For the past year, after the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon, Jill Punches, the director of auxiliary services at UWS, has run a race each week in honor of the victims. We caught up with her for a Q&A about the past year. Continue reading
What can you do with the new master’s degrees in exercise and sports science?
Written by Sara Mathov, DC, DACBR, ATC
UWS is launching four new programs under the umbrella of exercise and sports science. One of the questions I have heard a lot is “what can a person do with a master’s degree in one of the new concentrations?”
It is a question that is easy to answer because, honestly, the possibilities are endless!
First of all, what are the new concentrations and when do the programs start?
They will all begin this fall, with an official start date of October 6, 2014. The new programs being offered are: Sports Performance and Coaching Science (MS), Fitness and Wellness Management (MS), Sports and Athletic Administration (MA), and Sports and Athletic Counseling (MS). Continue reading
Heartbleed & UWS Update
Hello UWS!
If you have been reading the tech news, you may have heard about a large security threat called the “Heartbleed” bug. The bug exposes a flaw in the encryption security framework of many public internet websites. The bug allows for previously assumed “secure” connections on those websites to be breached and previously assumed “secure” information to be accessed.
Your UWS account has not been affected by this bug, as we use a more up-to-date and higher-strength encryption framework through Microsoft for our account provisioning. The office of IT is evaluating and assessing the full extent and impact of this bug. Thus far we have identified that only a few UWS services will likely require patches, and we are working to enhance the encryption for those services. At this time we do not believe any sensitive data has been compromised, but if we do identify a breach, we will alert the community and affected parties. Continue reading
New Fitness Center in Gym
Over spring break, UWS’ office of facilities was hard at work creating an upgraded fitness area in the gym — the area features a specialized flooring to protect the wood underneath, new, mobile basketball hoops, additional space for our current equipment, new equipment and cubbies for personal items.
The new fitness area is a part of the Western States Wellness initiative to promote healthier living and wellness in our campus community. Continue reading
Beat the Winter Blues: Portland Area Activities
Compiled by Campus Health Center Attending Physician, Amanda Armington, DC for our Beat the Winter Blues Week:
- Forest Park – over 5,000 acres (one of the country’s largest urban parks!) Over 70 miles of trails for hiking, trail running, and biking. Kid friendly (enter on NW Upshur for a nice level hike good for the littles!) Wildwood trail – 30 mile loop starting at Washington Park, well-marked, easy to moderate trail. In the summer, FP hosts a ½ and full marathon event that traverses through the hills of the park– https://www.forestparkconservancy.org Also, check out the “forest park pdx” app for iphone !!
- Mt. Tabor Park – easy to moderate trails for hiking, trail running, road and mountain biking located right in SE Portland. Playground about ½ way up for the kiddos. Views of Mt. Hood and downtown from the top.
- Springwater Corridor – Downtown Portland to Boring, OR. 21 miles of paved trail along the Willamette River, through Sellwood, along Johnson Creek, through Gresham and into Boring. Run, walk, bike, rollerblade
- Yoga – any variety but especially lovely in the winter is Hot or Bikram. Check out Yoga Union on SE 50th, the Hot Flow is niiiice
- Oregon Zoo – tends to be less populated in the winter especially if it’s rainy. Lots of covered/indoor exhibits plus the animals seem to like the drizzle. Second Tuesday of the month $4 admission. Ride Tri-met for additional discount. **although currently closed, normally the Zoo Train connects with Washington Park where you can get off, enjoy the Rose Garden or other parts of Washington Park, and then re-board to head back to the Zoo. (maybe next year!)
- GORGEous Gorge Hikes – head east on I-84. Rain or shine! Most trails open year-round. A great book to check out: 60 Hikes within 60 Miles Portland. A few favorites:
- The ever popular Multnomah Falls (exit 31) – views worth the moderate switchback trail to the top. For those less athletic, a short walk up to the bridge is also quite amazing.
- Eagle Creek (exit 41) – a shorter hike to Punchbowl Falls is an easy day hike (3.8 miles round trip). Longer out-and-backs include High Bridge or Tunnel Falls.
- Angel’s Rest (exit 28) – if it’s clear, a great hike to watch the sunset! About an hour of switchbacks with quick gain, walk over bouldered shelf area and up to the view point. Bring a snack and sit on the bench up at the very top that looks west into Portland.
- Think Snow! 1 ½ hours to snow on Mt. Hood
- Sledding – Snow Bunny (3 mi east of Gov’t Camp), Cooper Spur (off Hwy 35)
- Cross Country Ski – Eight Mile Creek loop (off Hwy 35), Teacup lake (off Hwy 35), Frog Lake (off 26)
- Snowshoeing – my favorite trails include Trillium Lake Loop, Barlow Pass, Bennett Pass – can snowshoe any x-country skiing trail
- Ski/Snowboard – Mt. Hood Meadows www.skihood.com – night skiing too
- Timberline www.timberlinelodge.com
- Mt. Hood Ski Bowl – night skiing & tubing www.skibowl.com
- The Coast! 1 ½ hours to the beach! Obvious choices: long walks at sunset or a (windy) jog along the water.
- Kite flying – rent or buy a kite and fly away, we definitely have enough wind for that!
- Surfing – “Short sands” or Oswald West is a popular spot – any coast town will have rental shops for gear (don’t forget the full wetsuit!). In Ecola State Park you will find Indian Beach, another popular surfing area.
- Hike – I love Saddle Mountain (off Hwy 26) – rough ride in on a LOOONNNG road with potholes BUT the hike is awesome… Especially if you have a clear day. Moderate intensity but the views are amazing. Ft. Stevens (Astoria) is a cool spot with a history. Pacific City (further south on 101) has huge sand dunes at Cape Kiwanda that get your heart pumping (the best: running down!).
- Clam Chowder – a must when you’re on the coast. My favorite spot is Driftwood in Cannon Beach. Mo’s is another chain-y type spot in almost every coast town.
- Kid Friendly (indoor fun):
- Multnomah County Library – various branches offer kids story hour or quiet time for both kids and parents www.multcolib.org
- Vancouver Library – awesome kid’s floor! https://fvrl.ent.sirsi.net/
- OMSI www.omsi.edu
- Portland Children’s Museum www.portlandcm.org
- Playdate PDX www.playdatepdx.com
- Pump It Up Junior www.pumpitupparty.com
- Equipment rentals:
- Portland Equipment Rentals: REI (503-221-1938)
- Mountain Shop (503-288-6768)
- Next Adventure (503-233-0706)
- Fat Tire Farms (503-222-FARM) (mountain bikes)
- THINK AHEAD! (To beyond the winter months!
- Hippie Chick Half (women’s only half & quarter marathons) May 10
- Tough Mudder August 9+10
- Bridge Pedal August 10
- Hood To Coast/Portland to Coast August 22
- Color Run September 6
UWS Offers New Online Master’s in Exercise and Sports Science Concentrations
PORTLAND, Ore., January 31, 2014 – The University of Western States is now enrolling for fall of 2014 for new, online concentrations that add to the already distinguished exercise and sports science degree.
The concentrations include MS in sports medicine, MS in fitness and wellness management, MA in sports and athletic administration, MS in sports performance and coaching and MS in sports and athletic counseling. Learn more about these programs at https://www.uws.edu/exercise-sports-science. Continue reading