Faculty Profiles | University of Portland

Faculty Profiles

Business

Naveen Gudigantala

Naveen Gudigantala Associate Professor of Business

"I hope to impart real skills to students so they can make a positive difference in the companies for whom they work."

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Lizhong Hao

Lizhong Hao Associate Professor of Accounting

"I use my scholarly research findings to explain certain topics in teaching. For example, when teaching BUS 312 Cost Accounting, I share my research on internal audit quality, auditor independence, and new accounting information technology such as blockchain, hoping to inspire students with interest in different areas of accounting practice."

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Sam Holloway

Sam Holloway Professor of Management & Entrepreneurship

"My research exposes me to entrepreneurs working daily to solve new challenges in their businesses, and I love to bring these entrepreneurs into my classes as guest speakers. "

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Min Yu

Min Yu Associate Professor of Operations and Technology Management

"My collaborators and I recently constructed a supply chain optimization model to assist disaster-prone regions."

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Chemistry 

Buck Taylor

Buck Taylor Assistant Professor of Chemistry

"It’s powerful for students to see how the principles they learn in class can be used to solve the latest research problems."

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Edward Valente

Edward Valente Professor of Chemistry

"My current research focus is investigating the structural chemistry of a class of bifunctional organic compounds."

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Education

Eric Anctil

Eric Anctil Associate Professor of Education

"I am exploring how technology is affecting our relationships to each other, as well as the things we do."

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Katie Danielson

Katie Danielson Assistant Professor of Education

"I’m also working with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania engaging in innovative, school-based, professional development learning labs."

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Deirdre Hon

Deirdre Hon Assistant Professor of Education

"After spending many years as a high school and middle school science teacher, I became interested in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in education. "

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Nicole Ralston

Nicole Ralston Associate Professor of Education

"My scholarship is a constant loop of learning and supporting our students with what I learn, and bringing real examples of research projects into teaching our students how to conduct research themselves to improve outcomes for students and teachers. This cyclical loop keeps my teaching fresh and relevant to the ongoing struggles in K-12 schools."

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John Watzke

John Watzke Dean of the School of Education

"The School of Education is an educational resource for the region. "

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Engineering 

Martin Cenek

Martin Cenek Associate Professor of Computer Science

"Undergraduate research helps to bridge the gap between academic setting and practice. The field of computer science advances incredibly fast—when students graduate, there are new tools, programming languages, and technologies that did not exist when they started college. "

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Christina Ivler

Christina Ivler Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

"My scholarship keeps me current in new engineering topics and gives me inspiration for real-life examples to draw from in class. "

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Jordy Wolfand

Jordy Wolfand Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering

"I love working with our students, as both a teacher and mentor! I also love that I get to do both teaching and research."

Learn more about Jordy Wolfand

Integrated Health & Wellness

Andrew Lafrenz

Andrew Lafrenz Associate Professor of Integrated Health & Wellness

"I’m also working with UP students and leading a county-wide COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy study that has now become a large-scale vaccine promotion media campaign. "

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International Languages & Cultures

Maria Echenique

Maria Echenique, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Spanish

"My aim is to introduce students to fresh perspectives so as to trigger their curiosity and to enhance their global understanding."

Learn more about our Spanish Faculty

Library

Bonnie Parks

Bonnie Parks Librarian

"If you’ve ever checked out a book, read an online article, or used an online database at Clark Library, you have used systems or data that I maintain. "

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Heidi Senior

Heidi Senior Reference & Instruction Librarian

"My parents were teachers, and I knew I wanted to have a career in education too."

Learn more about Heidi Senior

Mathematics

Hannah Callender Highlander

Hannah Callender Highlander Associate Professor of Mathematics

"I feel that I become more than an academic mentor. I am a mentor in life. And to be clear, I get just as much from my students as I give to them. They show me new ways of thinking. They invigorate me with their curiosity and energy. They are a constant reminder of why I do what I do."

Learn More about Hannah Callender Highlander

Nursing

Nicole Auxier

Nicole Auxier Associate Professor of Nursing

"My concept-based curriculum research has allowed me to bring the best practices directly to my classes and has shaped my teaching practice by embracing team teaching, mentorship, and concept delivery instead of content delivery."

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Andra Davis

Andra Davis Associate Professor of Nursing

"Palliative care practice and education inspire me. Nurses engage with people during difficult times and, as educators, it is our responsibility to prepare them for that care."

Learn more about Andra Davis

Performing & Fine Arts

Lezlie Cross

Lezlie Cross Associate Professor of Theatre

"My love of Shakespeare’s language and storytelling was cemented from a very young age, when I accompanied my grandparents on yearly pilgrimages to the Utah Shakespeare Festival and Zion National Park."

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Political Science 

Bill Curtis

Bill Curtis Professor of Political Science

"I try to challenge my students to think critically about why they believe what they believe."

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Lara-Zuzan Golesorkhi

Lara-Zuzan Golesorkhi Assistant Professor of Political Science

"As a migrant woman, coming from a family that has been displaced over space and time, notably from Iran and Eastern Europe, my lived experience is my main inspiration for what I do and how I do it—including pursuing Political Science as an academic field."

Learn More about Lara-Zuzan Golesorkhi

Psychological Sciences

Andrew Downs

Andrew Downs Professor of Psychological Sciences

"The way we approach mental health is a clear social justice issue — and one we largely ignore as a society."

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Mark Pitzer

Mark Pitzer Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences

"For the past two decades I've worked to better understand diseases that destroy the brain."

Learn More about Mark Pitzer