Message from Fr. Mark Poorman, C.S.C.

February 18, 2021

Dear Members of the University of Portland Community,

Thanks to your hard work, resilience, creativity, and prayers, our Spring 2021 Semester is off to an exceptionally positive start. Unified by a spirit of hope and common concern, we have risen to meet the challenges of COVID-19, severe winter weather, power outages, and remote learning and working. Despite the obstacles we have faced, we have continued to carry forward our sacred mission of teaching and learning, faith and formation, and service and leadership. Today and always I am grateful for all that you have done, and continue to do, on behalf of our UP community.

With our semester well underway, I write with an announcement about my continued service as your president. After nearly ten years on The Bluff—and after much prayer, discernment, and consultation—I have decided to finish my tenure as University of Portland president after the conclusion of the academic year, at the end of June. I have received permission from the Provincial Superior of the U.S. Province of Holy Cross to take a sabbatical prior to an anticipated return to teaching, writing, and pastoral ministry. I have shared this news with the President’s Leadership Cabinet and the Provost’s Council, and I am deeply thankful for their continued support. The University’s Regents have graciously accepted this decision and will be providing information about interim leadership later this afternoon.

In making this decision, I first considered the timing of our strategic planning process. We intentionally postponed the process of creating our new strategic plan due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on University operations. This delay in our timeline means that the next strategic plan will guide UP through the year 2026, or well beyond. I believe that the leader of an institution should have the chance to establish institutional priorities and implement a strategic plan through its entire lifecycle—development, execution, and evaluation. 2026 is likely past the time in which I would have concluded my presidency had this timeline delay not occurred. Thus, stepping away now and allowing UP’s next president to lead the full strategic planning process from start to finish makes good sense.

Additionally, events of the past year have led to significant challenges around the globe, in our nation, and here at UP. We are grappling with a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, and conversations about what it means to respect the dignity of all members of the human family. As people of hope, we are called to see these challenges as extraordinary opportunities for progress, growth, and holiness. How will we build a more just and inclusive society? How will we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger and more resilient? Where will UP go next as we continue to serve our students and live out our mission? Answering these questions will be difficult, but if there is any institution capable of rising to meet these challenges, it is UP. After almost ten years at the University and twenty-four years in higher education administration, I believe that making way for a new leader with fresh perspectives on these opportunities will best serve the institution.

I step away from this role with tremendous gratitude for all that we have accomplished as a University community. Thanks to God’s grace and the brilliance and dedication of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, benefactors, Regents, and friends, UP is stronger now than at any point in its 120-year history.

• We deliver on our mission to offer superb undergraduate and graduate education that reflects the best of the Catholic and Holy Cross intellectual traditions.
• We have welcomed the largest first-year classes in University history while preserving our remarkable student-faculty ratio and retention rates. Our student body is more diverse now than it ever has been, and we have made great progress on broadening access to the University to as many as possible.
• We have reached new heights in donor contributions and benefactions, which have helped us to support student financial aid, faculty scholarship, and critical needs on campus.
• We have invested in our physical infrastructure, including Dundon-Berchtold Hall, Lund Family Hall, the Pilot House, Joe Etzel Field, and the Chiles Center Plaza. The Nelson Physical Plant Building and the Franz Campus are currently under construction, and more investment is on the horizon. Each of these projects has enabled us to improve the quality of the student experience.
• Although the pandemic has resulted in a period of constrained finances, we have made tremendous strides in fiscal health and sustainability.
• We developed “Vision 2020,” a strategic plan that earned widespread community buy-in, and we also undertook a comprehensive adjustment to faculty compensation, launched a revitalized core curriculum, and navigated the re-accreditation process with an unqualified endorsement from our accreditor.
• Finally, and most importantly, we have renewed and strengthened our Catholic and Holy Cross identities amid the complex crosscurrents of contemporary culture.

These accomplishments are ours to share, and I am profoundly grateful to all who have contributed to our institution’s continued success.

Serving as your president has been a source of unmatched joy and fulfillment in my life. I will leave the presidency this summer knowing that because of all of the goodness and grace in our community, UP’s best days are still ahead. This knowledge is a profound blessing unto itself. Now, and as always, I am praying for you, your loved ones, and our beloved University of Portland community.

Sincerely,

Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C.
President