcome to take part in activities planned for this week in celebration of the 2018 Opus Prize, one of the world’s largest faith-based awards for social entrepreneurship. Each year the Opus Prize Foundation selects one Catholic university to help nominate, select, and celebrate three faith-based unsung heroes who are using innovative strategies to address some of the great social challenges of our time. The University of Portland is honored to have been chosen as this year’s host institution.

Here is a link to learn more about UP’s story with the 2018 Opus Prize. One of the three finalists will be announced as the recipient of a $1 million prize, and the other two finalists will receive $100,000 awards, at the Opus Prize Awards Ceremony on Thursday, November 15, on the UP campus.

Please consider joining our community to meet, celebrate, and be inspired by these remarkable individuals and organizations from Chennai, India; Lima, Peru; and Chicago, Illinois. These opportunities to meet the finalists for the 2018 Opus Prize are free to attend and guests are welcome.

Monday, November 12: Conversations with the 2018 Opus Prize Finalists, 7:15 p.m., Buckley Center Auditorium. Be inspired hearing stories and meeting the three finalists for the 2018 Opus Prize. These faith-based, unsung heroes are successfully using innovative solutions to address and challenge persisting, social problems in their communities. Panel conversation will be moderated by Portland magazine editor Jessica Murphy Moo.
Tuesday, November 13: Lunch with the Opus Prize Finalists, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the Bauccio Commons President’s Board Room. The lunch will include casual conversations over a buffet meal with the three Opus Prize Finalists and their delegations. Faculty and staff are encouraged to meet these inspirational humanitarians who have devoted their lives to service. To attend the lunch, please RSVP and register at this link.
Wednesday, November 14: Interfaith Prayer Service: Celebrating the 2018 Opus Prize, 5 p.m., Chapel of Christ the Teacher. Join the finalists for the 2018 Opus Prize and our UP community for a prayerful reflection to celebrate the sacred foundations that prompt us to pursue lives of service.
Thursday, November 15: 2018 Opus Prize Awards Ceremony, 7:30 p.m., Chiles Center. Don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate the announcement of the $1.2 million Opus Prize awards. Join the campus and community to honor the remarkable Opus Prize finalists who were selected from a pool of global nominees. Be present when the $1 million 2018 Opus Prize laureate is revealed.

For questions, please contact x7596 or opusprize@up.edu.

Lunch with the Opus Prize Finalists, Nov. 13: You’re Invited

October 19, 2018

In partnership with the MBA Nonprofit Management Program, all faculty and staff are invited to “Lunch with the Opus Prize Finalists” on Tuesday, November 13, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the Bauccio Commons President’s Board Room. The lunch will include casual conversations over a buffet meal with the three Opus Prize Finalists and their delegations. Faculty and staff are encouraged to meet these inspirational humanitarians who have devoted their lives to service.

To attend the lunch, please RSVP and register at this link.

The Opus Prize is one of the world’s largest faith-based awards for social entrepreneurship. Each year the Opus Prize Foundation selects one Catholic university to help nominate, select, and celebrate three faith-based unsung heroes who are using innovative strategies to address some of the great social challenges of our time.

Please consider joining our community to meet, celebrate, and be inspired by these remarkable individuals and organizations from Chennai, India; Lima, Peru; and Chicago, Illinois.\

For more information contact Dan McGinty, Dundon-Berchtold Institute, at x7596.

Finalists for $1 Million Opus Prize Announced

July 20, 2018

The three finalists for the 2018 Opus Prize, a $1 million award which recognizes individuals or organizations who address critical social issues within their communities, were announced on Monday, July 16, by the Opus Prize Foundation and the University of Portland. Hailing from Chennai, India; Lima, Peru; and Chicago, Illinois, the three finalists will be in Portland in November 12-15, 2018 for a week-long celebration culminating in the presentation of the $1 million award and two $100,000 prizes.

