University of Portland Magazine Winter 2022 by University of Portland

CLOSER TO A CURE

Winter 2022

The Benefits and Ethical Concerns of CRISPR GeneEditing Technology

FEATURES

2 ON THE BLUFF 28 THREE ESSAYS TO NOURISH THE SPIRIT

28 Bits and Pieces by Fr. Patrick Hannon, CSC Where the author sees God in this “beautiful and broken world of ours.”

30 Getting My Bearings

3 Dream Teams 4 The Experts 5 Campus Briefs 6 Sports 8 The World We Want 10 Visiting Voices

40 CLASS NOTES 42 Health-Care History in the Making 45 In Memoriam 49 For the Love of It

by Karen Eifler

On the steadying force of a good godfriend.

Hope Through a Microscope by Jessica Murphy Moo One biology professor wants to start conversations about CRISPR technology at UP. The technology offers hope for new treatments, but it also comes with responsibility and a whole host of ethical questions. Plus, a new rare disease research foundation, started by Tommy Pham ’09, ’11.

32 Screenporch as Prayer

by Jessie van Eerden A moment, caught and complex.

34 22 ¡Échale Ganas! How does Mauricio Paz translate this phrase? Keep going, keep persevering, keep working hard.

Two Pilot Chefs, One Reality Show Coincidence

Winter 2022 Vol. 40, No. 2 Acting President/Provost Herbert A. Medina Vice President Michael E. Lewellen Editor Jessica Murphy Moo Designer Darsey Landoe Contributors Karen Bridges, Danielle Centoni, Hannah Pick Cover Adam Guggenheim Portland is published three times a year by University of Portland. Copyright © 2021 by the University of Portland. All rights reserved. Editorial Offices Waldschmidt Hall, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd., Portland, OR 97203-5798 Email jmurphymoo@up.edu Online up.edu/portlandmagazine Printed on 10% recycled and FSC-certified paper in Portland, OR.

by Danielle Centoni

Third-class postage paid at Portland, OR 97203. Canada Post International Publications Mail Product—Sales Agreement No. 40037899. Canadian Mail Distribution Information—Express Messenger International: PO Box 25058, London, Ontario, Canada N6C 6A8.

Danie Baker ’11 and Brett Bankson ’15 never saw cooking— or television—in the cards for their careers. But then Top Chef Amateurs came calling.

Opinions expressed in Portland are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University administration. Postmaster: Send address changes to Portland Magazine, University of Portland, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd., Portland, OR 97203-5798.

EDITOR’S LETTER

Partners in Story THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND I stood outside the church with the pastor and his wife, hoping to get the best light for a portrait. The pastor was somewhat new in the rapidly changing neighborhood, and we’d been talking to him for a story in part about gentrification in North Portland and his role and response to the changes affecting his parishioners. A bus pulled up, sighed, pulled away, and a woman was now standing on the sidewalk. She approached. She was crying. “Are you church people?” she asked. The pastor answered affirmatively. She said she’d recently lost her job and her children. She was at a low point. She needed someone to pray for her. The pastor asked her for her name, bowed his head, held up his hand, and prayed. Now, reader, I gently want to steer your eye to the photographer. He had to make a split decision. This is something that happens when you go out to capture a story. Sometimes you think you know what you’re there to capture, but then the story unfolds in a different way and you need to figure out in the moment how to respond. What we were seeing was the story unfolding. We were seeing the pastor respond to a neighbor. A staged headshot wouldn’t come close to telling the story that this moment was revealing to us. But the photographer, seeing the woman’s vulnerability, pulled the camera away from his eye. He took his finger off the shutter. The camera went silent. The prayer ended. The woman thanked him. She walked away. We all took a deep breath and finished the portraits. In the car on the way back to UP, the photographer confided, “It was hard not to shoot that. That was the story.”

Sometimes you think you know what you’re there to capture, but then the story unfolds in a different way.

