UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Rebecca Seibert

Celebrating QTBIPOC (LGBTQIA and/or BIPOC) Seniors, May 5: Sign Up Now!

Diversity and inclusion programs (DIP) would appreciate your support as we celebrate seniors who identify as QTBIPOC (LGBTQIA+ and/or BIPOC) on Wednesday, May 5, from 6:00 to 7 p.m.

Soon it will be possible to RSVP on Engage, and in the meantime please help us spread the word by sharing the form below with classes and student networks. We are using this form so we can feature seniors’ accomplishments and time at UP. We’re gathering graduating students, as well as staff and faculty to celebrate our accomplishments over our time at UP. The deadline to submit responses is Monday, April 19.

Here is the link to the form: QTBIPOC Graduation Celebration.

We recognize that there may be some concerns as to why DIP is not hosting individualized graduation ceremonies for different identities on our campus. We know that QTBIPOC experiences are not the same for everyone, and while we one day hope to host graduation celebrations for all affinity groups, we do want to highlight the intersectionality of identities on our campus. We also want to recognize the collective power many graduating seniors and other students and supporters used to fight for change amidst the Black Lives Matter movement over this past year. We also recognize that some communities have larger numbers than others, and some more individualized celebrations would be very small. The last issue is DIP’s capacity and numbers; we simply do not have the numbers in our staff to host multiple graduation ceremonies. However, we hope to one day celebrate everyone’s accomplishments with separate ceremonies.

For more information reach out to Rebecca Seibert at seibert@up.edu or Yuri at hernandy@up.edu.

Spring 2021 Community Conversations: You’re Invited

Staff and faculty are invited to come together across departments and discuss anti-racist texts in small groups. This spring our conversations will focus on the ReadUP selection, How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, and episodes of the University of Portland’s Black Student Union original podcast, Black on the Bluff. For further information and to register, visit the site.

For more information contact Rebecca Seibert, international education, diversity, and inclusion, at seibert@up.edu.

New Resources On Inclusion Page: International Education, Diversity, and Inclusion

The University’s inclusion page now has two new resource pages: a one-stop shop for prospective and current undocumented students, as well as a page serving our LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff.  A special thank you to the students and staff whose hard work made these pages possible. We look forward to your feedback and to working with all of our campus partners to build upon and highlight the resources available to our Pilots. Explore the pages using this link.

For more information contact Rebecca Seibert, international education, diversity, and inclusion, at x7838 or seibert@up.edu.

International Education Week: Nov. 16-20

The U.S. State Department’s International Education Week (IEW) is November 16-20 and will be hosted by the University of Portland International Club, according to Rebecca Seibert, international education, diversity, and inclusion.

The slogan for this year’s International Education Week is “Alone Together.” We want to emphasize that even though we cannot be together in person, we are still all here for each other. Participants will be able to connect with others through these events and celebrate and learn about various cultures around the world, an essential step as we work to advocate for the BIPOC community and for diversity. We hope that you will enjoy our educational and recreational cultural events. 

Please use this link to view and join the week’s activities.

A Reminder: Community Conversations on Oct. 29

The international education, diversity, and inclusion office would like to remind faculty and staff to RSVP as soon as possible for their upcoming Community Conversations on October 29. Attendees will again engage in meaningful peer-to-peer conversations about race. Read either How to be an antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi or Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper. Details are available here by using this link.

Questions? Contact Rebecca Seibert, international education, diversity, and inclusion, at seibert@up.edu.

International Education, Diversity & Inclusion Workshops, Trainings

The Office of International Education, Diversity, and Inclusion (with diversity and inclusion programs) will offer free DEI workshops and trainings for students (Racial Healing, Identity/Bias, LGBTQIA+ inclusivity, etc.) this semester. To sign up and see what will be offered please use this link. While many of the workshops are currently open only to QTBIPOC student leaders and student workers, any QTBIPOC student is invited to attend Resiliency and Restoration: Collectively Healing from Our Racialized Experiences and can RSVP via Engage.

For more information contact Rebecca Seibert, International Education, Diversity, and Inclusion, at x7838 or seibert@up.edu.