Alumni
Awards and Rankings
May 2, 2019
Four University of Portland alumni will be individually recognized as Alumni Award recipients at this year’s President’s Awards Gala taking place during the upcoming Alumni Reunion Weekend on campus. Mike Irwin ’78, Margarita Bautista Gay ’87, Molly Craft Johnson ’13, and Cathryn Casey ’19 will each be recognized for embodying the University’s mission of teaching and learning, faith and formation, and service and leadership at the Gala on Friday, June 28, at 7:30 p.m.
Mike Irwin ’78 has dedicated his entire professional life to public service. After graduating from The Bluff with an engineering degree, Mike spent 26 years as an Air Force officer, followed by 16 years as a senior executive service leader with the Department of Homeland Security. He has commanded humanitarian missions around the globe, flown multiple combat-zone missions, and, during 9/11, was on duty as director of operations at the White House. He recently retired as federal security director for the State of Oregon, leading 700 women and men of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) at PDX and other Oregon airports, and was selected as the Compass Award winner for outstanding leadership and contributions to the Port of Portland. Grounded in the belief that one must remain a lifetime learner, Mike is completing his fourth master’s degree. Even more important than class content, Mike values finding his own character strengthened through experiencing the differing views of his classmates. Throughout all of his positions of leadership, Mike’s focus has never wavered and he proudly shares it: mission, people, leadership, teamwork, and integrity. He credits UP with introducing him to the love of his life, Lori Irwin ’79, his wife of 38 years, and also with providing the foundation for his personal values—faith, leadership, service, and compassion. Though his professional accomplishments are impressive, Mike is most passionate about the role he has been able to play in mentoring the next generation of leaders. He encourages young people to enter into public service because he believes “the sanctity of public service is critical to maintaining the faith and confidence of the American people.”
Established in 1960 as the Outstanding Alumnus Award and renamed in 1982, the Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes a University of Portland, Columbia University, or Columbia Prep alumnus or alumna who has made significant contributions to his or her profession on a local and national level, made significant contributions to his or her community, and offered significant support to the University and its programs.
Since graduating from the University of Portland in 1987, Margarita Bautista Gay has dedicated her career to serving the people of Guam as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse. Inspired and emboldened by her educational experience at UP, she earned her master’s degree in nursing from Washington State University and immediately began to give back to the field of nursing education. She taught as an assistant professor for the School of Nursing at the University of Guam from 1996 until 2004 and served as executive director for the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners. Over her 29 years in NICU nursing and medical administration, Margarita has worked at Guam Memorial Hospital in the neonatal intensive care unit, and served as administrator for the Bureau of Family Health & Nursing Services. As a mother of three, Margarita knows how essential proper medical care is for the overall health of families and has worked tirelessly to provide outreach to at-risk communities with immunizations, disease prevention education, family planning, worksite wellness screenings, and health fairs—all often for clients who are underinsured or uninsured. In 2009, Margarita was given the Nurse of the Year award by the Guam Nurses Association. She currently works as the chief of nursing for Guam Public Health. Margarita credits UP with teaching her to remember her medical ethics in every situation she encounters and to rely on her spirituality as she serves her community.
Established in 1983, and rededicated in 1991 to honor the University's late 17th president, the Rev. Thomas C. Oddo, C.S.C., Outstanding Service Award recognizes a University of Portland, Columbia University, or Columbia Prep alumnus or alumna who has demonstrated the University's mission through volunteerism in his or her own community; helped prepare others for service to God, neighbor, and the world; inspired others in their service work by being a leader; and is living a life consistent with the University's mission.
With creativity and zeal, Molly Craft Johnson ‘13 is becoming widely recognized as a leader in the field of environmental sustainability. According to Molly, her participation in the University of Portland’s Honors Program instilled in her a “public intellectual” fervor. Molly says that her studies at UP helped her to focus her energy toward working for equity in environmental concerns, stating that UP “taught me that there are issues of social justice at stake in all cases of environmental harm.” At the encouragement of environmental studies professor Steve Kolmes, Molly enrolled in a master’s program at The New School in New York City and played a crucial role in the relaunch of the school’s Tishman Environment and Design Center. In 2015, she was hired as assistant director for sustainability initiatives at The New School and pioneered a university-wide freecycle program for new students. She also earned the cooperation of all university faculty to include lessons on sustainability during a week-long curriculum disruption entitled “Disrupt Climate Injustice” in early 2018. Molly has returned to Portland to work as the special assistant to the CEO and board liaison at Meyer Memorial Trust. Molly was inspired by the Trust’s mission to support equity in Oregon through offering grants that focus on the environment, education, housing, and community development. She remains full of Pilot Pride; she helped to launch UP’s NYC Alumni Chapter and has now joined UP’s GOLD Board. While on campus, Molly embraced UP’s challenge to be one’s best self and to carry out the University’s dedication to teaching and learning, service and leadership, and faith and formation. Evident in her life of public care and innovative community education, Molly continues to be a remarkable model of this vocational charge.
Established in 1995, the Contemporary Alumni Award recognizes a "young" alumnus or alumna—a graduate of the past 15 years—for significant professional contributions on the local level, significant contributions to the community, and significant support of the University and its programs.
Commitment to service is the guiding principle of 2019 nursing graduate Cathryn Casey. “Service has taught me the importance of being an ally, of using my privilege to work with others to make tangible change,” she says. As the service and justice coordinator of Tyson and Haggerty Halls, Cathryn facilitated volunteer opportunities with nonprofits such as Night Strike, Friends of Trees, and Catholic Charities. She helped deliver Thanksgiving dinners to low-income families, worked at the Village Gardens and Weed Warriors, volunteered at Boys and Girls Club and Potluck in the Park, and served dinners to community members in downtown Portland at St. Andre Bessette’s Catholic Church. While studying abroad in Australia, she spent a week in the Australian Bush living with and learning from the indigenous people. She has worked with Syrian refugees in trauma support groups, tutoring their children in math. She has also been a participant and a group leader on the Moreau Center’s Rural Immersion in Yakima, Washington, visiting farms and hearing stories of migrant farmworkers and members of the Yakima Nation. She spent a nursing rotation working with the men recovering from addiction at the Blanchet House of Hospitality, and she completed her capstone at Our House, a residential facility for people living with HIV and AIDs. Cathryn completed her final UP immersion in Tanzania this spring. Upon graduation, she will join the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest where she will provide wellness activities, education, mentorship, and tutoring for students at a rural satellite campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Bethel, Alaska.
The Thomas A. Gerhardt '55 Memorial Award for Student Leadership honors a member of the most recent graduating class for his or her leadership as an undergraduate and dedication to the University and the community through service to God and neighbor. It began in 1960 as the Award for Student Leadership and was renamed in 1964 upon the death of Gerhardt, the beloved eighth president of the Associated Students of the University of Portland.
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