News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.
Mark the 1st ever Bark in the Park on your calendar as the Pilots take on Santa Clara on Sunday, April 28 at 3 p.m. You will not want to miss this night of great baseball, food, and dogs filling Joe Etzel Field!
For more information on Bark in the Park, visit PortlandPilots.com/Bark
The University of Portland has announced a RISE Campaign gift of $250,000 from Larree M. Renda, an executive with Safeway Inc., based in Pleasanton, Calif., and a member of the University’s board of regents. The gift will help finance improvements of Joe Etzel Field, formerly Pilot Stadium, which was completed prior to the 1988 baseball season. The stadium was renamed in the summer of 2004 in honor of former Pilots athletic director and long-time head baseball coach Joe Etzel.
The first phase of the baseball stadium upgrades include installing artificial turf, in place of the natural grass field, stadium lights and outfield/perimeter fencing, according to athletic director Scott Leykam. Fundraising is continuing with the goal of completing the first phase immediately after the conclusion of the 2014 baseball season. Following the initial renovations, a second phase is being developed which will include new grandstands, improved concession and ticketing facilities and coaches offices.
As executive vice president for Safeway, Renda is responsible for all retail strategies and a broad range of administrative functions for one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America. She began her Safeway career in 1974 at the age of 16. She progressed through Safeway’s retail ranks and earned the distinction of being the youngest store manager, district manager and retail operations manager in Safeway’s 86-year history. She was the first woman and youngest person promoted to senior vice president in 1994, and become Safeway’s first female executive vice president in 1999. Her son, Tommy Renda, graduated from the University in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in finance and earned an MBA at UP in 2013.
For more information contact the development office at 7395, or go to the RISE Campaign website at http://rise.up.edu.
Make plans to come out to Joe Etzel Field today
, Monday May 6, to catch a few (or all nine) innings of baseball as the Pilots return home to take on Washington State University at 3 p.m. The Pilots will then travel to Salem on Wednesday, May 8 to take on Oregon State at Volcanoes Stadium at 5:30 p.m. That’s an easy day trip so show your support for our Pilots on the road. For more information visit PortlandPilots.com or call Jon Brooks at 7431.
Military Appreciation Games: Pilot baseball and the Oregon National Guard will celebrate all who serve our country with their Military Appreciation games. The Pilots take on Loyola Marymount in a three-game series starting on Friday, April 26 at 3 p.m. and continuing on Saturday and Sunday with 1 p.m. games. All active and retired military staff can receive free admission to the games.The Pilots women’s soccer team is scheduled to play host to the Portland Thorns FC on Saturday, March 30 at 7 p.m., for an exhibition match on Merlo Field. The match is a free event and is open to the public with a suggested donation at the door to benefit the Providence Health and Vascular Institute’s Play Smart Young Heart Screening Program. For more information, please visit www.portlandpilots.com.
The Pilots baseball team is set for a 3-game series with Santa Clara starting on Thursday with a scheduled double-header beginning at 11 a.m. The final game of the series will be played on Saturday at 1 p.m. Tickets are still available for all games and can be purchased at the Pilots Box Office or by calling 7525.