- Mailing Address
-
5000 N Willamette Blvd
Portland, Oregon 97203
- Phone
- (503) 943-8000
- School Information
- The University of Portland was founded in September 1901 by Portland Archbishop Alexander Christie, who had purchased property atop Waud’s Bluff with financial assistance from the Congregation of Holy Cross in South Bend, Indiana. Archbishop Christie named the school “Columbia University” after the mighty river that flowed nearby, and when it opened its doors, it was staffed with priests from the archdiocese. Columbia University achieved junior college status in 1922, and in 1925 the College of Arts and Sciences was founded. Four years later the first bachelor’s degrees were awarded to a class of seven men. In the 1930s, the University’s name was changed to the University of Portland, the St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing became part of the University as the College of Nursing, and the School of Business were created. In 1948, the School of Engineering was created. The University established its Graduate School in 1950 and the School of Education in 1962. In 1967 the Congregation of Holy Cross and the University’s Board of Regents transitioned to a shared governance structure. Today, the University continues to be guided by the Congregation of Holy Cross and governed by an independent board of directors. The University of Portland is the only school in Oregon to offer a College of Arts & Sciences, a graduate school, and nationally accredited programs in the schools of business, education, engineering, and nursing. In 2013, University of Portland was named one of America's "Green Colleges" for the fourth consecutive year by The Princeton Review. In 2013, U.S. News and World Report named the University of Portland one of the top ten Western regional universities. The University has been named a top ten regional university for 19 years running.
- General Information
- In response to the death of George Floyd, in June 2020 the president of the University of Portland (UP) sent a campus-wide email. It originally appeared on the university website, but can no longer be found there. An archived link shows the following dedication made to social justice, anti-racism, and mandatory critical race training: "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. (source: https://web.archive.org/web/20200923010000/https://www.up.edu/inclusion/presidents-message-june-12-2020.html) Notably, the immediate past university president invited Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to speak on campus in 2013. The current president, who took over in 2014, marks a significant change of direction for UP.