By Fr. Jim Lies, Guest Commentary
Four years ago at this time, I arrived at UP to join the religious of the Congregation of Holy Cross in our ministry here. I was slow to settle in for all kinds of reasons – as I suspect some of you are who have just joined us here. Somewhere along the line, however, and I can't tell you exactly when, this place became home to me. The motto "Teaching, Faith and Service" was little more than a catch phrase as I arrived; but it has since come to mean much more to me. I marvel at the level of collegiality, collaboration, and community that I have found here – and all the ways in which we try to live up to our motto. I am grateful beyond measure for the opportunity to join with my colleagues, lay and religious, in the shared mission of this university. In partnership we serve God by serving our students through a commitment to excellence in the liberal arts and professional education.
We live in a world that too often focuses on that which divides rather than unites us. The search for knowledge and truth is not bound by place or circumstance. The University of Portland is a place that is interested in engaging the big questions, taking up the wholeness of truth and discussing issues of ethics, morality, and social justice. Among us, faculty, staff and students, we represent a wide array of religious and political views. We do not always agree on the answers to these fundamental questions, but we are united in an appreciation of the importance of addressing and pondering them. The great glory of a Catholic University is that one can consider still further the genesis of knowledge and the impact that it ought to have on our lives and community. In the ways that each of us attend to our courses and pursue our research, students and faculty alike, we contribute to the creation of knowledge and the pursuit of truth. We do it together in hopes of fostering an environment in which everyone thrives.
Those of us who live on campus year round welcome this time of year. There is an appropriateness to the hustle and bustle which happens when we are all together in this place. Oh, we might have appreciated the solitude for a while in early summer but it doesn't take long for one to realize that this University was built for a purpose. It's at its best as a gathering place for intellectual conversation, inquiry and discovery; for spiritual challenge, growth and development; and for service to the larger community. Your intellectual pursuits, inside and outside of the classroom, will take you places that you've never been before. Opportunities, too many to list, will help you to learn more about yourself and the world in which you live. I have become convinced over time that the fullness of one's UP experience depends on one's willingness to engage the big questions – to consider matters of identity, purpose, faith and meaning – so as to be prepared to contribute to the wider world which awaits.
