Dr. James T. Covert Gallery

Dr. James T. Covert Gallery

Thanks to a generous gift from the Covert family, the Clark Library dedicates the Dr. James T. Covert Gallery in the Clark Libary is a place for campus art and history to come together, celebrating a man who made a deep and lasting impression on the University of Portland campus. Dr. Jim Covert (B.A. ’59) taught history at the University of Portland from 1961 to 1997. He was a popular professor as well as an active member of campus life, involved in everything from serving as UP's representative to the NCAA to designing a UP tie. He wrote the definitive history of the University, A Point of Pride, and created the University Museum. The Dr. James T. Covert Gallery brings history from the Museum and Archives, as well as art by faculty, students, and staff, to the Library to share the rich cultural heritage of the University.

 

2024

February: Liberated Archives: Memory Work Partnership with Don’t Shoot PDX  
In partnership with Don't Shoot PDX, this exhibit highlights themes of systemic oppression, displacement, and collective resistance in Portland. Student researchers worked with community partners to understand how archives can be used for social justice and memory preservation.  

2023 

October - December: The Double-Edged Sword of Transformation
Multimedia exhibit by Salvador Orara, UP Director of Innovation: Orara’s art combines creative technology, media design, and sound, using emerging technologies to transform subjects into abstraction and surrealism. His pieces are inspired by the mental health of industry professionals turned educators, and the imposter syndrome and self-doubt that he has experienced in this role.

July - October: Happy Birthday, Clark Library!
About the exhibit: Sixty-five years ago, the first University of Portland library building was dedicated, after years in Christie Hall’s leaky basement. From the days of card catalogs and smoking lounges, to today’s sleek study rooms and shelving that moves with the push of a button, the Clark Library is always evolving to support and inspire academic research and study on our campus.

March - July: Portraits of Everywoman (Soleia Yemaya Quinn)

January - March: School Spirit Through Songs and Music

2022

October - December: Experience of a Student: Artwork by Thayne Covert

August - October: Celebrating Waldschmidt Hall
About the exhibit: Built in 1891, this stalwart building started life on The Bluff as West Hall. As the University’s longest-serving building, Waldschmidt Hall has welcomed all University presidents from the first, Rev. E.P. Murphy who rang the opening bell on September 5, 1901, to the University’s 21st president, Dr. Robert Kelly.

April - August: Student Perspectives on Sustainability

March - April: Remembering Marc Covert
About the exhibit: The Clark Library celebrates Marc Covert, UP alumnus and beloved UP colleague for more than 25 years. Marc was a talented writer and cartoonist who dedicated his prodigious gifts to Portland magazine, telling stories and recounting campus history in ways that drew readers in and showed his love for the university. We lost Marc to cancer in 2021 but are proud to honor his memory with this exhibit in the gallery that bears his family’s name.

January - March:Running with Scissors...while laughing all the way to the Banksy

2021

August - October: El Otro Lado - The Other Side (Photographs by Blair Woodard)
About the Exhibit: The terminus of the U.S. border wall extends over three hundred meters into the Pacific Ocean in Tijuana. Although the presence of the wall is oppressive, the Playas of Tijuana has become a place of resistance, celebration, and fortitude. The citizens of Tijuana have turned the wall and the boardwalk into a living art exhibit. Visit the Garaventa Center archives to watch a recording of Blair Woodard's talk about these photographs. 

October - December: UP Student Newspapers

2020

January - March: Running Through Time: Track and Field at the University of Portland

2019 

January - March: UP Women’s Basketball: A Look Back

March - August: Clark Library Juried Photo Contest

August - October:Through Kaleidoscope Eyes

October - December: Down Around the Corner

2018 

January - February: The Early Years of UP Nursing

March - April: From Pages to Production

May - August: Perspectives

September - October: Celebrating the Clark Library

October - December: Dr. James T. Covert 

2017 

August - September: Remembering Howard Hall

October - December: Searching for Homunculus