Short profiles of Pacific alumni are followed by full Class Notes listings. Note: Use the search box at upper right to find a specific classmate or year of listings.
Carl Mead 1986
Carl Mead ’86 was appointed to the position of Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning for the Beaverton School District starting July 1. As a regional administrator for the Aloha and Southridge region, this position will include overseeing a dozen schools in the district’s southern area.
He takes over for Sarah Boly, who retired. Dr. Mead, formerly the principal of Sunset High School for three years, received his MAT from Lewis and Clark after graduating from Pacific. While attending Pacific, Carl taught at Circle of Friends and gave tours to prospective students.
Heidi Cupp 2010
During winter break of her senior year, Heidi Cupp ‘10 traveled to the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institute in Pendleton, Ore. to conduct research for her senior project in anthropology, titled “Recidivism in Inmates with Drug Related Crimes.”
Cupp interviewed five inmates and three counselors in an attempt to understand why previously imprisoned criminals have a tendency to return to prison. According to Cupp, 70 percent of those who are currently imprisoned have been to prison before.
Specifically, Cupp looked at inmates who committed crimes while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She asked the inmates about their lives before and after imprisonment. In addition, she asked them how and why they got involved in drugs or alcohol.
The 21-year-old student "grew up around prison and hearing all about prison and inmates." Her grandfather was once the warden of the penitentiary in Salem, Ore. and both of her parents worked as prison guards.
"I like working with vulnerable populations, with people who don't have a voice," Cupp told the Pacific Index, "I look at anthropology as a degree in people. It's a degree that helps you understand and relate to people better."
The inmates Cupp interviewed will receive a copy of her 70-page paper.
Jennifer Smythe 1993
A Pacific alumna (O.D. '93) who has served as dean of the College of Optometry at Pacific University since 2008, Smythe is the first woman to be elected to the executive committee of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO). She will serve on the executive committee as an at-large member.
Founded in 1941, ASCO represents the interest of the schools and colleges of optometry in the United States and Puerto Rico, and is committed to helping its member institutions prepare well-qualified graduates for the optometry profession.
Prior to serving as dean, Smythe served as a professor, chief of contact lens services and associate dean for academic programs. She spent 12 years in private practice and has written extensively on vision care. She is a contributing editor for Primary Care Optometry News, Vice-President of Women of Vision, a Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry and a Diplomate in the Section on Cornea and Contact Lenses. Her research interests include contact lenses; correction of presbyopia; and corneal and ocular response to contact lens wear.
Howard Horner 1940
Howard Horner and Grace Horner ’41 were featured in The Oregonian celebrating their successful 70-year marriage, sharing their story about how they met at Pacific University and their common love for music.
Donald Foelker 1944
Donald Foelker was featured in May 2012 in the Salem, Ore., Statesman Journal after dropping by a display of military uniforms in the Capitol galleria and sharing his story from World War II. Foelker enlisted in the V-12 Navy College Training Program just before the attack on Pearl Harbor and started his education at Pacific University.
Norman Pierce 1951
Norman Pierce welcomed his 10th great-grandchild on Oct. 24, 2012.
Frank Mossman 1962
Frank Mossman O.D. recently retired from practice after a fire significantly damaged his Vancouver, Wash., vision clinic.
Jerry Greenfield 1964
Jerry Greenfield taught English at Miyazaki International College in Japan for 12 years and retired in 2009. Before moving to Japan, he taught photography at a number of universities. His documentaries and photographs have been displayed at public collections in the United States. He has served on the advisory board for Pacific’s Berglund Center for Internet Studies.
Barbara Benson 1967
Barbara (Martin) Benson is retired and living in Washington, following a career full of adventures in the sky as a flight attendant and as an occasional substitute teacher. Barbara lost her husband, the love of her life, unexpectedly four years ago. Her old English sheepdog, Angel, was one of the greatest joys in her life.
Brishen (William Hedgebeth) Minns-Currier 1968
Brishen (William Hedgebeth) Minns-Currier was briefly involved with the Peace Corps in Ethiopia before he went to work for the City of Portland Police Bureau as a records manager. He spent many years working in a civil enforcement office for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle. Most recently, he worked as a grants administrator for the New York Office of Parks in Albany. He retired in 2010.