UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Thomas Greene

Farewell Birthday Brain Teaser for Provost Emeritus Tom Greene

University of Portland provost emeritus Tom Greene officially retired on June 30, and as a token of his esteem, Aziz Inan, Shiley School of Engineering, put together the following farewell birthday trivia brain teaser to thank him for his leadership and friendship:

  1. Multiply the left and right halves of Tom’s birth year Y1Y2Y3Y4 to obtain the number X. Then, look up the Xth prime number. Next, subtract the Xth prime number from the reverse of Tom’s birth year, namely Y4Y3Y2Y1 and read the result backwards. Surprise!
  2. Further, if Tom’s full birthday M1M2/D1D2/ Y1Y2Y3Y4 is split into M1M2, D1D2, Y1Y2, and Y3Y4, interestingly, half of the sum of M1M2 and D1D2 yields Y1Y2, and twice the difference of M1M2 and D1D2 results in Y3Y4.
  3. Tom’s birthday this year (2020) is numerically special: double the sum of the squares of the month and day numbers of his birthday. What comes out?
  4. The reverse of the difference of the squares of the digits of Tom’s new age this year equals the sum of the letter numbers of his last name, Greene.
  5. Tom’s 75th birthday will be special since the reverse of 75, namely 57, equals the sum of the letter numbers of his middle name, George.
  6. Tom’s 76th birthday will also be special since 76 equals the sum of the letter numbers of Thomas. Additionally, the rightmost two digits of that year equals the difference of the month and day numbers of his birthday.
  7. Tom’s 83rd birthday will be special too since 83 equals the sum of the reverses of the month and day numbers of his birthday, namely (M2M1 + D2D1).
  8. Tom’s 89th birthday will be a five-digit palindrome date. Also, 89 is the 24th prime number (see item # 6).
  9. His 90th birthday will be special too since Y3Y4 = M1M2 + D1D2.
  10. Tom’s 100th birthday expressed as M1M2/D1D2/ Y1Y2Y3Y4 has a special property: Y1Y2Y3Y4 = 2(M1+M2+D1+D2).
  11. Tom’s 153rd birthday in the year Y1Y2Y3Y4 will also be special: Y1Y2Y3Y4 = M1M2D1D2 + D2D1M2M1. Moreover, count the number of days left in the year after Tom’s birthday.
  12. Tom’s 189th birthday will be a seven-digit palindrome date.
  13. Lastly, Tom’s 508th birthday contains every whole number from 0 to 7, each appearing once.

For more information or to commission your own brain teaser, contact Inan at ainan@up.edu.

 

 

 

A Message to the UP Community: Following Up On Town Hall, Committing to Action

The following message was sent via email to the University community on Friday, June 12:

Dear Members of the University of Portland Community,

We hope that this email finds you and your loved ones safe and well.

As UP’s leaders, we write to you today in follow-up to our message of Monday, June 1. In the weeks that have followed the death of George Floyd on a street in Minneapolis, we have listened to the voices of many who have shared their experiences of pain, trauma, and discrimination. We have listened to the voices of people who boldly proclaim that Black Lives Matter amidst a stream of structures and systems that emphatically signal to them that they do not. We have listened to the voices of people in our own UP community – especially the voices of African Americans and other people of color – as they have shared their dismay, anguish, and exhaustion with a lived experience in which their God-given human dignity is denied. We have heard these voices.

Let there be no doubt about where we stand as a Catholic, Holy Cross institution. At the University of Portland, we affirm that Black Lives Matter, we stand in solidarity with our Black community members, and we commit ourselves to the cause of anti-racism. To do anything less would be to shirk our responsibilities and betray our calling as people of faith.

Many in our community rightly demand action. As an institution of higher education, we wield some of the most powerful tools in the fight against racism, discrimination, and bigotry. We believe with deep conviction that true, lasting change comes from teaching, research, service, and formation – endeavors at which UP excels. We also believe with deep conviction that such true, lasting change cannot merely be “top down.” Indeed, it is incumbent upon each one of us, whether we are an administrative leader, a faculty member, a staff member, or a student, to examine our positionality, consider our privilege, take stock of our talents, and leverage them to bring about a more just, peaceful, and compassionate world.

