Salvador Orara

Innovation Minor Accepting Applications Now

October 30, 2020

The Innovation Minor is accepting applications from first and second year students across all majors and disciplines to join the Spring 21 cohort. At no additional cost or tuition fees, students who apply will have the opportunity to experience four unique courses and develop the mindset of creativity and empathy in the collaborative transformation of ideas into meaning and value. Click here to watch our Fall 2020 promotion presentation.

For questions, contact Salvador Orara at innovation@up.edu or learn more by using this link.

New Innovation Minor Director Announced: Salvador Orara

June 28, 2019

The University’s new campus-wide minor in innovation will be led by Salvador Orara, who will be hired as a Franz Center professor of practice and housed in the Shiley School of Engineering, according Shiley School dean Sharon Jones. Orara has a BFA in graphic design and a MFA in media design. His experience includes numerous UX (user experience design) roles including Jaguar Land Rover. He also has considerable teaching experience, most recently with Pacific Northwest College of Art. He is currently the AIGA Portland Chapter president (the professional association for design). Orara will begin in his new position on Thursday, August 15.

Orara’s new position is part of UP’s push to increase cross-disciplinary learning. Matthew Kuhn, incoming interim dean, says “Sal will add a new aspect to our students’ learning, by building upon their expertise and developing an interdisciplinary innovation mindset to solving complex problems that involve the human and societal dimensions.”

The new innovation minor will be offered campus wide and will be housed in the Shiley School of Engineering. Classes offered through the innovation minor include “Introduction to Design and Innovation,” “Sketching and Prototyping,” and “Empathy, Observational Research and Human-Centered Design.”

For more information contact the Shiley School at x7292 or engineering@up.edu.

An American Dream—an opera by librettist/Portland Magazine editor, Jessica Murphy Moo, and composer Jack Perla—was produced by OperaLab Japan in Tokyo (November 2024) and Manhattan School of Music (December 2024).

Larry Larsen, Performing and Fine Arts, designed the scenery for this year’s production of Nordic Fire for the Portland Revels that is playing at the Alberta Abbey from December 13 through December 22. He also is designing the lighting for Lakewood Theatre Company’s production of The Maltese Falcon based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, which plays at the Lakewood Center in Lake Oswego from January 3 through February 9.

Lizhong Hao, Business, presented “The Impact of Auditor and Client Bargaining Power on Audit Pricing: A Two-Tier Stochastic Frontier Approach.” The 2024 Corporate Behavior and New Development of Financial Markets International Conference. Chongqing, China. November, 2024.

Simon Aihiokhai, Theology, was a discussant and participant at the International Congress on the Future of Theology ‘Legacy and Envisioning.’ Organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education. Vatican City. December 9–10, 2024. Aihiokhai was also a discussant and participant at the General Assembly of the International Network of Societies for Catholic Theology (INSeCT). Rome, Italy. December 8 – 13, 2024.

Dave Houglum, Director of Leadership Studies and Leadership Professor of Practice, Franz Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, completed the training requirements to be certified in the DiSC assessment on December 19, 2024. The DiSC assessment is a powerful tool that helps individuals and teams improve communication, collaboration, and workplace dynamics by providing insights into behavioral and communication styles. If you’d like to explore using the DiSC assessment for your individual or team’s leadership development, please contact Dave Houglum.

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