2022 | University of Portland

News - 2022

December

Paige Hall

University of Portland Chemistry and Physics Students Team Up to Explore Energy Conversion and Storage

Chemistry

Awards and Rankings

Physics

December 20, 2022

National Science Foundation grant aims to strengthen STEM identities through scientific research.

Anaís Larios-Maldonado

She Persisted

Portland Magazine

December 1, 2022

Through the Moreau Center's Interns for Justice program, Anaís Larios-Maldonado '24 returned to the Oregon Child Development Coalition, a program she'd attended as a child.

Jesi Robison

From Puppets to Props

Portland Magazine

December 1, 2022

Jesi Robison ’21 nabbed a dream job before she even graduated—working on Guillermo Del Toro’s stop motion animated film of the beloved children’s story Pinocchio.

Inside Dean's Beauty Salon

A Sacred & Historic Space

Portland Magazine

December 1, 2022

Dean’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop was recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Founded by the parents of UP Regent and alum Kay Dean Toran, this business and its staying power tell a story about Black history—and Black success—in Portland.

November

Dr. Susan Murray

University of Portland Students to Study Immune Responses in Prostate Cancer Treatment

Biology

November 22, 2022

University of Portland students, under the guidance of UP Biology Professor Susan Murray, PhD, will research the role of sex hormones in immune responses to prostate cancer through a $404,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Moda Center

University of Portland to Serve as Institutional Host for NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four in 2030

Athletics

November 21, 2022

The University of Portland has been announced as the host institution for the 2030 Division I NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four, as announced by the NCAA this morning. The University of Portland will host the event in partnership with the Portland Trail Blazers/Rose Quarter, Sport Oregon and Travel Portland.

Diversity Center interior

‘Belonging on the Bluff’ — New Diversity Center Offers Expanded, Inclusive Space for UP Community

November 18, 2022

A 15-month collaboration of students, faculty and staff has led to the grand opening of a new Diversity Center in the heart of the University of Portland campus. Located on the first floor of Buckley Center, the 1,300-square foot Diversity Center — triple the size of the previous space — offers a welcoming, inclusive venue for people of all backgrounds to gather, study and engage with each other.

Stephanie Salomone

University of Portland Part of a $4.2 Million, Multi-Institution Grant to Support the Professional Development of K-12 STEM Teachers

Engineering

Awards and Rankings

November 1, 2022

The University of Portland will play a key role in giving K-12 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) teachers more support and professional development through a multi-institution, $4.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

October

Illustration of kids reading in the clouds

A Reading Room of Her Own

Portland Magazine

October 24, 2022

How an early struggle with words—along with two heroic reading specialists—paved the way for a young educator’s teaching philosophy.

Kevin White Athletics Field Manager

Where the Grass Is Always Greener

Portland Magazine

Athletics

October 24, 2022

How has UP's Merlo Field twice been named the best soccer field in the country? Through the meticulous care and devotion of Kevin White.

Students listen to Walter Thompson-Hernández during an on-campus event.

A Screening & Conversation with a Film Director

Portland Magazine

October 24, 2022

In early September, Walter Thompson-Hernández ’09 returned to The Bluff for the first time in more than 10 years to share his short film—If I Go Will They Miss Me—for which he won a 2022 Sundance award. It is currently being adapted into a feature.

Filip Zivkovic

Advantage UP

Athletics

Portland Magazine

October 19, 2022

Filip Zivkovic ’10 transferred to UP as an undergraduate tennis player sixteen years ago and never left. As the new head coach of the women’s tennis team, he hopes to create the same sense of community and hospitality for his players that he has found here, first as a player, then as an assistant coach, and now at the helm of a team.

Suitcase

Wherever I Go

Portland Magazine

October 19, 2022

As Fr. Charlie Gordon departs University of Portland for a new assignment abroad, he takes a moment to reflect on the contents of his steamer trunk and how they link him to family, memory, and faith.

Dr. Robert Kelly

The Making of a President

Portland Magazine

October 17, 2022

Robert D. Kelly, UP’s 21st president, comes to the role with faith, experience, and hope for transformation.

ST. BENÔIT BENEDICTINE MONASTERY, BAYEUX

In the Footsteps of Basil Moreau

Portland Magazine

October 17, 2022

This summer, fifteen University of Portland faculty members embarked on a pilgrimage to the Basse-Normandie region of France. Their goal? A deeper connection to the school’s Holy Cross roots, including the order’s abiding commitment to community.

Dr. Robert Kelly

UP President Dr. Robert Kelly Named Aspen Institute Senior Impact Fellow

Awards and Rankings

October 12, 2022

University of Portland President Dr. Robert Kelly has been selected by the Aspen Institute as a Senior Impact Fellow. The Impact Fellowship brings together more than 90 community stakeholders in the U.S. — college presidents, senior leaders, educators and youth — “in a movement to advance the future of youth leadership development.”

