Development
History
College of Arts and Sciences
Library
October 17, 2018
Photo: Rev. Mark L. Poorman C.S.C., President of the University of Portland, gives the blessing at the dedication ceremony of the new Dr. James T. Covert Gallery in the Clark Library.
A Clark Library gallery dedicated to showcasing the University of Portland’s past has been named the Dr. James T. Covert Gallery in honor of the late James Thayne Covert, Ph.D., professor emeritus in history. The new gallery will ensure his name and legacy live on at the school he loved and to which he was devoted, first as a student and then as faculty.
Dr. Covert passed away at age 84 after a lengthy illness in October 2016. In loving remembrance of their father, and to honor his years of service to the University community, Dr. Covert’s family, led by his son Michael Covert and his wife Kristin, stepped forward with a generous donation to turn a gallery space the first floor of the Clark Library into a gallery to installations from the University’s archives.
“The Clark Library hopes to continue Dr. Covert’s lessons from history by show casing the University’s past in this space,” said Xan Arch, Dean of the Library. “Beyond the gallery renovations, Michael and Kristin’s gift, along with added support from family members, will help us purchase preservation supplies to ensure our museum items are kept in good condition. They will be preserved like new for years to come and ready to display for the enlightenment and enjoyment of students, faculty, alumni and visitors.”
Arch added that this donation will allow the Library to create a Digital Museum where they will photograph the items that Dr. Covert collected and create an online exhibit that will share his work with the world.
“The University of Portland is the product of the creativity, grit, and unflagging labor of many who preceded us here. Dr. James Thayne Covert is one of those individuals,” said Dr. Gary Malecha, Tyson Distinguished Professor of Political Science and a colleague of Dr. Covert, about the dedication and blessing of the new gallery on Thursday, October 11. “Jim and his wife Sally, both UP graduates, would be incredibly proud to see their many significant contributions to the University formally recognized and honored with the blessing of the Clark Library’s Dr. James T. Covert Gallery.”
About Dr. James T. Covert
In 1961, Jim Covert was hired as professor of European history, and he continued teaching until his retirement in 1997. He specialized in English social history, particularly late Victorian and Edwardian eras, and he wrote or edited six books and numerous scholarly articles, among them A Point of Pride: The University of Portland Story (1976).
He chaired the Department of History (later History and Political Science) for eighteen years. He served on numerous committees, including the Academic Senate, which he helped establish in 1969 and served as president or held other key posts several times. He was managing editor of the University of Portland Review for four years, served as faculty representative for Athletics for twenty-three years, and was a member of the executive committee of the West Coast Athletic Conference from 1976-1995.
He was active in a number of faculty committees, such as rank and tenure, faculty welfare, board of discipline, student affairs, and student media. He designed the University’s ceremonial maces in 1976 and served as assistant or grand marshal at commencements for several years. He was the founder and first director of the University of Portland Museum, and raised the funds for and supervised the design of the Captain William Clark Memorial monument on the bluff overlooking the Willamette River. Jim also raised the funds and directed the design of the University’s Praying Hands Memorial.
Jim received many teaching and scholarship honors and awards over his career, including the James Culligan Award for outstanding service to the University in 1967, and the Outstanding Teacher of the Year award in 1986. He was named a Danforth Associate by the Danforth Foundation in 1970, and won the Bishop Leipzig Award for distinguished service to Oregon Catholic history, presented by the Portland Archdiocesan historical commission in 1995.
In 1992, Jim and his wife, Sally, created the James T. Covert Family Endowed Scholarship to give back to the University that has been so much of their and their family’s lives. The scholarship supports an undergraduate or graduate student with a history or political science major. Eighteen students have received the scholarship since 1996.
About the Clark Library
The Clark Library serves the University of Portland community as a dynamic teaching library. The Library accomplishes its mission through interactive instruction, by acquiring and organizing multi-format collections that support the curriculum, and by facilitating access to resources in the Clark Library and beyond.
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