We are thrilled to be back for the 2024/25 season of events with new Garaventa Center co-directors at the helm - Dr. Shannon Mayer and Fr. Peter Walsh, CSC.
Fr. Peter Walsh, CSC, is a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, which founded the University of Portland and continues to sponsor and minister on the Bluff. He came to UP two years ago as Director of Campus Ministry, with particular focus on strengthening interfaith respect and dialogue and helping lay colleagues understand and engage with University of Portland's Catholic and Holy Cross mission. Prior to coming to UP, he worked in Campus Ministry at St. Edward's University in Austin, TX and Yale University in New Haven, CT. He enjoys literature, especially Irish poetry, and playing his guitar.
Shannon Mayer is a professor and past-chair of the Department of Physics. She joined the UP faculty in 2002. When not working with STEM students in the classroom or laboratory, she enjoys writing and speaking about the intersection of faith and science. Shannon is co-editor of Awaken the Stars (ACTA Publications, Chicago, IL 2017), a book-length collection of essays from UP faculty exploring the deeper question of what it means to teach and mentor students at a Catholic University in the Holy Cross tradition. She and her husband, University of Portland Chemistry Professor Steve Mayer, received the 2021 Spirit of Holy Cross Award from the Congregation of Holy Cross in recognition of their investment in advancing the distinctive Catholic and Holy Cross Mission of the University of Portland.
Take a look at our exciting upcoming events schedule, which will be in-person unless otherwise noted.
Our ongoing vision at the Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life & American Culture continues to be to entice people from all walks of life to come together and collaborate in novel and compelling ways to shed light and explore grace in this bruised, blessed world.
We have much to offer on our website! Check out The Saint John's Bible at UP, our portal to experience the transcendent beauty of this hand-illuminated masterpiece, and explore our Archives to revisit favorite events and find new ones.
Our ongoing vision at the Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life & American Culture is to entice people from all walks of life to come together and collaborate in novel and compelling ways to shed light and explore grace in this bruised, blessed world.
Sign up for our e-newsletter to be the first to learn about upcoming events!
Click on images below to enjoy videorecordings of these events, or visit our Archives for links to some of our all-time greatest hits!
Pope Francis
"Let us ask the Lord, each of us, for eyes that know how to see beyond appearance; ears that know how to listen to cries, whispers, and also silence; hands able to support, embrace and minister. Most of all, let us ask for a great and merciful heart that desires the good and salvation of all. "
Dorothy Day
"We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community."
St. Teresa of Avila
"It is love alone that gives worth to all things."
Elizabeth Jennings
"Many people judge a religion by its art, and why indeed shouldn't they?"
G.K. Chesterton
"The traveller sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see."
University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97203-5798
503.943.8000