And in that moment I knew Adam Guggenheim was a storyteller whose principles, integrity, and instincts I could trust. Since then, we’ve partnered on a bunch of stories—both photography and video—and when he came to me to say he wanted to speak to biology professor Ami Ahern-Rindell about the research she was doing using CRISPR geneediting technology and the conversations she was starting on campus through an applied ethics grant, I was immediately interested. I didn’t know much about the technology beyond what I’d read in the papers. I knew about its success in trials, treating individuals with Sickle Cell Anemia, and I knew some possible uses of the technology held some pretty big ethical concerns. It seemed like a conversation to lean into. So, I followed his lead, tagged along for a preliminary interview, and realized that there was a story here for us to share with you in our pages. I hope it satisfies the lifelong learner in you. It is definitely a story that required me to respond in both mind and heart. Thank you, Adam, for leading me to this issue’s cover story (and the challenges therein) and for your stellar work on behalf of Portland magazine.

Jessica Murphy Moo, Editor

WINTER 2022

UP physics students use a spectrometer to measure wavelengths at the Portland Art Museum. Using wavelength data and the campus 3D printer, students will print tactile versions of the artwork— Untitled (to Donna) II, by Dan Flavin— with the goal of creating an experience of the piece for Portland Art Museum patrons who have a visual impairment.

PORTLAND

JON RICHARDSON

FEEL THE LIGHT

ON THE BLUFF DREAM TEAMS

The Perfect Fit THE BALA TWELVE shoe comes in several colors. One is sleek and blue with silver accents and a teal stripe across the side, another one is magenta with yellow laces and a gold stripe. They look like the kind of trendy, colorful shoe you might see an athlete wearing for a race or a basketball game. But these shoes were not intended for sports. They were designed for a specific line of work, a job that often requires an individual to tackle twelve-hour shifts (thus the “12” in BALA Twelve), lift heavy things, clean up spills, and move swiftly from place to place. These shoes, with their waterproof exterior and high-traction soles, were made intentionally for the lifestyle and demands of a nurse. This past fall semester, a team of University of Portland innovation students partnered with Portland-based BALA footwear company to offer new ideas on ways that its shoes might also support nursing students—the nurses of the future. Innovation students paired with an innovative shoe company? It was a perfect fit. The student innovation team—seniors Raphaelle LeBlanc and Elizabeth Diaz-Gunning and junior Julia Hanly— worked closely with BALA and with UP’s nursing community throughout the semester, holding research sessions and workshops in an effort to better understand nursing students’ needs. On December 8, the student team presented their final project to their classmates, professor and director of the innovation minor Salvador Orara, two BALA employees, and other UP community members. They proposed a series of ideas that they felt BALA might want to explore, such as new scrubs or an app where nurses have space to check in and write about their mood during their

BOB KERNS

UP’s Innovation Minor, the School of Nursing, and BALA footwear partner up

Innovation team (left to right), Elizabeth Diaz-Gunning, Julia Hanly, and Raphaelle LeBlanc

shifts. But, ultimately, the student team learned that nurses don’t need an abundance of shoes and scrubs on the market. As nursing major Julia Hanly put it during the presentation: “We don’t want more, we want better.” The COVID-19 pandemic has opened a window through which the world can see what nurses endure. Reports of stress and burnout remain high, and these fears and doubts extend to UP’s nursing students and nursing faculty—two groups that play a large role in the formation of the nursing community of the future. The student innovation team’s hope is that BALA will expand the ways it serves those who provide one of the most necessary services around. And for the students starting nursing school, or finishing it, the hope is that there will soon be a workplace for them that is

neither daunting nor dwindling, but one that is exciting and welcoming, and one that promises nurses who spend 12-hour shifts helping their patients will be helped too, from the feet on up. MURPHY BRADSHAW was Portland magazine’s fall editorial intern.