Members of our community rightly ask, “what can we do?” At an institutional level, we invite you to explore this PilotsUP website and the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion website which provide useful resources and address many of the steps that UP has taken, and continues to take, to combat systemic racism. We list representative examples of ongoing initiatives and announce some new initiatives here:

  • We will redouble our efforts to establish a major and minor in Ethnic Studies within three to five years and will resume our national search for an Ethnic Studies faculty member.
  • We will implement training modules on issues of institutional racism and implicit bias that will be mandatory for all students, faculty, and staff.
  • We will strengthen efforts to recruit and retain faculty, staff, and students from underrepresented groups. Such efforts will include the continued implementation of industry best practices when it comes to faculty search committees, outreach to high schools and organizations that serve prospective students from underrepresented backgrounds, and enhancements to on-campus services that promote the well-being and success of community members of color.
  • We will further empower the President’s Advisory Commission on Inclusion to collaborate with the Office of International Education, Diversity, and Inclusion on initiatives, programming, and events that will center the voices and lived experiences of people of color, and support such efforts with increased funding.
  • We will implement the University’s revitalized Core Curriculum beginning in 2021. This new curriculum features two “habits of heart and mind,” Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, and the Common Good and Global and Historical Consciousness, that have a clear nexus to issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and cross-cultural understanding. We commit to issuing additional grants for innovative course development within these habits.
  • We will place renewed focus on scholarship programs that widen access to UP among underrepresented groups, such as the Davis Scholars, SHE-CAN, and the various scholarships established by UP community members.
  • We will use the coming year’s ReadUP program as a platform for all students, faculty, and staff to read and discuss a literary work that addresses issues of racism.
  • We will continue to invest in and promote existing University organizations that promote inter-cultural awareness, engagement, and empathy, such as the Collaborative for International Studies & Global Outreach (CISGO).
  • We commit to strengthening the University’s relationships with community organizations at the vanguard of advocacy for historically marginalized populations, such as the NAACP, Urban League, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
  • We will continue to sponsor signature events that present our community with the chance to engage deeply in issues of racism, inclusion, and cultural humility, such as MLK Day ON, Faculty Development Day, and Staff Development Day.
While these efforts will help us to live out our ideals, we acknowledge that they won’t, in and of themselves, be sufficient. Your perspectives, insights, and recommendations as UP community members are valued and appreciated. Please direct them to the Office of International Education, Diversity, and Inclusion at oiedi@up.edu.
Healing the wounds of our broken world won’t happen overnight. However, with intentionality and full community buy-in, UP can live more deeply into its aspiration of being a beacon of hope from The Bluff. We thank you in advance for your contributions as individuals and as members of the UP community to these efforts.
Sincerely,
Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C., Ph.D., President
Thomas G. Greene, Ed.D., Provost
Herbert A. Medina, Ph.D., Incoming Provost
Eduardo R. Contreras, Ed.D., Assistant Provost for International Education, Diversity, and Inclusion

 

New Shiley School of Engineering Dean: Brian Fabien

Following a comprehensive search, the University of Portland has named Dr. Brian Fabien as the new dean of the Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering, effective July 1. Fabien joins UP from the University of Washington in Seattle, where he was most recently associate dean of academic affairs for the College of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering.
“I am thrilled that Brian will be joining the University of Portland,” said Fr. Poorman.  “His sharp intellect, extraordinary leadership acumen, and steadfast commitment to UP’s Catholic and Holy Cross missions will not only benefit the Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering, but indeed our entire University community.”

Fabien is now the permanent successor to former engineering dean Sharon Jones, who left UP in June 2019 for the University of Washington’s Bothell campus. Matthew Kuhn has served as interim dean at the Shiley School for the past nine months.

“I am delighted and honored to be a member of the University of Portland community,” said Dr. Fabien. “It’s clear to me that everyone at UP is committed to educating the whole student, not just the mind and the hands, but also the heart.”

Fabien holds a Ph.D., master of philosophy, and master of science degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University in New York; and a bachelor of engineering with honors degree from the City College of New York. Prior to his arrival in the University of Washington system in 1993, Fabien held prior professorships at the University of the West Indies and Ohio University. A corporate career in engineering preceded academia, highlighted by his role as the lead mechanical engineer overseeing the guidance sensors for the famed Hubble Space Telescope. Other industry posts include Xerox Corporation, PerkinElmer, and Textron, Inc. (Lycoming Engines Division).

For more information contact the provost’s office at x7105 or staten@up.edu.

