Mark L. Poorman is an American theologian, ethicist, and academic administrator who formerly served as the twentieth president of the

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Poorman was inaugurated as president of the University of Portland on September 26, 2014.

Early life and education

Poorman spent his childhood in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

, and

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

, where his father served as the founding president of

Lincoln Land Community College Lincoln Land Community College is a public community college in Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree in English from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and was inducted into

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. He later earned a master of divinity degree from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Co ...

and a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics from the

Graduate Theological Union The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is a consortium of eight private independent American Seminary, theological schools and eleven centers and affiliates. Seven of the theological schools are located in Berkeley, California. The GTU was founded ...

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. Poorman was received into the

Congregation of Holy Cross The Congregation of Holy Cross (), abbreviated CSC, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in 1837 by Basil Moreau, in Le Mans, France. Moreau also founded the Marianites of Holy Cross for women, n ...

in 1977, made First Vows in 1978, professed Final Vows in 1981, and was ordained as a Holy Cross Priest in 1982.

University of Notre Dame

After completing his master of divinity, Poorman remained on Notre Dame's campus to serve as rector of

Dillon Hall Dillon Hall is one of the 32 Residence Halls on the campus of the University of Notre Dame and one of the 17 male dorms. It is located directly west of Alumni Hall, which Dillon acquired in 1988, and is directly adjacent to South Dining Hall o ...

, associate director of campus ministry, and instructor of theology. He returned to Notre Dame after earning his Ph.D. to become a member of the theology faculty and later an administrator. From 1999 to 2010, he served as Notre Dame's Vice President for Student Affairs and as priest-in-residence in Keough Hall on the campus.

University of Portland

Poorman was named Executive Vice President of the University of Portland in 2011, overseeing university operations, financial affairs, student affairs, and university relations. He also joined the university's theology faculty and helped to create the university's Dundon-Berchtold Institute for Moral Formation & Applied Ethics. At its January, 2014 meeting, the University of Portland's Board of Regents elected Poorman the institution's twentieth president, succeeding Rev. E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C., who had served as president since 2003. Poorman was inaugurated on Friday, September 26, 2014 at a ceremony held at the

Chiles Center The Earle A. & Virginia H. Chiles Center is a 4,852-seat multi-purpose arena in Portland, Oregon, USA. The arena opened in 1984. It is home to the University of Portland Pilots men's and women's basketball teams as well as the women's volleyball t ...

on the University campus. In 2015, Poorman announced that the University of Portland would create a new strategic plan to guide the institution's mission fulfillment over the course of the next four years. The plan, entitled Vision 2020, was launched in 2016 and provides strategies by which the University would fulfill its mission of teaching and learning, faith and formation, and service and leadership. Poorman teaches an undergraduate theology course on moral formation and ethics entitled "The Character Project."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poorman, Mark 1954 births Living people People from Phoenix, Arizona People from Bakersfield, California People from Springfield, Illinois University of Illinois alumni University of Notre Dame alumni Heads of universities and colleges in the United States University of Notre Dame faculty Graduate Theological Union alumni University of Portland faculty