WINTER 2022

TORI WARD ’16 Serials Technical Assistant Clark Library

Librarian on Wheels WHEN WE WERE first put under quarantine in early 2020, I was afraid to go outside for a long time. A quick trip to the grocery store was anxiety inducing, and seeing people outside en masse without their masks on made me feel unsafe. I hated the feeling and wanted to find a way to still stay healthy and active while also being able to stay socially distanced. Then I started noticing that people were roller-skating and blading in the streets. For some reason it never occurred to me that it was an option since I’ve only been familiar with rink skating. It was something I had always wanted to do since I was a kid watching my older brother roller blade and skateboard. It also didn’t help that I always had Roll Bounce queued up at home. So, I did my research, found a pair of skates, and have been skating since early May 2020 and loving it. I started skating outside mostly because it was easier to spread out. I would go to meetups around the city and meet other skaters and occasionally get some pointers. It was fun because it was like I got to discover other parts of the city that I never really had a reason to go visit. Some of my frequent haunts were Rigler Elementary and King Elementary School. Both have pretty smooth surfaces, King being the best.

PORTLAND

Nowadays I go to Oaks Park to skate. I started going mostly because I was getting more comfortable with businesses that were maintaining safety protocols and adhering to masking mandates. I also had a set of indoor wheels that weren’t getting enough love and I wanted to start using them more. Oaks Park also offers lessons. Up until now, I’ve just been learning by watching instructional YouTube videos (Dirty Deb’s Dirty School of Skate and Roller Diva Dance Fit have been a godsend) and any tips I get from my more experienced skater friends. What I love most about skating is how much I can express myself and be able to make a different connection with my body. I feel more in control and understand how my body works in a bit more detail. Being inside for so long where I couldn’t do much, I felt like all the activities I used to do weren’t possible anymore. I used to go dancing a lot but touching other people in order to salsa isn’t really my jam anymore. Skating, in a way, gives me more freedom. My goal is to become an artistic skater (basically a figure skater on wheels). TORI WARD ’16 earned her master’s in library and information science from Syracuse University before returning to The Bluff.

BOB KERNS

ON THE BLUFF THE EXPERTS

ON THE BLUFF CAMPUS BRIEFS

Coming Up THIS YEAR’S SCHOENFELDT Distinguished Visiting Writers Series will feature author Yaa Gyasi and her novel Transcendent Kingdom, this year’s campus-wide ReadUP book. We hope you’ll consider joining us for this hybrid in-person/online event.

all around her. But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family’s loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith and grappling with the evangelical church in which she was raised, whose promise of salvation remains as tantalizing as it is elusive.

ABOUT TH E NOVEL

Transcendent Kingdom is a powerful, raw, intimate, deeply layered novel about a Ghanian family in Alabama. Gifty, the narrator and protagonist, is a sixth-year PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Stanford University School of Medicine studying rewardseeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after an ankle injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees

ABOUT TH E AUTHOR

Yaa Gyasi is the author of the highly acclaimed debut novel Homegoing and a recipient of the National Book Foundation’s 2016 “5 Under 35” Award. Gyasi was born in Ghana and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. She holds a BA in English from Stanford University and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she held a Dean’s Graduate Research Fellowship. Her second novel, Transcendent Kingdom, was published in September 2020. She lives in New York City.

JOIN US Wednesday, March 9, 2022 7:00 p.m.– 8:00 p.m. At Buckley Center Auditorium or online Please register at: up.edu/readup

—Penguin Random House

Thank you, Bryce On December 31, 2021, Bryce Strang, Vice President of University Relations, concluded his 18-year tenure at University of Portland. We miss him already. Through his strategic leadership and fundraising efforts, countless students received scholarships that enabled them to get an education at UP, faculty were given access to grants that advanced their research, and the infrastructure of the University reached new heights of beauty and academic excellence. Thank you for your service to University of Portland, Bryce. Your hard work made this place better in ways large and small.