Spanning three continents, the finalists include:

Agape Rehabilitation Centre in Chennai, India, in honor of founders Daniel and Avitha Victor: Agape was founded and is managed by Daniel and Avitha Victor, who have spent their entire lives serving disabled teens and adults – a community of people who are often discarded in the Indian culture.
Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) in Chicago, in honor of its founder Dr. Rami Nashashibi: Operating in a U.S. city plagued by unrelenting gun violence, IMAN has spent nearly two decades methodically implementing grass roots programs serving the most vulnerable families living in Chicago’s south side. IMAN manages programs that address health, leadership development, arts and culture, transitional housing, food access and advocacy around poverty and prison reform.
Yancana Huasy in Lima Peru, in honor of José Antonio Patrón Quispe and Rev. Daniel Panchot, C.S.C.: Founded by Fr. Daniel Panchot, C.S.C., and led today by José Antonio Patrón Quispe, Yancana Huasy works to integrate children and families with special needs into public schools, faith communities and neighborhoods. They are primary advocates in ensuring that the disabled have access to public transportation and handicapped accessibility in public buildings.

Learn more about the finalists at https://www.up.edu/opusprize/.

The University will host all three finalists for a week-long celebration in Portland this November 12-16. During the 2018 Opus Prize Week, the finalists will be on the UP campus to visit classrooms and engage in conversation with the University community and the greater Portland community. Several opportunities to meet the Opus Prize finalists are free and open to the public, including the Opus Prize Ceremony on Thursday, November 15, when the $1 million award and two $100,000 prizes will be announced.

The Opus Prize Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sponsors the Opus Prize, an annual, faith-based humanitarian award recognizing individuals internationally and domestically who are addressing persistent and pressing social problems within their communities. Each year, the Opus Prize Foundation chooses a Catholic university to serve as its partner in selecting the Opus Prize laureates and finalists. As the 2018 Opus Prize partner, the University of Portland collected nominations and formed a jury comprising community and faith leaders who selected the three finalists. Teams of UP students, faculty members, and Opus Prize officials then traveled to the finalists’ communities to view the organizations in person before the three finalists were announced.

University of Portland Selected to Host $1 Million Opus Prize

May 19, 2017

The University of Portland has been selected to host the 2018 Opus Prize, a $1 million annual award which recognizes individuals or organizations who address critical social issues within their communities.

The Opus Prize Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sponsors the Opus Prize, an annual, faith-based humanitarian award recognizing individuals internationally and domestically who are addressing persistent and pressing social problems within their communities. Each year, the Opus Prize Foundation chooses a Catholic university to serve as its partner in selecting the Opus Prize laureates and finalists. The award is one of the world’s largest faith-based awards for social entrepreneurship, composed of one $1 million award and two $100,000 prizes.

The 2018 Opus Prize will consist of a year-long partnership with the University of Portland, providing unique opportunities for engagement that aim to inspire students, faculty and staff, and the greater Portland community. These partnerships are mutually beneficial, celebrating the work of faith-based social entrepreneurs around the world while inspiring the next generation of leaders to pursue lives of service.

The process will begin in Fall 2017, when the University will carry out an internal nomination process for the 2018 Opus Prize. UP alumni and friends locally and around the world will be asked to study the impact of unsung heroes in their communities and consider nominating them for the Opus Prize.

In January 2018, UP will convene an Opus Prize jury comprised of greater Portland faith and business leaders, innovators, and social entrepreneurs. The jury will consider the candidacy of each nominee and determine three finalists for the award.

During Spring 2018, the three finalists will be evaluated in the field by members of the Opus Prize Foundation, along with a delegation of UP students, faculty, and staff. These due diligence expeditions offer unique opportunities for members of the campus community to witness the powerful work of these agents for social change in action.

After the spring expeditions, the University will reciprocate by hosting all three finalists for a week-long celebration in Portland in November 2018. During the 2018 Opus Prize Week, the three finalists will be on the UP campus to visit classrooms and engage in conversation with the University community and the greater Portland community. This week will culminate in the Opus Prize Ceremony, when the $1 million award and two $100,000 prizes will be announced.

For more information about the Opus Prize, please visit www.opusprize.org. For additional information about the University of Portland’s partnership with the Opus Prize Foundation, please contact Dan McGinty, director of the Dundon-Berchtold Institute for Moral Formation and Applied Ethics, at x7596 or at mcgintyd@up.edu.