September 5, 2025
In a year in which the University of Portland fortified its time-honored mission with six institutional values, a select group of students, faculty, and staff will gather in the Gorge to learn about a reflection model designed to put the mission—and those values—into action.
The University’s first-ever Character Formation Retreat—"Focusing on Hope via the Sainte-Croix Mission Reflection Model”—will be an overnight gathering of dozens of UP community members October 30-31 at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Wash.
All costs of the two-day retreat, including lodging, meals, and University-provided transportation, will be covered by a generous grant from the Educating Character Initiative at Wake Forest University. UP is one of 42 institutions to receive capacity-building funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. to educate and embed character into their distinctive contexts of higher education.
UP students, faculty, and staff of all faith identities are welcome to apply for the retreat, which runs from Thursday, Oct. 30 at 9:00 a.m. to Friday, Oct. 31 at 4:00 p.m. Attendees may designate their time as Mission Leave or excused classroom absence.
The Sainte-Croix Mission Reflection Model is a theological reflection tool developed by the U.S. Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross to help put the Holy Cross mission into practice. Through lectures, discussions, and practical applications, retreat participants will learn how to make ethical, reflective decisions rooted in Holy Cross charism.
Dr. Valerie Banschbach, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, was one of several UP leaders exposed to the Sainte-Croix Mission Reflection Model in 2024. She says the model “is useful in my work every day, helping me lean into the values that stem from our Holy Cross mission.”
“The ability to be in community with other faculty, staff, and students in this mission-focused way is truly what makes UP a special place to work,” Dr. Banschbach said. “I am eager to engage in this project as one means of advancing hope at the University of Portland.”
The Character Formation Retreat is the first activity to emanate from the University’s three-year Educating Character Initiative (ECI) grant award. Five UP leaders—Dr. Banschbach, Tshombé Brown, Evan Leadem, Dr. Steven Mayer, and Fr. Ed Obermiller, CSC—head up the Retreat Planning Team and will develop future ECI programming.
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