WINTER 2022

ON THE BLUFF SPORTS

Introducing Shantay Legans AFTER MOVING TO Portland this fall to resurrect the UP men’s basketball program, Shantay Legans and his wife Tatjana came to a quick realization about North Portland and the neighborhood blanketing The Bluff. They adored it and decided they had to live near campus. There was just one problem: The cutthroat Portland housing market. “Everyone was saying it was going to take six months, a year—maybe even two years—to find a house,” Legans, the Pilots’ first-year head coach, says. “But we went out and drove around to look at houses, and on the first day found a place. We made an offer, sold our old house, and everything was done in 48 hours. It was unbelievable.” And, in hindsight, it was also an omen. Legans has only been on The Bluff for a few months, but already he has transformed the culture and trajectory of the men’s basketball program, instilling hope, energy, and positivity into a program in desperate need of all three. Along the way, while endearing himself to faculty and staff and impressing alumni and former players, Legans has very quickly become a part of the fabric of the community. Any lingering doubts about leaving Eastern Washington to rebuild the Pilots vanished the moment he set foot on campus. “This place is very, very special and I love being here,” he says. “It just feels like home.” Legans doesn’t bring an NBA pedigree like former coach Terry Porter. Or a Pac-12 Conference coaching background like former coach Eric Reveno. But he does bring a winning reputation, recruiting chops, and successful head coaching experience, having led Eastern Washington to a 74-59 record, Big Sky conference and tournament championships, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in four seasons. In 2020, Legans was ranked No. 11 on ESPN’s “40 Under 40” list of the top 40 college basketball coaches under the age of 40. Legans is not a naturally patient man, but make no mistake, his patience will be tested like never before as he works his magic at UP. The Pilots have finished with a winning record just five times in the last quarter-century, including once in the last decade, and have not reached the NCAA Tournament since 1996. In the three seasons before Legans arrived, UP earned just one West Coast Conference victory. But Legans is not one to shy away from a challenge. He grew up in Santa Barbara in a one-bedroom apartment with his mother, the late Susan Legans. While she worked to keep them out of housing shelters, he gravitated toward the game he loved to play—basketball—and the Boys & Girls Club in Santa Barbara practically became his second home. Legans was a short and scrawny kid, but what he lacked in size he made up for with oversized bravado and attitude. He was so competitive and possessed such a thirst to win, he talked trash constantly and started fights frequently. Legans was, in his own words, “a punk.” But he also had talent, and by the time he reached high school, Legans had learned—with the help of youth

PORTLAND

UP ATHLETICS

UP’s new men’s basketball coach has high hopes

basketball coaches like his mentor Ray Lopes—to harness his fierce competitiveness for good. When he graduated from Dos Pueblos High School, Legans had matured into a respected leader who owned school records in scoring, assists, and steals, while earning a scholarship to play point guard at the University of California, Berkley. He led the Bears to two NCAA Tournament berths and went on to a brief professional playing career that included stops in the Netherlands and the International Basketball League. Along the way, he decided he wanted to follow in Lopes’s footsteps and become a coach, which led him to remote Cheney, Washington, and an entry-level assistant job at Eastern Washington. It paid $16,000. But he worked tirelessly and prospered, and by 2017, Legans had ascended to head coach, eventually steering the school to unprecedented success. And he aspires for even more at UP, where he has brought an audacious ambition to a place that for years has languished in the cellar of the WCC. “I want it to become the best program in the WCC,” Legans says of a conference that features perennial national power Gonzaga. “I know it’s possible because I used to live near where (Gonzaga) is located. Portland is a better city. The education here is amazing. The campus is beautiful. This is a great place. You have to have a vision, you have to believe in that vision, and you have to go after it. I want my guys, my staff, my players to have the same mindset. Gonzaga didn’t start out where it is now. It grew to where it is. And we can too. That’s what we’re pushing and striving for.” It will take time, of course. But Legans already has over-

hauled the foundation of the program, and administrators say they’ve seen a cultural shift centered on hard work, accountability, trust, togetherness, and love. It starts at the top, as Legans spends long, late-night hours at that new North Portland home watching game film and compiling scouting reports. It’s not uncommon for an assistant coach or someone in the athletic department to receive a text message from him at 4 a.m. On the court, the Pilots’ roster is a mix of transfers and freshmen, and the group has quickly grown into a big family. They make the five-minute walk from campus to Legans’s house multiple times a week for team dinners, sharing takeout or a homecooked Serbian meal from Tatjana, and they chase around the couple’s 5-year-old daughter, Zola, and 3-year-old son, Maksim. It’s the promise of this family atmosphere that draws young athletes—and their parents—to the Pilots’ new coach. When Tyler Robertson was going through the Eastern Washington recruiting process in Australia in 2019, his grandfather was in the final stages of cancer. The two were close and Robertson was struggling. “Legs sent my grandfather a video message saying that he was going to take care of me and give me everything [he’s] got,” Robertson says. “That was a very big thing for me. I knew right then I wanted to play for him.” And, sure enough, Legans was a man of his word. Early in Robertson’s freshman year, one of his best friends committed suicide, delivering another dose of tragedy. “But Legs was there with me to make sure I had everything I needed,” Robertson says. “He reached out every day to make sure I was all right, to ask if he needed to come over, to see if

