The Pacific University Alumni Association honors a public health leader, an emerging leader in the field of vision care, and a caretaker of Boxer’s legacy as the recipients of its 2026 Alumni Association Awards.
A national leader in public and mental health, Jessica Scruggs ’09 is the recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award. The award recognizes alumni who have made significant contributions to their community or profession, honoring individuals who have made tremendous accomplishments towards their goals.
Bruce Bishop ’68 will receive the David & Sandy Lowe Outstanding Alumni Service Award, honoring alumni for significant contributions of time, service, and talents to Pacific University throughout the years. Bishop is credited for keeping the spirit of Pacific’s mascot, Boxer, alive by conducting research that led to the casting of a new version in 2018 and the original statue’s return in 2024.
Pabita Dhungel MS ’19, a groundbreaking vision researcher from Nepal, is the recipient of the Emerging Leader Award, recognizing alumni for outstanding leadership in their vocation, community service, and/or service to the university. Currently a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, Dhungel was named in 2025 as one of “50 Influential Women in Nepal” for her work in science, healthcare and research.
All three award winners will be honored during Pacific’s Homecoming 2026, which takes place Oct. 16-18. The complete schedule of events and registration links will be posted later this summer.
Outstanding Alumni Award | Jessica Scruggs ’09
Since graduating from the second class of Pacific’s dental hygiene program, Jessica Scruggs ’09 has built a career that has touched not only on her clinical focus of dental health, but also mental health, addiction treatment, and whole-person care.
Scruggs has served in senior roles within the U.S. Public Health Service, including two appointments in the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office. As an aide-de-camp, senior advisor, and chief of staff to former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, she contributed to national efforts addressing Zika outbreaks, e-cigarette use, loneliness, workplace well-being, and substance use. In recognition of her leadership, she was awarded the Surgeon General’s Medal of Exemplary Service in 2025.
She began her public health career with the U.S. Department of Justice, where she provided clinical care and led healthcare services for more than 1,300 incarcerated individuals in a federal correctional facility that continues to shape her commitment to equity and access.
Today, Scruggs serves as senior vice president of strategic initiatives at Kooth, a digital mental health provider, where she leads the company’s efforts to expand early access to mental health services. Scruggs has also served as adjunct faculty at both of her alma maters, Pacific and Eastern Washington University.
David & Sandy Lowe Outstanding Alumni Service Award | Bruce Bishop ’68
A longtime affinity for Pacific’s mascot led Bruce Bishop ’68 to lead the charge to bring Boxer back to campus – in several ways. Bishop conducted hours of research over 15 years that connected the dots and helped lead to the return of the original Boxer statue to Pacific in February 2024 after a 55-year absence. Before its return, Bishop led the fundraising effort to have the statue recast. Boxer III, created by the same sculptor who cast Boxer II in the early 1980s, was unveiled in 2018 for the Class of 1968’s 50-year reunion. He continues to research the whereabouts of the second Boxer statue, which was last seen in 2008.
A member of the Gamma Sigma fraternity — once the oldest fraternity west of the Mississippi River, founded in 1863 — Bishop organized its 150th anniversary celebration in 2013 and established an endowed Pacific scholarship in the fraternity’s name. Bishop also co-founded the Golden Guard Scholarship, another endowed scholarship supported by several 50-year graduating classes from the 1960s and 1970s.
A lawyer and lobbyist by trade, Bishop enjoyed a long career in government relations in Oregon. In addition to his service to Pacific, Bishop has been involved with the Oregon Capitol Club, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, the City Club of Portland, the Oregon State Capitol Foundation, and First Congregational United Church of Christ in Portland.
Emerging Leader Award | Pabita Dhungel MS ’19
Pabita Dhungel MS ’19 is breaking barriers for women in the health sciences in Nepal. The first Nepali student in Pacific’s vision science program, Dhungel was named in 2025 as one of “50 Influential Women of Nepal,” in recognition of her contributions in science and research.
Dhungel received several awards for her research at Pacific, including Beta Sigma Kappa Exceptional Research Award, the Cornea and Contact Lens Research Award, and a Kikuchi Research Award from Pacific. She also received a Student Travel Fellowship and the Joe and Janet Barr Early Career Cornea and Contact Lens Research Award from the American Academy of Optometry (AAO).
Dhungel is a senior PhD candidate in vision science at the University of California, Berkeley, and the first Nepali student accepted into the program in its more than 100-year history. She has received multiple research awards from the Academy of American Optometry Foundation and UC Berkeley Graduate Division. At Berkeley, she serves as co-chair of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Student Council in the School of Optometry and Vision Science, a STEM-FYI ambassador for the university’s Office for Graduate Diversity, and leads community engagement initiatives supported by Graduate Division grants.
Dhungel volunteers with Bay Area Scientists Inspiring Students (BASIS), mentors students from diverse backgrounds, and actively supports women pursuing careers in science. She has partnered with Lions Club International to organize and participate in several school and community vision screenings in Nepal.