September

U.S. News Rankings logo

University of Portland Achieves #1 Ranking in Western Region on U.S. News & World Report Lists of Best Colleges and Universities

Awards and Rankings

September 12, 2022

Top Position for 2022-23 Continues Multi-Decade Streak of Prestigious Recognition

August

Scott Leykam

Vice President for Athletics Scott Leykam will serve as the NCAA Women's Soccer Committee Chair for the 2022-23 Academic Year

Athletics

August 23, 2022

University of Portland Vice President for Athletics Scott Leykam will serve as the NCAA Women's Soccer Committee Chair for the 2022-23 Academic Year.

Franz Hall

University of Portland’s Pamplin School of Business MBA Program Earns Multiple Top Rankings for 2022-23

Business

Awards and Rankings

August 12, 2022

The Pamplin School of Business at University of Portland continues to rank among the best part-time MBA programs, earning accolades for its flexible graduate programs.

July

Shiley-Marcos Center for Design & Innovation

Information About New Construction on Campus – Shiley-Marcos Center for Design & Innovation

Engineering

July 23, 2022

As our students and faculty prepare to arrive on the University of Portland campus to begin the 2022-23 academic year, we want to make you aware of a construction project that will bring temporary changes – and ultimately a new center for design and innovation – to our beautiful Bluff.

Megan Rapinoe

UP Alumnus Megan Rapinoe To Receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

Athletics

July 1, 2022

University of Portland alumnus Megan Rapinoe will be presented with the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by Joe Biden in a ceremony on July 7.

June

Dr. Molly Hiro and Dr. Jen McDaneld

National Humanities Grant Aims to Connect University of Portland Students With Community Partners

Education

June 23, 2022

Supported by a $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, University of Portland professors Dr. Molly Hiro and Dr. Jen McDaneld have embarked on a mission to change the way students connect with the community through engaged study in the humanities.

 Alena Romanyuk at the airport with baggage

What One Person Can Do

Portland Magazine

June 1, 2022

Delivering medical supplies to Ukraine renewed her faith in humanity

Labyrinth at The Grotto.

Labyrinths of Oregon

Portland Magazine

June 1, 2022

Plus, an insight at Porland's Grotto

Labyrinth

At the Center is Joy

Portland Magazine

June 1, 2022

On the surprising places you can find yourself while walking a labyrinth.

Kunal Nayyar addresses students at commencement

Our Corner of the Cosmos

Commencement

Portland Magazine

Alumni

June 1, 2022

At this year’s Commencement, Kunal Nayyar—UP alum from the class of 2003 and professional actor known best for his role in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory—addressed the graduates of 2022. He told them that anything is possible, and he was so funny, warm, and charming that it was hard not to believe him. What follows is a lightly edited excerpt of his speech.

Tara Prestholdt among the mussels

How to Tide Pool

Portland Magazine

Environmental Studies

Biology

June 1, 2022

Tips from a marine biologist on how best to enjoy, protect, and explore Oregon's coast.

Tide pool coastal map

Where to Tide Pool

Portland Magazine

Biology

Environmental Studies

June 1, 2022

The Oregon coast offers an of embarrassment of marine-life riches. 

Portland magazine summer 2022 issue cover

On Beauty, Work, and Hope

Portland Magazine

June 1, 2022

I like to imagine you holding this little magazine—the University’s message in a bottle—and wondering over the cover. What in the world is this magical creature? 

Sarah Mooney ’96

Committed to Her Students

Portland Magazine

Alumni

June 1, 2022

While scrambling to find toilet paper during the first March of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarah Mooney ’96 received a call from her program director. He gave her the classic, anxiety-inducing phrase: “I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news.” The good news was that she won the 2019 Correctional Services Contractor of the Year award for the GED tutoring program she manages. The bad news was that she could no longer go to work. Columbia River Correctional Facility was on lockdown.

Blackonteurs on stage

Blackonteurs Brings Black Joy to Life on Stage

Portland Magazine

June 1, 2022

(Re)claiming Black joy was the theme of UP’s 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance, but what does it mean to reclaim Black joy? What does it look like? How do we create spaces for Black joy to thrive?

Walter E. Nelson Facilities Services Building

In Honor of Hard Work

Portland Magazine

June 1, 2022

A new building dedicated to the memory of a father and in service of UP’s talented Facilities Services Department.

map of portland

A Map of Home

Portland Magazine

June 1, 2022

For years Brad Franco, chair of UP’s history department, had wanted to make a map of Portland. How fortuitous, then, that the Admissions team asked him to jump in and give it a try. They wanted a map to send to prospective students, one that highlighted the city’s neighborhoods, its parks, its famous food scene, and other cultural institutions—all the fun things that were waiting for them here.

