Commencement
February 4, 2019
The University of Portland has announced the speaker and honorees to be recognized during the 2019 Commencement ceremonies, which will be held on the UP campus in the Chiles Center on Sunday, May 5. Commencement I begins at 10 a.m. and is for all graduates of the Pamplin School of Business, Shiley School of Engineering, and School of Nursing. Commencement II starts at 3 p.m. and is held for all graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Education.
Receiving the University’s highest honor, the Christus Magister Medal, is Sr. Alberta Dieker, O.S.B. As one of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount Angel, Sr. Dieker has devoted her life to faith, scholarship, and service. She spent more than 45 years teaching history and other subjects, first as an elementary school teacher in Silverton and Mount Angel and then as a faculty member for Mount Angel College, Mount Angel Seminary, and Eastern Oregon University. She is also the author of A Tree Rooted in Faith: A History of Queen of Angels Monastery, published in 2007. Sr. Dieker is renowned for her leadership skills, having served as president of Mount Angel College, president and founding member of the Oregon Catholic Historical Society, and executive secretary of the American Benedictine Academy. She professed perpetual vows in 1942 and earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from St. Louis University and a doctorate in European history from the University of Oregon. In 2006, she received the Bishop Francis Leipzig Award for contributing to the study of Catholic history in the Pacific Northwest, and in 2007 received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award from Pope Benedict XVI in recognition of her contributions to the Archdiocese of Portland.
Retired Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates, the speaker for both ceremonies and an honorary doctorate recipient, is a North Portland native who served for 31 years as a career member of the United States Foreign Service. Her distinguished career, which began in 1980, included serving twice as U.S. Ambassador, to the Republic of Ghana from 2002 to 2005 and to the Republic of Burundi from 1999 to 2002. In Burundi, she worked extensively to bring stability and an end to hostility through a peace process led by the former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela. She also served as a political officer and public affairs counselor in Rwanda during the genocide crisis of the early 1990s. Other diplomatic assignments took her to Paris, Manila, Seoul, and the Department of State, Washington D.C. Her final assignment was as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council. After her retirement, she served as the Charge d’Affaires in Sudan for the Department of State until 2012. Today, Ambassador Yates is director of the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., and is a member of the Oregon State University Honors College Board of Regents and the WorldOregon Board of Trustees. She earned an undergraduate degree from Oregon State and a master’s from New York University.
Amy Dundon-Berchtold’s first real estate transaction was selling her own house. Her second was an apartment building, and the third was an industrial warehouse—an illustrious beginning to what would become a 40-year career as a real estate investor in Southern California. The same energy and passion she brought to real estate is evident in her commitment to a range of philanthropic endeavors, both at the University of Portland and at other organizations. Dundon-Berchtold, who is a member of the University of Portland’s Board of Regents, and her husband, Jim Berchtold ’63, wanted to create a place where all students could engage in discussions around personal values and beliefs. In 2011, this vision was realized with the creation of the Dundon-Berchtold Institute for Moral Formation and Applied Ethics, offering classes, public events, and student-faculty research support. From the success of that endeavor, Jim and Amy provided the lead gift for the University’s first academic building in 25 years, which was named Dundon-Berchtold Hall in their honor and will open in summer 2019. Dundon-Berchtold has also been a supporter of the University of Southern California, where she earned her undergraduate degree, the Boys & Girls Club of Garden Grove, the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, and Central Catholic High School.
Susan Sygall, an internationally-recognized expert in the area of international educational exchange, international development and leadership programs for persons with disabilities, is CEO and co-founder of Mobility International USA (MIUSA). MIUSA is a non-profit organization advancing disability rights and leadership globally®. It has over 2300 alumni from over 135 countries, building the pipeline of leaders with disabilities. For over 35 years, Sygall, who is a disability activist, has co-authored numerous publications and lectured throughout the world on a variety of topics related to inclusive international development, women’s leadership, and disability rights. During the course of her career she has focused on issues related to women with disabilities, having spearheaded MIUSA’s signature program, the Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD). Through MIUSA, Sygall is working with several organizations and foundations to enhance the inclusion of people with disabilities in their internal and external strategies and programs. Sygall is a MacArthur Fellow, a senior Ashoka Senior Fellow, and a Kellogg Fellow. She is a Rotarian who has received a Rotary Alumni Achievement Award, a member of the International Women’s Forum, and is a Board Member of InterAction. She has also received the President's Award from President Bill Clinton at the White House for her active role throughout our country and the world in empowering people with disabilities.
After graduating with a degree in business in 1980 from the University of Portland, Mucki (Pei Ling) Tan returned to Jakarta, Indonesia, to become a manager with the Rodamas Group, a company his father founded in 1951. Together, Tan and his father expanded into a diverse portfolio of joint ventures worldwide, including the food industry, construction materials manufacturing, consumer goods, and real estate. By 1989, Tan was appointed Commissioner of the Rodamas Group and in 2008 he became CEO. Under his leadership, Rodamas has become one of Indonesia’s most successful and respected corporations. Tan is also a dedicated philanthropist. He devotes particular attention to educational initiatives in Indonesia but has also supported his alma mater, with gifts toward such endeavors as Dundon-Berchtold Hall and the Beauchamp Recreation and Wellness Center.
Dr. Robert Watzke is renowned for his dedication as a retina researcher and specialist—a career that has spanned six decades. He developed new and innovative examination techniques, pioneered the use of lasers to conduct complex retinal surgery, and mentored more than 350 retinal specialists. Dr. Watzke was also instrumental in the development of the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, where he focused on retina and vitreous disease. His career in medicine began when he joined University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine in 1958, after earning his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin. At the University of Iowa, he was heralded for both his surgical skill and his commitment to national randomized trials, especially related to diabetic retinopathy and macular photocoagulation. In 2016, the Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences department at that university created the Robert C. Watzke Endowment in his honor.
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