I needed groceries. That shows everything you need to know about why guys love him and love playing for him.” It’s no wonder Robertson—and two other Eastern Washington players—transferred to UP this year to stay with Legans. Beyond the team, administrators and athletic department employees say Legans is night and day from his predecessors in community involvement and engagement. Before the start of school, Zola and Maksim tagged along with their father to the office every day. In the fall, Legans sat in the front row at every sporting event on The Bluff—from volleyball to men’s and women’s soccer—and asked that his players do the same. And he has so energized former players and alumni with his confidence and infectious personality, many have purchased season tickets as a show of solidarity and support. For old season-ticket holders who were weighing whether to renew, it was not uncommon for Legans to reach out with a phone call or even hunt them down and invite them to his office 45 minutes before a game to try to persuade them to give him a chance. “This is an unbelievably tight community,” Legans says. “And I want people to be proud of us. I tell everybody to come and be a part of what we’re building. We need them to believe in and support us through thick and thin. I always tell people: ‘If you want to check out a game, email me. I’ll get you a ticket. I’ll buy it myself.’ And I’m serious. Just email me. We want you here. Take a leap of faith with me.” JOE FREEMAN ’99 writes sports features and enterprise stories for The Oregonian/OregonLive.

WINTER 2022

ON THE BLUFF THE WORLD WE WANT

The Blanchet House Celebrates 70 Years

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND ARCHIVES

Oregon Historical Society honors the institution’s contributions to Portland

(Left to right) Past board members Joe Van Gulik, Pete Van Hoomissen, Robert Wack, and co-founders Gene Feltz, Tom Moore, Jim O’Hanlon, and John Moore, 2004

PORTLAND

THIS YEAR, THE Blanchet House of Hospitality marks its 70th anniversary of serving those experiencing poverty and homelessness in Portland. Rooted in social justice and the values of the Catholic Social Workers Movement, the Blanchet House’s founding mission was a simple one—feeding free meals to those in need. Today, Blanchet House’s services have stayed true to the original vision while also expanding to meet the needs of the time. To honor the anniversary, the Oregon Historical Society will host an exhibit, from March 4 to June 5, 2022, displaying photographs, news clippings, and historic artifacts narrating the Blanchet House’s founding, history, and contributions. That history, from its very beginning, is a remarkable one. The Blanchet House’s founding and early years are next to lore for the University of Portland community and those who know Portland’s history. In the years after World War II, a group of University of Portland students, all men, sought to start a social club. They hoped to host dances and enliven the school’s