 

2020 Retiring Faculty Ceremony, April 15

The following faculty members have announced their retirement at the conclusion of the spring 2020 semester, according to Kathleen Staten, provost’s office:

  • Robert J. Albright, Professor of Electrical Engineering, 50 years
  • Robin D. Anderson, Dean of the Pamplin School of Business and Franz Endowed Professor of Entrepreneurship, 22 years.
  • James B. Carroll, Professor of Education, 27 years
  • Frances Simmons, Instructor, School Nursing, 31 years
  • Thomas G. Greene, Provost and Professor of Education, 37 years

A ceremony and reception for all 2020 retirees will take place on Wednesday, April 15, at 3:30 p.m., in the Bauccio Commons board room. For more information contact Staten at x7105 or staten@up.edu.

2020 Difference Award Winners Announced

The athletic department would like to acknowledge this year’s winners of the Difference Award. Each year, student-athletes nominate a professor on campus who they felt made a difference in their University of Portland experience. The definition is left intentionally vague, allowing students to reflect on the many ways a professor may have made a difference to them. This year, four people were selected as winners:

  • Stephanie Salomone
  • Martin Monto
  • Montana Hisel-Cochran
  • Thomas Greene

These four will be honored at a UP Men’s basketball game on Thursday, February 20, at 6 p.m., at the Chiles Center. Please come out and enjoy the game and congratulate our winners for their support of all of our students on campus, including our student-athletes.

2019 Spirit of Holy Cross Awardee: Thomas Greene

The Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers, will award the Spirit of Holy Cross Award to retiring University of Portland provost Thomas Greene. Greene is among the five 2019 recipients announced by the Congregation’s United States Province Office. Greene, who has served UP as an instructor, administrator, professor, and leader for more than 35 years, recently announced his plans to retire at the end of the current 2019-2020 academic year.

The award is given annually to lay collaborators who faithfully serve the Province in the United States and abroad. The Spirit of Holy Cross Award acknowledges the critical importance lay collaborators play in living out the vision and mission of Holy Cross founder Blessed Basil Moreau to make God known, loved, and served through education, parish and mission settings.

For more information contact the Holy Cross office at x8203 or colee@up.edu.

An Open Invitation

PoormanLargeUniversity president-elect Rev. Mark Poorman, C.S.C., invites the University community to nominate candidates for the University’s annual presentation of honorary doctorates. Such men and women have in a remarkable way encapsulated the University’s dedication to teaching and learning, faith and formation, and service and leadership in the classroom, residence halls, and the world, and are notable in their professions and/or communities for dedication, commitment, creativity, service, and the manner in which they have turned their talents to the common good.

Nominations should be sent to Tom Greene, provost, at greene@up.edu, preferably by the end of June. Names should be accompanied by a short explanation of the candidate’s life and work.

2014 Faculty Development Day Schedule

baillie copyThe 2014 Faculty Development Day will take place on Tuesday, May 6. The day’s schedule can be downloaded at http://tinyurl.com/mmnczan.

Faculty will meet in Buckley Center Auditorium for a continental breakfast from 8:30 to 9 a.m., followed by a welcome from University provost Thomas Greene and a keynote address by Jim Baillie, philosophy (“From PHL 200 to Graduation: Infusing Ethics Throughout the Curriculum”). Following the keynote will be an announcement from the Rank and Tenure Committee and distribution of a Butine survey. Parallel sessions, a luncheon, and more parallel sessions will follow.

For more information contact the provost’s office at 7105 or staten@up.edu.

Greene Named UP Provost

University president Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C. has announced the appointment of Thomas Greene as provost, effective immediately. Greene has served as interim provost since August 2012. Greene’s administrative duties on The Bluff include oversight of all faculty and academic personnel and programs, as well as the Clark Family Library, the Garaventa Center, the Franz Center for Entrepreneurship, the registrar’s office, institutional research, and the studies abroad and honors programs. Greene is also a professor in the School of Education.

He assumes the position last held by Br. Donald Stabrowski, C.S.C., who left the University last September to serve as assistant provincial for the Congregation of Holy Cross, U.S. Province of Priests and Brothers.

Greene has served the University in a variety of leadership positions, including dean of the Graduate School, interim dean and associate dean of the School of Education, and director of teacher education. In 2010 he won the Culligan Award, the University’s highest faculty honor. For more information contact the president’s office at 7101 or simek@up.edu.