Those who know him as a longtime professor at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and the likable star of the Emmy-winning documentary “Journey of the Universe” might imagine that Brian Thomas Swimme’s (PhD '78) professional ascent was a smooth one. Not so. Decades ago, as a young mathematician teaching at the University of Puget Sound, he was mired in crisis.

The Oregon Bankers Association (OBA) inducted Richard E. Brown, BA '80, senior vice president, environmental program director with Bank of America’s Global Environmental Group in Portland, into the Oregon Bankers Hall of Fame during the Oregon Bank Leadership Symposium held in December.

It wasn’t a big surprise, seeing as she’s served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors since 1996, but Supervisor Penelope Gross, BS '65, announced Dec. 6 that she would not seek an eighth term next November and instead retire Dec. 31, 2023.

Erik Tucker, PhD, joins an elite group of inventors with his election to the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Tucker's research into blood clotting diseases has launched two entirely new classes of blood thinners and clot busters that don't appear to have negative bleeding side effects.

Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, BS '95, has used his political clout to set in motion a major revitalization of the former plantation town.