social life. At the time, all clubs had a chaplain. In 1948, Father Francis Kennard became the club’s chaplain, an event that proved pivotal to the club’s mission. Kennard was an assistant priest of St. Mary’s Church, yet he was more commonly found walking the streets of Portland’s Old Town District, pushing a cart of ham sandwiches and coffee that he would serve to the people in need that he encountered. He was inspired by Catholic social activist Dorothy Day, who co-founded the Catholic Social Workers Movement, which advocated for serving and providing hospitality to individuals who were marginalized and experiencing poverty. “He had a great love for the poor,” James O’Hanlon ’51, one of the founders of the Blanchet House, recently remembered. Kennard’s belief—that the Gospel was a call to service—was combined with a charisma that inspired those around him. He gave the club members an ultimatum: there would be no club unless it existed to serve their impoverished neighbors. “We were all for it,” says O’Hanlon, who is the last living founder. “It was the Christian thing to do, to see Christ in every individual, to help them. So, we were going to help the poor.” O’Hanlon and the other men— including Gene Feltz ’50, Dan Christianson, Dan Harrington ’50, Bernie Harrington, and Patrick Carr—loaded a pickup truck with food, drove it into Old Town, and served meals of hot beans and coffee from the curb. Then they found a building. O’Hanlon recalls that Kennard and another priest were walking Old Town’s streets when they encountered the owner of a threestory building on the corner of Northwest Fourth and Northwest Glisan. The top two floors were used as a brothel, but the first floor was vacant. The owner agreed to rent the first floor for $35 a month. The young men scrubbed the floor, cleaned out the space, and washed the windows. Tables and chairs were donated. They named the space the Blanchet House of Hospitality after Portland’s first Catholic archbishop, François Norbert Blanchet. The doors opened on Monday, February 11, 1952. The first meal was stew, bread, and coffee. They expected to feed 100 people that first day. Instead, they fed 200. People, mostly men, their hands stuffed into the pockets of their

trench coats and wearing battered fedoras, lined up around the block, waiting to get in. By the end of the week, 300 people were walking through the Blanchet House’s door each day. The Blanchet House also caught the attention of The Oregon Journal, which ran its first story on the agency on Sunday, February 17. “Reaction of hungry drifters was immediate,” the report reads. The first meals were “not fancy, but filling,” served in a “dilapidated but scrubbed-out building” with a “rickety door.”

VISIT THE EXHIBIT Oregon Historical Society’s exhibit on the Blanchet House will open on March 4, 2022, and run through June 5, 2022. The Historical Society is located at 1200 SW Park Avenue. General admission is free for Multnomah County residents with proof of residence.

In early December 1952, Dorothy Day toured the Blanchet House. One evening, she addressed a crowd of 100 people in its dining room.“We have an obligation to do the work of mercy to those who suffer— and to do these works ourselves instead of letting the state do them,” The Oregon Journal reports her as saying. “This is the personal, the unitarian revolution.” The personal revolutions that kept the Blanchet House going in its early years, O’Hanlon remembers, were volunteer driven. “It was touch and go there for the first seven or eight years,” he says, laughing. “We were always struggling to get money, finding people to run it.”

Individuals and organizations donated a refrigerator, washing machine, hot water heater, dishes, and other materials. Restaurants, butcher shops, and farms donated food. The Oregon Journal ran a half dozen articles throughout 1952 announcing benefits for the Blanchet House. Collection cans in Old Town’s bars accepted donations. Every gift, no matter how small, helped. In 1956, O’Hanlon and another founder purchased the building that housed the Blanchet House for $25,000. From that point forward, the Blanchet House’s services began expanding. The top two floors turned into housing. In 1962, what became the Blanchet Farm, a 62-acre farm in Yamhill County, was purchased, where men recovering from substance abuse could go to aid their recovery. Donated clothes were given out; people were connected to jobs. In 2012, the Blanchet House moved nearby to a newly built four-story building on Northwest Third and Northwest Glisan. The building triples the agency’s space, offering twice the number of apartments. In 2020, the Harrington Health Clinic—named for numerous members of the Harrington family who were founders or deeply involved in the agency—began offering primary health care by nurses (many from UP) to the Blanchet House’s customers. Through it all, the Blanchet House has remained true to its original core mission. Now, six days a week, three meals a day are served to between 1,000 and 1,500 impoverished Portlanders. Like other houses of hospitality inspired by Day, the Blanchet House offers radical acceptance: anyone can come in for a meal. The only rule, then and now, is that customers be sober and comport themselves with decency. In a 1953 article, The Oregonian reported that “inside is nourishing food to fill the stomach, and understanding and love to replenish the spirit.” The same thing could be reported today. “Everybody was accepted, no questions asked,” O’Hanlon says. “That is what the good Lord told us to do. Help the poor.” AMANDA WALDROUPE is a journalist and writer based in Portland, OR. Her feature writing focuses on homelessness, poverty, inequality, and other social justice issues.

