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.
Benson Medina 1976
Benson Medina married Zeada Pachecano on Nov. 22, 2012.
Hugh Alexander 1979
Hugh Alexander and his wife, Mary Sue, spent three weeks last spring backpacking in Patagonia. He currently works as an automotive illustrator and is a professor of illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver.
Kenneth Berk 1979
Kenneth Berk recently became a grandfather upon the arrival of his daughter Michelle’s twin girls.
Denis Holmes 1982
Denis Holmes ’82, O.D. ’84 was named president of the Optometric Physicians of Washington (OPW) at its annual membership meeting Sept. 27, 2012. Dr. Holmes has a solo practice in Bellingham, Wash., and has been an active member of the OPW since 1984 and the American Optometric Association since 1981. Dr. Holmes’ father, Robert Holmes O.D. ’51, is also an alumnus and founder of the practice in Bellingham.
Ken Colman 1984
Ken Colman received a Take Action Against Domestic Violence Award for his participation in organizing the Men’s March parade for the past 10 years.
James Au 1991
James Au was awarded the Poncho’s Solar Outstanding Educator Award in February 2012, based on an essay written by his eighth-grade student. He was awarded a $5,000 gift card to spend on school supplies.
Sarah Wees 1991
Sarah Wees O.D. opened the Seattle Hill Vision Center, where she provides eye exams to patients without vision coverage in their insurance, keeping her prices low. Many of the patients she worked with in the past have followed her to the new clinic. The Herald, Everett, Wash.