News

Section Menu

Search

News - Education

The AAQEP logo overlay over the Quad

UP School of Education Earns AAQEP National Accreditation

Education

December 18, 2025

The Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) has awarded full seven-year accreditation to the educator preparation programs at the University of Portland.

Claire Beaumont

The Language of Learning: UP’s Claire Beaumont to Study Arabic through a Critical Language Scholarship

English

Education

March 11, 2024

Secondary Education and English double major Claire Beaumont has achieved a University of Portland first: She is the first Pilot to receive a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) from the U.S. Department of State.

Dr. Katie Danielson

UP Education Professor Katie Danielson Appointed to Oregon Early Literacy Educator Preparation Council

Education

August 2, 2023

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has appointed Katie Danielson, PhD, assistant professor in UP’s School of Education, to the state’s Early Literacy Educator Preparation Council. In an August 1 announcement, the state billed the new council as “part of a long-term effort to boost reading and writing proficiency across Oregon.”

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.

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).

School of Education Student Teachers Rise to the Challenge of the Virtual Classroom

Pilots Prevent

Education

March 16, 2021

When classes went online, so did classroom field experiences, but SOED students proved their resilience and creativity over the course of a year of online teaching.

Karen Eifler

University of Portland Professor Karen Eifler Named Collegium Executive Director-Elect; Assumes Top Leadership in 2022

Education

Garaventa Center

December 7, 2020

Karen Eifler, University of Portland professor of education and co-executive director of the Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life and American Culture, was named the next executive director of Collegium. Founded in 1992, Collegium invites faculty at Catholic colleges and universities to better understand the mission of Catholic higher education and help prepare them to become leaders in advancing that mission in creative ways. 

Sara Wyffels

School of Education MAT alum Sara Wyffels ’06 named 2021 Arizona Teacher of the Year

Alumni

Education

October 27, 2020

University of Portland alum Sara Wyffels ’06 was named 2021 Arizona Teacher of the Year by the Arizona Educational Foundation during a virtual award ceremony. Wyffels, who has been teaching for 14 years, currently teaches Spanish Level 2 and International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement levels 5 and 6 at Chandler High School. Wyffels received her Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Portland’s School of Education in 2006.

John Stewart

A Classroom is Kind of Home

Portland Magazine

Alumni

Education

September 23, 2020

John Stewart ’06 teaches ninth grade English and junior-level advanced placement (AP) language and serves as chair of the English department at Clackamas High School in Clackamas, OR. His 15-year career as a teacher has been marked by many challenges and rewards, but the closure of Oregon schools due to the COVID-19 outbreak has presented a unique set of challenges and impressions. We spoke to John shortly before the end of the spring 2020 semester.

Makamae Nottage

30 Questions with Third Graders (About COVID-19)

Education

Portland Magazine

August 27, 2020

After Oregon schools shuttered for the academic year in March 2020, student teacher Makamae Nottage '20 was presented with about 30 questions from her third-grade classroom.

Renee Espinoza smiling

A Philosophy of Compassion: Renee Espinoza '09, '10

Portland Magazine

Alumni

Education

July 14, 2020

Renee Espinoza graduated from UP in 2009, then went on to get her master’s in curriculum and instruction with an ESL endorsement in 2010. She went to work for Portland Public Schools that year and currently teaches second grade at Astor Elementary School, mere blocks from the UP campus in North Portland. We reached out to Renee to share her insights and experiences during the switch to distance learning in March 2020.

Dylan Hite in classroom

Teacher to Teacher: Bonnie Robb and Dylan Hite use neuroscience to improve educational outcomes

Education

Alumni

Portland Magazine

June 17, 2019

Under the mentorship of Bonnie Robb ('95, '01 MEd, '16 EdD), Dylan Hite '19 used best practices in neuroeducation to help second graders at Duniway School in Portland understand and learn new concepts.

photo of Franz Hall

David VanHoomissen ’81 named Kent School District Teacher of the Year

Education

March 14, 2019

University of Portland School of Education alumnus David VanHoomissen ’81 was named the 2019 Kent School District Teacher of the Year. VanHoomissen currently teaches sixth grade at Emerald Park Elementary school and has taught within the Kent School District for 25 years.

Cascadia Zone Online Course

University of Portland launches Cascadia Subduction Zone online education program

Education

Environmental Studies

August 18, 2017

Dr. Robert Butler, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Studies at the University of Portland, has developed a new online course, “Cascadia Earthquake Education,” designed for K-12 educators and others who teach children about the Cascadia Subduction Zone and the science behind the earthquake that could someday devastate the region.

School of Education

University of Portland School of Education EdD Program Earns National Carnegie CPED Designation and Research Partnership (NNERPP) Affiliations

Education

April 19, 2017

The University of Portland’s School of Education Doctor of Education in Leading and Learning (EdD) has earned two national honors for its innovative programming and research partnerships, including a Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) designation and a national Research Partnership affiliation.

University of Portland ranked 7th in the West

University of Portland ranked 7th in the West by 2017 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings

Engineering

Education

Nursing

Business

Awards and Rankings

September 12, 2016

For the 22nd consecutive year, the University of Portland has received a top-ten ranking by U.S. News & World Report, which today released its 2017 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. The University is 7th out of 124 institutions listed in the “Regional Universities – West” classification.

Jennifer Snow Mayo

University of Portland graduate Jennifer Snow Mayo named 2016-2017 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow

Education

August 15, 2016

Jennifer Snow Mayo, a 2016 graduate of the University of Portland’s School of Education doctorate program, was recently named a 2016-2017 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow. Mayo is one of 13 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers chosen from throughout the nation to receive the esteemed fellowship.

Alumnus Mike Merzenich ’64 awarded prestigious neuroscience award by the Norwegian Academy of Science

Alumni

Education

June 10, 2016

University of Portland alumnus Mike Merzenich ’64 has been awarded the 2016 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience by the Norwegian Academy of Science for his work in documenting the fundamental plasticity of the human brain.

University of Portland and Pacific Alliance for Catholic Education announces launch of Catholic School Leadership Initial Administrator License program

Education

July 7, 2015

University of Portland and the Pacific Alliance for Catholic Education (PACE) are launching the Catholic School Leadership Initial Administrator License program this summer.