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University of Portland welcomes new Innovation minor director, Salvador Orara

Engineering

Franz Center

June 20, 2019

photo of Salvador OraraThe University’s new campus-wide minor in innovation will be led by Salvador Orara, who has been hired as a Franz Center professor of practice. Orara’s experience includes UX (user experience design) roles and considerable teaching experience. His past roles include lead graphics/user experience developer and lead UX researcher and strategist at Jaguar Land Rover North America. Most recently, Orara was a professor at Pacific Northwest College of Art and is currently the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Portland Chapter president. Orara will begin his position at the University in August.

“Sal will add a new aspect to our students' learning, by building upon their expertise and developing an interdisciplinary innovation mindset to solving complex problems that involve the human and societal dimensions," Matthew Kuhn, interim dean for the Shiley School of Engineering, said.

The new innovation minor will be offered campus wide and will be housed in the Shiley School of Engineering. Classes offered through the innovation minor include “Introduction to Design and Innovation,” “Sketching and Prototyping,” and “Empathy, Observational Research and Human-Centered Design.”