WINTER 2022

ON THE BLUFF VISITING VOICES

The Great I Am Classically trained artist Gerald Roulette came to UP to speak about his life, his artistic process, and his painting The Great I Am, which is installed in University of Portland’s Clark Library. A work of abstract realism, The Great I Am depicts Christ as a person of color, speaking to the need for all of us to see representations of ourselves in the deity of Christ.

PORTLAND

ADAM GUGGENHEIM

You can hear his talk in the archives section of up.edu/garaventa

WINTER 2022

BY J E S S ICA M U R P H Y MO O P H O TO S BY A DA M G U G G E N H E I M I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y V I O L E T R E E D

HOPE THROUGH A MICROSCOPE For the span of her career Ami Ahern-Rindell has been working to understand—and eventually contribute to a cure for—a particular fatal genetic disease. Advances in science and technology are bringing her research closer to her goal. But the technology—CRISPR gene editing, specifically—raises a whole host of ethical questions. With the support of an applied ethics grant from the Dundon-Berchtold Institute, she is raising awareness and encouraging the campus to examine the issues.

PORTLAND

Christina Buselli (left) and Ami Ahern-Rindell (right) pull cells from liquid nitrogen.

WINTER 2022

PORTLAND

IOLOGY PROFESSOR Ami Ahern-Rindell remembers the phone calls to the lab during her postdoc years. Parents were calling to ask if she could help, to see if her research was ready to be applied in a clinical setting for their child. She was working in a molecular genetics lab, working to get to the bottom of the cause of a particular genetic condition called GM1 Gangliosidosis. The condition is fatal. Life expectancy for infants born with this condition is between two to four years. As you might imagine, those phone calls from parents of children who had been diagnosed with GM1 were heart-wrenching. “For them you couldn’t find a therapy, a cure, quick enough,” Ahern-Rindell says. “They would hear that we were doing research and trying to figure out what was going on in GM1. They would ask us, ‘How far along are you? Can you find a treatment for my child?’ … These people wanted a cure, and you couldn’t give it to them. That was difficult. But at the same time, it was a very strong motivator, and it meant that we were going to work as hard as we could to learn as much as we could as quickly as we could in order to eventually help people.”

Thirty-five years later, Ahern-Rindell is still working to unlock the genetic secrets of this condition and to find a therapy and, she hopes, a cure. “We still don’t have a treatment for GM1,” she says, “but I think we’re much closer.” The cells that Ahern-Rindell uses in her genetic research have been frozen in liquid nitrogen since 1985. They are sheep cells (not human cells), and they are—she likes to point out—significantly older than her undergraduate students. She also points out that after 35 years of exposure to liquid nitrogen her fingertips can sometimes get a little numb. In their frozen state, these sheep cells have traveled—from graduate work at Washington State University to her postdoc work at the Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of California, San Diego and on to her 25-year career at University of Portland. During this time period, the cells themselves haven’t changed. Indeed, they have been frozen in time. Only when they are thawed in a warm water bath and placed in the right culture conditions do they again begin to divide and multiply. They are then ready for microscopic examination and for use in experiments that might elicit information. Ahern-Rindell acquired these cells—they are cells from the tail skin of sheep—because a rancher came to the WSU Veterinary School to say that some of his sheep were having trouble keeping up with the rest of the flock. After running many different types of tests, they suspected that the sheep had GM1 Gangliosidosis, a fatal genetic condition that severely affects the nervous system. (In addition to humans and sheep, GM1 also presents in cats, dogs, cattle, black bears, and emus.) To give you a sense of the challenge of narrowing down the potential locations of genetic mutations: In the 3 billion genetic base pairs in the human genome, the source of one mutation can be a change to just one base pair in the gene. In GM1, the gene that has been altered is called GLB1, which has been found to possess more than 100 different mutations, some of which don’t cause any disease. The odds are decidedly against the scientists, and yet they have made progress.

