What has six deans and a lot of changes? UP it seems, based on a recent deans panel hosted by the Associated Students of the University of Portland (ASUP).
On Nov. 10, deans from each college discussed incoming changes to their respective schools. Changes range from furniture to curriculums and will impact student experiences across all parts of campus.
College of Arts and Sciences
Dean Valerie Banschbach discussed two new majors that arrived at the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) in the past year: the bachelor of science in media and the bachelor of arts in criminology.
Banschbach also mentioned that a proposal for a musical theater major has recently passed through their curricular committee. This means the major will be available in fall 2026.
School of Business
Dean Michael DeVaughn spoke about recent shifts within majors in the School of Business.
The operations and technology management major (OTM) has recently been broken down into a series of more specific majors.
Now, in addition to the OTM major, students can earn a major in business analytics, management information systems and supply chain analytics. The goal, according to DeVaughn, is to expand the major offerings available to students and provide them with more choices when it comes to their business specialization.
The school has also added a new major in business administration.
The sports business minor at UP has seen high enrollment rates. Because of this, the school is now looking to turn the program into a major offering as well, according to DeVaughn.
DeVaughn also spoke about the recent transition of the finite mathematics course from a class run by the math department to one run by the business school. Pre-transition, 15% of students were receiving D’s or F’s in the course. Since the switch, this number has fallen to about 2%.
The school has also made an effort to put business ethics front and center in the curriculum by implementing a business ethics module into students’ specific major classes. DeVaughn believes this is particularly important for students going into business.
“Many ethical challenges arise in the workplace, especially when you introduce a profit motive, which is inherently what business does,” DeVaughn said at the event. “So I wanted our business students to grapple with those issues in the context of business as well. Everyone will confront some sort of business ethical dilemma in the workplace. It's not if, it's a matter of when.”
The School of Business is also working to make the meaningful international experience (MIE) requirement more accessible. The school will be piloting an asynchronous course in the coming semester for students who are not able to go abroad during their years at UP.
Clark Library
Interim Dean Christina Prucha spoke about a survey conducted by the library in the previous spring term. Aside from the highly requested addition of a microwave, Prucha and her staff have worked to implement solutions to common grievances.
These problems include broken chairs, wobbly tables, dead outlets, faulty table lights and smelly bathrooms.
The library spent the summer addressing these problems and was able to fix the tables along with several outlets and will soon be receiving a shipment of new chairs. The bathrooms are also getting a makeover, with new products being used to address the smell, Prucha says.
The Library has also created an advisory council, where student representatives are given a space to speak to her about things their classmates would like to see at the library, according to Prucha.
“If you have things you want to bring forward to the library, talk to [your representatives], because [these council meetings are] really a dialog session where I get to share things out and also [for] people [to] bring things to me,” Prucha said at the event.
Shiley School of Engineering
The Shiley School of Engineering is expanding its program offerings this fall, with five new minors available. These include aerospace engineering, construction management, artificial intelligence, biomedical engineering and cybersecurity.
The last three on the list are available to all UP students, with few to no prerequisites.
The school has also started offering core exploration classes with a spring 2026 course titled “Issues in Technology and AI.”
Interim Dean Tammy VanDeGrift says this is an accessible way for students to engage with the school.
“If you're interested in just getting a touch into engineering, it's a great way to dabble and get yourself into more of a problem-solving, solution-building space,” VanDegrift said at the event.
The school will also be shuttering its masters programs due to consistently low enrollment. These programs will close in fall 2026.
School of Education
Dean John Watzke discussed the recent addition of a social and emotional learning minor.
The school will also offer a core exploration course titled “Foundations of Social and Emotional Learning in Schools,” available to all students. Watzke says this class can be useful to students regardless of major.
“[These classes] might speak to you in terms of the work that you're thinking about doing, how people regulate themselves, how they learn to regulate professional and personal relationships,” Watzke said at the event.
The school will also be offering its first reading specialist endorsement to 19 Portland Public Schools.
The endorsement is taught by professor Katie Danielson, a specialist in early child literacy, and will mean more name recognition and field experience opportunities for UP education students.
School of Nursing & Health Innovations
According to School of Nursing & Health Innovations (SONHI) Dean Joane Moceri, the public health and wellness major (PHW) will be moving out of the nursing school and into CAS.
Moceri believes this transition will encourage more collaboration between the CAS majors and students on the pre-health track.
In SONHI, the nursing major takes up most of the school’s resources and attention, often dominating over the PHW major. Moceri believes this shift may promote growth for students who have picked this major.
The school will also be collaborating with the School of Education to create a nursing leadership and education concentration.
Nandita Kumar is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at kumarn27@up.edu.
