What’s new with you matters to us.
Have you been recently promoted or started a new job? Perhaps you are starting on a new educational journey. Maybe, you are newly married or recently added to your family. Let your fellow Ducks know what is happening in your life.
When you submit a class note, it will be considered for publication in the UOAA’s monthly Shout! newsletter, posted to the UOAA alumni website, or highlighted on social media.
Featured Class Notables
Erwin Horenstein
Class of 1950
ERWIN ITZ HORENSTEIN, BS '50 (history), died January 31. A member of Sigma Alpha Mu and an avid handball player, he joined the family business, Herman's Men’s Store, and later opened the Gay Blade men's clothing store, which grew to 14 locations in Oregon and Washington. In retirement, he split his time between rooting for the Ducks and traveling to Portland, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Maui.
Gregory Bresnitz
Class of 2005
GREG BRESNITZ, BS '05 (business administration), and his brother Darin have published Snacky Tunes: Music Is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music, which tells the story of 75 chefs worldwide and how music has impacted their careers and lives.
Jonathan De Asis
Class of 2004
JON DE ASIS, BS '04 (political science), MBA '15 (general business), was named president and CEO of Oregon City-based Benchmade Knife Co.
Mark Padoongpatt
Class of 2005
MARK PADOONGPATT, BA '05 (ethnic studies), a professor of Asian American studies at the University of Southern California, turned his PhD thesis into Flavors of Empire: Food and the Making of Thai America, a book on Thai immigrants that landed him air time on Taste the Nation, a Hulu show hosted by Padma Lakshmi.
Adrienne Webb
Class of 2009
ADRIENNE WEBB, BA '09 (magazine), director of national communications for Washington-based Providence Health and Services, was named to the 40 Under 40 list of the Puget Sound Business Journal.
Thomas Egleston
Class of 2006
THOMAS EGLESTON, BS '06 (political science), was named manager of Washington County Solid Waste and Recycling, heading a department that regulates garbage and recycling in a 700-square-mile radius of unincorporated Washington County.
Aaron Blackwell
Class of 2006
AARON BLACKWELL, MA '06, PhD '09 (anthropology), was appointed director of the new human biology degree program at Washington State University.
Alice Persons
Class of 1973
ALICE PERSONS, BA '73, MA '76 (English), was featured on NPR's "The Writer's Almanac" for Moon Pie Press, her Maine-based poetry press.
Brian Cappy
Class of 2007
BRIAN CAPPY, BS '07 (biology), joined Bridge Connector, a San Francisco-based technology company, as executive vice president of sales.
Philip DuBois
Class of 1971
PHILIP M. DuBOIS, MEd '71 (curriculum and instruction), died July 10. Dubois taught K-12 physical education for 31 years and coached basketball, soccer, and track in the Eugene school district. He loved black and chocolate Labradors and was an avid fly-fisher and chukar hunter.
James Weaver
Class of 1953
JAMES WEAVER, BS '53 (political science), a prominent lawmaker and former US representative for Oregon's 4th District, died October 6. He dedicated his life to Oregon politics and while holding his seat from 1975 to 1987, pushed for major environmental legislation and protections for wildlife in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.
Bruce Poinsette
Class of 2011
Writer and community organizer BRUCE POINSETTE, BS '11 (journalism) wrote an article for Oregon Humanities describing his challenges in getting fellow Oregonians to invest in antiracism.
Lora Vess
Class of 2007
LORA VESS, PhD '07 (sociology), an associate professor of sociology and department chair of social sciences at the University of Alaska Southeast, wrote an article for the Juneau Empire on the role of humans in creating raging wildfires that she called "the new normal of climate change."
Alaina Ladner
Class of 2008
ALAINA LADNER, MArch '08, was hired by Illinois-based JLL real estate as vice president and west region energy and sustainability practice lead for the company's project and development services group, helping clients with the sustainability and resilience of their retrofits, building upgrades, and new development.
Quillyn Brown
Class of 2009
QUILLYN BROWN, BS '09 (accounting), a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, was promoted to tax manager at accounting firm Lavine, Lofgren, Morris and Engelberg, where she provides accounting and tax services to S corporations, partnerships, and high-net-worth individuals.
Heidi Schreck
Class of 2009
Heidi Schreck, BA '09 (English), was nominated for two Tony awards for Best Play and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for What the Constitution Means to Me.
Emily Hartlerode
Class of 2009
EMILY J. HARTLERODE, MA '09 (folklore), associate director of the Oregon Folklife Network, was covered in Eugene Weekly for a story about the network’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program.
Heather Holmquest
Class of 2009
HEATHER HOLMQUEST, MA '09, PhD '14 (music theory), helped launch ROCopera, an opera collection based in Rochester, New York, intended to reimagine a contemporary form of traditional opera music.
Russell Mead
Class of 1968
RUSSELL RUSS CRANSTOUN MEAD, BS '68, MS '70 (biology), died September 15. A native of Riverside, California, he taught mathematics for more than 30 years at Palo Verde High School in Tucson, Arizona, and also coached track and cross country. After retiring in 2010, he traveled, visited grandchildren, and attended classes at the University of Vienna, Austria.
Ruth Miller
Class of 1976
RUTH ESTELLE MILLER, MS '76 (public affairs), died November 11. A community leader with numerous civic contributions, she retired in 1984 as a neighborhood liaison for the city of Eugene, having helped increase the number of neighborhood associations and train other community leaders.