April 2020 | University of Portland

News - April 2020

Franz Hall

University of Portland hopes for in-person open to fall term; will honor 2020 graduates with future graduation ceremony

President

Commencement

April 27, 2020

The Class of 2020 will be honored with a virtual Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 3, and an in-person ceremony at a future date when it is safe to hold a large event. The University is planning for in-person classes in Fall 2020.

two students working on a garden

Moreau Center for Service & Justice honored as one of the “Top Schools for Service” by Catholic Volunteer Network

Moreau Center

Awards and Rankings

April 23, 2020

University of Portland’s Moreau Center for Service & Justice was honored by the Catholic Volunteer Network as one of their “Top Schools for Service.” In honor of National Volunteer Week, the Catholic Volunteer Network put together a list of schools who “demonstrated consistent excellence in collaborating with our network and championing post-grad service among students.”

University of Portland campus from above

Ten members of UP Class of 2020 Offered Fulbright Awards

Awards and Rankings

Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement

April 22, 2020

Ten members of the University of Portland’s Class of 2020 have been named as Fulbright U.S. Student Program Finalists and offered awards to teach English abroad. It is hoped that Fulbright recipients will be able to travel to their programs in fall 2020; the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has instituted a temporary pause of all Bureau of ECA-funded international exchange programs, including Fulbright.

Michael Meek and Megan Engesser

The Road To Meek

Portland Magazine

Athletics

April 16, 2020

How UP hired women's basketball coach Michael Meek and turned a program around in one year.

Outside of Franz Hall

UP Cash Flow Club to host Financial Self-Care Week

Business

April 16, 2020

In honor of Financial Literacy Month, the UP Cash Flow Club has created a new, virtual series to help UP students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni. The Financial Self-Care Week will run from Saturday, April 18, to Friday, April 24, with online workshops available once a day during the evening.

child cross im from impossible above a math problem on chalkboard

Chair of the UP Math Department Teaches Math at Home to Her Own Children: A Cautionary Tale in Three Acts

Portland Magazine

April 15, 2020

What happens when an award-winning college math professor suddenly finds herself homeschooling her boys during the COVID-19 crisis? Sighs, grunts, frustration, and laughter.

Kianni Demmert in purple scrubs

Last Moments

Portland Magazine

April 15, 2020

A UP senior reflects on the final moments she didn't know were final.

Shiley School of Engineering students outside St. Mary’s Secondary School for Girls in Karonga, Malawi

Engineering for Impact in Malawi

Engineering

April 6, 2020

Four seniors in the Shiley School of Engineering are designing a renewable energy powered irrigation system for the 600 girls at St. Mary’s Secondary School for Girls in Karonga, Malawi. The irrigation system will serve the seven-acre farm at the school and would allow for planting and harvesting three times a year. Civil engineering students Kim Dorr and Madi Wernke and mechanical engineering students Aymon Klem and Nadine Prentice are working with two Portland-based organizations, TeamLift and Green Empowerment.

Shiley School of Engineering students with OHSU's Dr. Chi in lab

Engineering 3D Protheses

Engineering

April 6, 2020

At Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), trauma surgeon Dr. Albert Chi has a vision to make low-cost or free 3D printed protheses for children. A group of four Shiley School of Engineering students are helping Chi make this vision into reality. The interdisciplinary student team, with the help of Chi’s lab, are designing a 3D printed lower arm myoelectric prosthesis that will be given to a specific user at the end of the project.

UP students at Maker Challenge

Shiley School of Engineering and School of Nursing work with Community Vision

Nursing

Engineering

April 6, 2020

The Shiley School of Engineering and Portland- area organization Community Vision have come together in a partnership with sponsored Maker Challenges and capstone projects. Community Vision’s mission is “is to make Oregon a place where people with disabilities can live, work, and thrive in the communities of their choice.” Engineering students are working together to further this mission by working on projects with Community Vision’s Assistive Technology (AT) Lab.

Erin McConville, smiling

Civil Engineering major Erin McConville ’21 interns with the City of Forest Grove

Engineering

April 6, 2020

As a participant in the Civil Engineering Cooperative Program (CECOP), Erin McConville spent the last 6 months working in the City of Forest Grove’s engineering department.