University of Portland

We love to see these ✨ iconic ✨ graduation caps 🎓

🔗 Want to see all of our photos from the 2026 Commencement season? Head here to see more photos from the entire weekend, including more graduation caps: https://bit.ly/4dWQkBq

A Message from University President Robert D. Kelly, PhD

With both immense sadness and abiding hope for our eternal life with Christ Jesus, I share the news that University of Portland President Emeritus Rev. David T. Tyson, C.S.C., passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 30, at Holy Cross House in Notre Dame, Indiana, after a brief illness. The UP community joins the Congregation of Holy Cross and Father David’s innumerable friends, family members, and supporters in mourning his passing and celebrating his life of ministry, service, and leadership.

Information on Father David’s Funeral Mass will be shared by the Congregation of Holy Cross soon. We will offer Mass in memory of Father David in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher on Friday, June 26th at 4pm.

Read the full message here: https://bit.ly/4o0VrFt

For as long as she can remember, US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mary Lea (Miller) Bordelon ’09 has always had to navigate two worlds. She reflected on this as part of a collection of stories by US Air Force Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. “The thought of Lola, my aunts, and uncles, and my first cousins and their children, living a life completely different from mine has always been difficult for me to grasp,” she wrote.

Raised in the St. Johns neighborhood, Bordelon made regular treks across the Pacific with her family to visit relatives who lived on Cebu Island in the Philippines, about 350 miles southeast of Manila. After graduating with De La Salle North Catholic's inaugural class, she made her decision to attend UP.

A friend of hers in UP’s ROTC program gave a presentation on the Twilight Brigade, a volunteer organization that provides end-of-life care to veterans, especially those without family. Boredelon was inspired by the care for community and enrolled with Air Force ROTC her sophomore year.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UP and graduating from the ROTC program as a distinguished graduate, she headed to pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Awarded her pilot wings in the summer of 2011, Bordelon and members of her squadron also made an official trip to the Philippines that brought back youthful memories and meet their counterparts in the Philippine Air Force in Cebu.

🔗 Read the full story from Portland Magazine here: https://bit.ly/4v9shpG

✏️ Eileen Bjorkman

"This is the guiding principle for technological processes: it is not enough for artificial intelligence to make us more efficient or connected; it must also serve to build a universal human family, with shared rights and duties, where digital proximity becomes a real opportunity for encounter and mutual care."

This past Monday, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas," a theological text that includes the ethical discussions surrounding artificial intelligence. At UP, where the intersection of AI and Catholic social teachings are embedded right into the curriculum, this discussion has never been more relevant.

Educators from around the country will be joining us on The Bluff, June 3-5, for the second annual Catholic Education and Artificial Intelligence conference to tackle these ethical and moral discussion head-on with experts who have worked with AI directly. From workshops to lectures, attendees will leave with hands-on experience and the knowledge of AI's benefits and its limitations.

🔗 Learn more: https://bit.ly/4v43WSv

Honoring those who have died for our country this Memorial Day. 💜

Sharing some special moments from the ceremonies across The Bluff at the start of commencement season this month 🥰

Kimberly Cortez ’25 felt immediately at home at The Beacon, thanks to longtime Beacon advisor Nancy Copic. Last year, Nancy announced her retirement after advising the student news outlet for nearly 16 years.

“After my first meeting, I was committed to becoming the best reporter I could be. And I knew that working closely with Nancy would help me get there. As a mentor, she helped dozens of students build a path toward their aspirations."

🔗 Read the full story from Portland Magazine here: https://bit.ly/4ua7tOX

✏️ Kimberly Cortez ’25
📷 Evan Guerra

From an amazing address by Malika Andrews '17 to seeing our Pilots graduate from The Bluff, here are just a few of our favorite moments from this year's undergraduate commencement ceremony 💜

To all our Pilot Moms, have a wonderful Mother's Day! 💜