President
College of Arts and Sciences
March 20, 2018
University of Portland President Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C., announced today the appointment of Dr. Herbert A. Medina as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, effective July 1, 2018. Medina, who will join the University in mid-July, will oversee the College’s core curriculum education program in the liberal arts for all students at the University, as well as 15 departments offering 28 majors and 25 minors.
“Dr. Medina will be a tremendous new addition to the College of Arts and Science and to the University,” said Fr. Poorman. “He is committed to a liberal arts core curriculum, academic excellence, experiential learning experiences, Catholic higher education, and so many more values shared by the UP community. He is particularly interested in diversity and in working on projects to increase the participation of historically underrepresented groups in mathematics and the sciences.”
“I am thrilled and humbled to serve as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Portland, a sister Catholic institution that is student-centered, mission-driven, and deeply committed to academic excellence,” noted Medina. “It is also very exciting to join UP at this juncture as the University is in the midst of executing a forward-thinking strategic plan that aims to (among many things) revitalize the core curriculum, infuse the University community with a sense of internationalization and diversity, and strengthen the University’s Catholic and Holy Cross character. I cannot wait to be part of the University of Portland family so that I can engage the University mission and contribute towards the development of the whole person as we educate UP students.”
Medina was born in El Salvador and was brought by his parents to Los Angeles, California, where he has lived most of his life. Prior to his appointment at the University of Portland, he has served since 2015 as Associate Dean for Faculty/Staff Development and Student Success at the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering at Loyola Marymount University.
He earned his B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science (Cum Laude) from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1985. In 1987, he earned an M.A. in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley and he completed his Ph.D., also at UC Berkeley, in 1992. He is a member of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS.).
Medina has published mathematical research in functional analysis, wavelets, and polynomial approximations (collaboratively with undergraduates). He also has written articles and delivered several professional presentations addressing issues of under-representation in mathematics and other challenges facing the U.S. mathematics community.
Medina follows former dean Dr. Michael Andrews, who departed in 2017 to become director of the John Felice Rome Center, a campus of Loyola University Chicago located in Rome, Italy. Dr. Gary Malecha, professor of political science, has served as the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.
About the College Of Arts & SciencesUniversity of Portland
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