May

Graduates at commencement

First In-Person UP Commencement in Three Years Features Special Address by Kunal Nayyar ’03 to Class of 2022

Commencement

May 6, 2022

Over the April 30–May 1 weekend, the University of Portland community gathered at the Chiles Center to honor its graduating class of 2022. It marked the University’s first in-person commencement ceremonies since 2019, following virtual ceremonies in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic precautions.

Laundry on the Ganges River.

Ironing

Portland Magazine

May 1, 2022

On the communal steps of the Ganges River in Varanasi, India, people take care of all kinds of business. Certain days are for laundry. I watched three women wrestling with an eighteen-meter-long sari in a stiff breeze, the multicolored fabric flapping and dancing in billows. They were ironing with the wind, and laughing all the while. 

Mauricio Paz harvesting grapes.

¡Échale Ganas!

Portland Magazine

May 1, 2022

Mauricio Paz ’22 goes home to southern Oregon during school breaks to work in the vineyards with his family members. A pre-med biology and Spanish double-major, he isn’t afraid of hard work in the fields or in the classroom.

Rob Kelly, PhD

Introducing UP’s 21st President

Portland Magazine

May 1, 2022

After a rigorous nation-wide search, University of Portland announced that Rob Kelly, PhD, will be UP’s 21st president, starting his term on July 1, 2022.

April

Dr. Robert Kelly

University of Portland Appoints Its 21st President

President

April 26, 2022

Dr. Robert Kelly Becomes First Lay President and African American to Lead the Catholic Institution in Its 121-Year History

Bits and Pieces illustration

Bits and Pieces

Portland Magazine

April 1, 2022

Where the author sees God in this “beautiful and broken world of ours.”

Screenporch as Prayer illustration

Screenporch as Prayer

Portland Magazine

April 1, 2022

A moment, caught and complex.

Getting My Bearings illustration

Getting My Bearings

Portland Magazine

April 1, 2022

On the steadying force of a good godfriend.

March

Graduates at commencement

University of Portland Plans Multiple In-Person Commencement Ceremonies at Chiles Center – Its First Since 2019

Commencement

March 17, 2022

Following back-to-back years (2020, 2021) of virtual commencement ceremonies due to COVID-19 pandemic precautions, the University of Portland (UP) has announced plans to honor its graduating Class of 2022 with the school’s first in-person commencement since 2019.

Chef's plating

Two Pilot Chefs, One Reality Show Coincidence

Portland Magazine

March 1, 2022

Danie Baker '11 and Brett Bankson '15 never saw cooking—or television—in the cards for their careers. But then Top Chef Amateurs came calling.

Blanchet House

The Blanchet House Celebrates 70 Years

Portland Magazine

March 1, 2022

The Oregon Historical Society honors the institution’s contributions to Portland

Shantay Legans

Shantay Legans Arrives on the Bluff

Portland Magazine

March 1, 2022

UP’s new men’s basketball coach has high hopes

February

Tommy Pham ’09, MBA ’11 and his son Raiden

Meet Raiden

Portland Magazine

February 21, 2022

The inspiration behind one UP alum’s pitch for more research into a rare genetic disease and potential gene therapies.

Working in the lab

Hope Through a Microscope

Portland Magazine

February 21, 2022

For the span of her career Ami Ahern-Rindell has been working to understand—and eventually contribute to a cure for—a particular fatal genetic disease. Advances in science and technology are bringing her research closer to her goal. But the technology—CRISPR gene editing, specifically—raises a whole host of ethical questions.

Librarian on roller skates.

Librarian on Wheels

Portland Magazine

February 21, 2022

When we were first put under quarantine in early 2020, Tori Ward ’16 was afraid to go outside for a long time. A quick trip to the grocery store was anxiety inducing, and seeing people outside en masse without their masks on made her feel unsafe. She hated the feeling and wanted to find a way to still stay healthy and active while also being able to stay socially distanced. That's when she found a pair of skates, and has been skating since early May 2020 and loving it. 

Adam Guggenheim

Partners in Story

Portland Magazine

February 21, 2022

The photographer and I stood outside the church with the pastor and his wife, hoping to get the best light for a portrait. The pastor was somewhat new in the rapidly changing neighborhood, and we’d been talking to him for a story in part about gentrification in North Portland and his role and response to the changes affecting his parishioners.

