University of Portland

The University of Portland is a thriving community of more than 4,000 students, who come from around the nation and the world, as well as over 1,000 faculty and staff. The University is located up on a bluff in a residential neighborhood overlooking the Willamette River and the city of Portland. The school’s location also is the inspiration for its nickname, “The Bluff.” 

The University is led by Fr. Mark L. Poorman, CSC, who began his tenure as University of Portland’s 20th president in 2014. Since our inception in 1901, the University has been guided by the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Catholic order of priests and brothers. The founder of the order, Blessed Basil Moreau, CSC, said, "The mind will not be cultivated at the expense of the heart.” This commitment to educating the hands, heart, and mind are hallmarks of our belief in educating the whole person.

Our Mission: The University of Portland, an independently governed Catholic university guided by the Congregation of Holy Cross, addresses significant questions of human concern through disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies of the arts, sciences, and humanities and through studies in majors and professional programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. As a diverse community of scholars dedicated to excellence and innovation, we pursue teaching and learning, faith and formation, service and leadership in the classroom, residence halls, and the world. Because we value the development of the whole person, the University honors faith and reason as ways of knowing, promotes ethical reflection, and prepares people who respond to the needs of the world and its human family.