As the Moreau Center for Service and Leadership coordinates the annual Service Plunge for freshmen this week, it also faces the pressure of replacing Director Laura Goble and Assistant Director Melissa Marley Bonnichsen.
Their departure will leave Assistant Director Pat Ell with many of their responsibilities.
Goble left UP in mid-August for Gannon University in Erie, Pa., which is an hour away from her family in Buffalo, N.Y., and Bonnichsen will leave Aug. 30 for the University of Notre Dame.
Although the Moreau Center is missing two key staff members at the beginning of a new year, it does not plan on postponing any programs.
“We are not looking at cutting back on anything,” Ell said.
In the meantime, Fr. John Donato searches for their replacements.
“We have created an interim post which I’m working diligently to fill,” Donato said. “It could be filled as early as late September.”
Since the Moreau Center is not cutting back on their offerings and programs, both Ell and Donato face a hectic month.
“The timing is coincidental and challenging.” Ell said. “This first month will be a little bit of a scramble.”
Bonnichsen agrees that the timing coinciding with Laura Goble’s departure is an added challenge for the Moreau Center, but said working at Notre Dame is an important “next step” in her career.
Bonnichsen will be the director of seminars at Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concerns, which are similar to UP’s immersion experiences.
“Notre Dame is very open to me being as creative and innovative as I want, which is exciting,” Bonnichsen said.
Goble will be leading the Center for Social Concerns at Gannon University.
“The opportunity to invest in the resurrection of an abandoned rust belt city in such close proximity to my family was one that I couldn’t refuse,” Goble said in an email to UP Directors announcing her departure.
However, she said it was difficult for her to make the decision to leave UP.
“I’m very grateful for our collaborations and the many lessons you have all taught me,” she said in the email.
Donato emphasized how happy he was for Goble and Bonnichsen in their new positions.
“If someone can advance themselves, they should always take that opportunity,” Donato said. “That’s exactly what we aim to do on this campus, help our community advance itself.”
But at the heart of these changes are the emotions. Students who participated in Moreau Center immersion trips and activities, like Richelle Rock, made clear that Goble and Bonnichsen will be missed.
“Because of Laura (Goble), I was able to have a fantastic experience this summer,” said Rock. “She helped me feel confident and comfortable in Kenya.”
Rock spent 10 weeks in Kenya this summer, a program she connected with through Goble and the Moreau Center.
Despite the challenge of running the Moreau Center in Goble and Bonnichsen’s absence, both Donato and Ell suggested that this moment was one of growth, not of decline. Donato said he was "optimistic" about this window of opportunity.
“I’m looking to the community to contribute as best (it) can to this opportunity and chance to take the Moreau Center to the next level,” said Donato. “The Moreau Center is an icon of the University of Portland. It brings together service and faith, and it does these amazing things on what has always been such a small staff.”
Moreau Center for Service and Leadership
-Offers immersion trips lasting from the required day-long Service Plunge for freshmen to the month-long Nicaragua trip to the 9-week-long East Africa internship. Students have the opportunity to do service and achieve “a hands-on, close-up view of different populations and issues in Oregon, Washington, other parts of the West, and Latin America,” according to the Moreau Center web page.
-Connects students to volunteer opportunities through Campus Volunteer Coordinators (CVCs), student employees who offers volunteer opportunities as specific sites, and Social Justice Coordinators (SJCs), student employees who plan volunteer activities within residence halls.
