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.
Susan Buchanan 1995
Suzi Buchanan MAT recently received a grant from the FedEx small business contest to support her business, Humdinger Kettle Korn.
Sara Kearsley 1996
Sara Kearsley graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2011, and recently joined the Evers Law Office in Hillsboro. She practices elder law and estate planning, with a focus on public benefits planning. Her two children keep her busy when she is not at work.
Kara Kuh 1996
Kara (Moore) Kuh became the new public relations manager for Travel Salem and the Willamette Valley Visitors Association (WVVA) in October 2012. She and her husband, Tom, live in Salem.
Billy Merck 1997
Billy Merck ’97, MAEd ’03 and his wife, Kat, welcomed Felix William Merck on Nov. 20, 2012. He weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces.
Rebecca "Becky" Weaver 1998
Rebecca “Becky” Weaver began a Britain Postdoctoral Fellowship in August 2012 at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
April (Wilson) Hammel 1999
April (Wilson) Hammel and husband Michael welcomed their first baby, Cooper Justice Hammel, on April 22, 2012.
Brad Kauder 1999
Brad Kauder Psy.D. earned board certification in clinical neuropsychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. He has a private practice in Ashland, Ore., and provides clinical and forensic neuropsychological services.