5 Reasons You Don't Want to Get COVID

Pilots Prevent

February 8, 2022

After Omicron caused a meteoric surge in COVID-19 this winter, cases are finally tapering off. And most of us are vaccinated, and boosted, offering loads of protection against COVID’s worst effects (at least for the current variants). The Oregon Health Authority even announced plans to lift the indoor mask mandate by the end of March, letting businesses and communities set their own mandates as they see fit. So it seems things might soon look a lot more normal.

Back on Campus and Building Community

Pilots Prevent

February 8, 2022

For the second year in a row, the start of Spring semester didn’t exactly look like it usually does. This year, classes were remote for the first two weeks to minimize the transmission of COVID as students returned to campus after winter break. But now case numbers are falling dramatically, and fun events are in full swing, bringing a sense of normalcy to campus.

January

Nicole Ralston

Nicole Ralston and Tim Doughty awarded a 4-year grant from the Kern Family Foundation

Awards and Rankings

Engineering

Education

January 31, 2022

Nicole Ralston, College of Education; Tim Doughty, School of Engineering; and Heather Dillon at the University of Washington Tacoma, were awarded a four-year grant from the Kern Family Foundation related to the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN network) which is a community of more than 3,000 engineering faculty and staff across North America who aim to graduate engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset (EM).

Andra Davis

School of Nursing & Health Innovation’s Andra Davis to Lead Development of a Regional Center of Excellence in Palliative Care Education

Awards and Rankings

Nursing

January 31, 2022

Andra Davis, PhD will lead development of a Regional Model of Excellence in Palliative Care Education focused on schools in Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Funded through Cambia Health Foundation, the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) at the City of Hope, received a three-year grant which began in August 2021, totaling $420,000, to advance its work strengthening the nursing workforce in the care of patients and families living with serious illness.

Painted wall

What You've Been Making

Portland Magazine

January 28, 2022

We asked you what you've been making during the pandemic and you didn't disappoint. Check out some of the inspiring things UP faculty, staff, professors, students, and alumni have created over the last two years.

Updated Guidance on Quarantine + Isolation

Pilots Prevent

January 25, 2022

When it comes to protocols for quarantine and isolation, UP follows CDC and Multnomah County Health Authority guidance. But since residential college campuses offer more close contact between people, they’re also a higher-risk setting. That’s why UP also follows guidance from the American College Health Association in determining its quarantine and isolation protocols.

FAQ’s Regarding COVID-19 Boosters

Pilots Prevent

January 25, 2022

Have questions about complying with University of Portland’s booster requirement? We have answers. Check out our list of frequently asked questions.

It’s Time to Take Self-Care Seriously

Pilots Prevent

January 25, 2022

It’s easy to dismiss healthy habits as something we “should” do but don’t “have” to do. So, we put them off. We’ll eat more healthfully tomorrow, start that exercise routine next week, catch up on our sleep later when there’s not so much to do.

Troublesome Omicron Variant Demands Our Constant Attention

Pilots Prevent

January 11, 2022

The number of positive tests, hospitalizations, and rapid-spread infections bear it out: the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is a game-changer in the ongoing battle against the pandemic. Though viewed as less dangerous overall than the earlier Delta variant, Omicron brings with it a higher level of challenges.

UP’S new campus minister for liturgical music Hector Mendoza

Beauty, Holiness, Connection

Portland Magazine

January 1, 2022

Hector Mendoza, UP’s new campus minister for liturgical music, started his musical journey when he was only a child. By the age of seven, he was already performing percussion in the Venezuelan ensemble “El Sistema.”

Border wall leading into the ocean.

The Line

Portland Magazine

January 1, 2022

University of Portland professor, Blair Woodard, shares observations of the art and resilience along the US–Mexico border, also known as La Línea.

Tips for Upgrading and Rotating your Masks

January 1, 2022

Research proves that wearing a mask is one of the best defenses against contracting or spreading the COVID-19 virus. And since the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, it’s more important than ever to mask up in indoor public spaces or crowded outdoor spaces, even if you’re vaccinated and boosted. But the type of mask you wear, how you wear it, and how you take care of it are all important factors too.

Jordy Wolfand

Jordy Wolfand was awarded an National Science Foundation sub-award grant

Engineering

Awards and Rankings

January 1, 2022

Jordy Wolfand, Professor in Civil Engineering in the Shiley School of Engineering, in partnership with Portland State University and Utah State University, was awarded a National Science Foundation sub-award grant to focus on the Microplastic Cycle Across the Columbia River Basin to the Ocean.

Forrest

College of Arts & Sciences, Department of Biology, won a Faculty Start-Up Grant

Awards and Rankings

College of Arts and Sciences

January 1, 2022

In summer 2021, the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences won a $36,000 Faculty Start-Up Grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. This is the sixth Murdock Trust Faculty Start-Up grant won by the College of Arts and Sciences since 2017.