McKena Miyashiro |
Math professor Craig Swinyard, who has been a part of UP for almost 20 years, was selected last week as the new director of alumni relations. A 1998 alum, Swinyard lived in Villa Maria Hall for four years, serving as a resident assistant his junior and senior year.
After graduating, Swinyard worked as an assistant hall director in Corrado Hall for two years before receiving his masters of science in teaching mathematics, and his Ph.D in mathematics education from Portland State University. He joined UP’s faculty in 2008.
Q: Why is it so important for students to be connected with alumni?
A: You're here for a lot of reasons, but one reason is to get a degree and go out in the world and be successful. The alums we have are doing wonderful things out there, and are in turn looking to pick up students that come from their alma mater. So having connections there helps our students, because our alums know the world out there, and the different industries and can help our students gain employment. But also, it's not just about getting employment, but for our alums, it's the chance to give back. So I think the relationship works both ways.
Q: Being an alum yourself, why is this job important to you?
A: When I was a kid, we moved around all the time. And my dad was in the Air Force, and UP was the first place where I felt like I fit. And so I just love UP, and I loved my experiences in undergrad, and that's why I came back as a faculty member when I had that opportunity. I love this community. This is just a new way to serve the community, and really be intentional about how we can connect alums to our current students.
Q: What new programs or plans do you have for maintaining relationships with alumni?
A: We want to look at opportunities to engage the academic piece of UP. So, people love coming to basketball games and soccer games. And that's really important, but people also had great experiences here at UP because they felt like they fit maybe within their English major, or poli-sci major, or engineering major. So there's different ways that people feel connected academically. I think when alums come back, to be honest, they're really excited to see their old professors. And really, bringing the professors into our different events just makes sense. We as professors love seeing students too!
Q: You've done a lot of different jobs at the University. What makes UP an interesting place to work?
A: It never feels like work. I know that's kind of a cliche thing to say, but for me, this is my vocation. I love this community, and when you think about what is your community, for me, my community includes everyone here. So UP is a special place largely because of its size. It's big enough so that there are always new perspectives, but it’s not small enough where everyone thinks the same way.
Q: What was your favorite memory from living in Villa Maria Hall?
A: When I lived in Villa [Maria Hall], it was when the Man Auction started. And as I look back, knowing now how big the Man Auction is, the fact that it’s in Chiles Center is amazing. Thinking back to my sophomore year in the fall of 1995, we had the first Man Auction and it was in Villa lounge. Even a few minutes before the Man Auction started, no one was there and we sent guys over to Mehling saying, "You gotta bring girls to this,” hoping we could fill the little lounge. We got enough people to fill it, and it was kind of cozy, and it was great.
Q: What do you think you're going to miss most about teaching math once this semester ends?
A: I’ll teach one class a year, at least for a while, and maybe one class a semester once I get my feet underneath me. But I'm just going to miss the engagement with students, and being in the classroom, which is where a lot of the magic happens. I have wonderful students, and just that moment when you're working with students that are great people and they have that Aa-ha!” moment, and you can see it, and it's awesome. That's a tremendous high and I'll miss the amount of that, just from the function of teaching three classes to only teaching one. But man, I'm going to love teaching that one class.
Q: What do you like to do during your spare time?
A: Other than chasing my three-year-old daughter around, I'm a runner. I love running and I run marathons, and it's been a great way to see different cities in the U.S. I spend a lot of time over in Forest Park with a couple of my friends to run. Portland is a great city to be a runner in.
Q: What's your favorite place to eat in Portland?
A: Right now, I'll give you my favorite lunch place, which is Lardo. Everytime I go in there, I'm like, "I'm gonna order something new!" and I always wind up ordering either the double burger or the pork belly sandwich. McKena Miyashiro is a reporter for The Beacon. You can contact her at miyashir17@up.edu.
