Commencement
April 25, 2019
Former U.S. Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates, who grew up in North Portland, will address 1,131 students and their families on Sunday, May 5 at the Chiles Center at the University of Portland.
The first commencement ceremony begins at 10 a.m. and is for all students of the Pamplin School of Business, the Shiley School of Engineering, and the School of Nursing. The second commencement ceremony begins at 3 p.m. and is for all graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education. University president Rev. Mark L. Poorman C.S.C. will confer an anticipated 931 bachelor’s degrees, 182 master’s degrees, and 18 doctoral degrees.
Video of both ceremonies will be live streamed when the ceremonies begin and can be viewed at https://www.up.edu/commencement/live-stream.html. Information regarding the weekend schedule, tickets, parking, and the livestream link, as well as the University’s bag policy and prohibited items can be found on the Commencement webpage https://www.up.edu/commencement/.
Within the undergraduate class of 2019, 91 students completed at least two majors, and two were triple majors. The three most popular majors were nursing (25% of graduates), biology (14%), and mechanical engineering (10%). Of these graduates, 201 had at least one family member who attended the University of Portland and another 200 students are first generation students.
Retired U.S. Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates, the speaker for both ceremonies and an honorary doctorate recipient, grew up in North Portland and went on to serve with the United States Foreign Service for 31 years, beginning in 1980. She was twice a U.S. Ambassador, to the Republic of Ghana from 2002 to 2005, and the Republic of Burundi from 1999 to 2002. She also was a political officer and public affairs counselor in Rwanda during the genocide crisis of the early 1990s. Her final assignment was as Special Assistant to the President during the Obama administration and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council. Today, Yates is the director of the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Oregon State University Honors College Board of Regents and the World Oregon Board of Trustees. She has dedicated herself to uphold the U.S. Constitution and to promote the American values of freedom and democracy.
Sr. Alberta Dieker, O.S.B. will receive the University’s highest honor (in absentia) for her life’s devotion to faith, scholarship, and service. She professed vows as a Benedictine sister and earned a doctorate degree from the University of Oregon. She taught for 45 years, ranging from the elementary to the collegiate level at Mount Angel College, Mount Angel Seminary, and Eastern Oregon University. She served as president of Mount Angel College and as president and founding member of the Oregon Catholic Historical Society. She received the Bishop Francis Leipzig Award for contributing to the study of Catholic history in the Pacific Northwest, and the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award from Pope Benedict XVI in recognition of her contributions to the Archdiocese of Portland. “Whatever I’ve done has been for the love of God, my sisters, and the Oregon Catholic church,” says Sr. Dieker.
Also receiving honorary doctorates will be Amy Dundon-Berchtold, a visionary real estate investor, philanthropist, and University of Portland regent; Susan Sygall, CEO and co-founder of Mobility International USA (MIUSA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing disability rights and leadership globally; Mucki (Pei Ling) Tan ’80, commissioner of one of Jakarta, Indonesia’s most respected corporations, Rodamas Group; and Robert Watzke, M.D., a retinal surgeon who pioneered the use of lasers and was instrumental in the development of the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University.
Amy Dundon-Berchtold and Mucki (Pei Ling) Tan will receive their honorary degrees during the first commencement ceremony. Susan Sygall and Dr. Robert Watzke will receive their honors as a part of the second commencement ceremony.
For more information on the honorary doctorate recipients, as well as the awardee of the Christus Magister, visit https://www.up.edu/commencement/.
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