Defining DNA and RNA

In the sheep model of GM1, Ahern-Rindell and her students have identified one base difference in this GLB1 gene when they compare the gene in the cells of healthy sheep and the gene in the cells of sheep presenting with the condition. AhernRindell is working to determine if this mutation is what causes GM1 in the affected sheep. Verification could be a game-changer for finding a treatment/cure for sheep and possibly (eventually) for humans. The research is slow, slower than any parent on the other end of those decades-ago phone calls could have ever wanted. But Ahern-Rindell maintains hope—especially now, given the scientific and technological advances during the 35 years that those sheep cells have been dormant in that liquid nitrogen. Because of these advances, AhernRindell and her student researchers are able to unlock more of the cell’s molecular secrets than she ever could during the decades that she’s been looking at them through a microscope. As she says, “we’re closer.” It’s somewhat easy for us to take a step back and think about the massive technological advances that have occurred over the past three-plus decades. Think about how we were writing papers, conducting and sharing research, or making phones calls 35 years ago. Enormous changes. In the world of genetics, those leaps in knowledge and technology have been just as great, if not greater. The Human Genome Project, initiated in 1990, set about working to decipher the 3 billion base pairs that make up the human genome. Our scientific understanding of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) has grown astronomically during this time. Thirty-five years ago, we knew even less about RNA (ribonucleic acid), its structure, and the many roles it plays. Advances in our understanding of RNA have led to a new kind of technology—called CRISPR gene editing—which is a versatile molecular editing technique with potentially countless applications. It is also the next step in AhernRindell’s research with the GM1-affected sheep cells (more on CRISPR technology in a moment).

DNA and RNA are in the nucleus of every cell of the human body. DNA, that beautiful spiral staircase, that double-stranded helix structure, contains all the information for humans to function, and it stays protected inside that nucleus. RNA, a single-stranded molecule made from DNA, has many diverse functions. It’s also a roamer. It goes in and out of the nucleus, and it also changes shape depending on its particular role. It can act as a gene regulator, a messenger, or as a kind of catalyst. It makes things such as proteins, like the antibodies that support our immune systems.

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Ahern-Rindell had a formative experience when she was a teenager that helped her to decide to become a geneticist and molecular biologist. In her early teens, she was a regular babysitter for three young girls who had the genetic condition Cystic Fibrosis (CF). The second youngest of five siblings, Ahern-Rindell found she was suited to the chaos that sometimes is babysitting. The girls were able to do everyday kid activities—play with dolls, do puzzles, go outside—but she was always aware that they had to be careful. If the children got too physical, too worked up, they would cough. She tried to avoid that. She remembers putting them to bed in special tents that she zipped up to help with their breathing at night. Initially, she thought she might want to be a doctor, perhaps a pediatrician who treated patients with conditions like CF. At that time there was no such thing as genetic counseling or much in the way of therapies for the condition. She grew in her understanding of genetic diseases. She understood that the girls had CF because a copy of the recessive gene had come from their mother and a copy of the recessive gene had come from their father. Then, tragically, the children passed away, and their deaths—and the reality that medical care does not always involve a cure—raised big questions for her. She started to wonder what was actually going on with this (or other) genetic conditions. She started to wonder if she might be better suited to lab work and trying to find a cure for genetic diseases like CF.

After an opportunity to do research as an undergraduate, Ahern-Rindell ultimately decided to pursue a career in a research lab and in teaching. She wanted to get to the molecular root of things, though she didn’t end up working on CF. She ended up in a lab working to unlock the secrets of GM1, first in cats and later in dogs and sheep. (I admit I find it fascinating how a scientist’s career has a good deal to do with interest, curiosity, and intuition, but it also has something to do with chance, i.e., which graduate school or lab has an opening or perhaps you happen to be working in a lab near a ranch with sheep who present with GM1.) Those children that Ahern-Rindell babysat for did something else for this budding scientist. They made her think long and hard about the contribution she wanted to make to society, and how science and her role as a researcher and teacher of young people could be a part of making that contribution. She also began to think about the ethics involved in doing the work of science, both generally and specifically when it comes to research on the human genome. Bioethics eventually became an ongoing part of her career. In large part due to her efforts and one of her research students, and through funding from the Dundon-Berchtold Institute for Moral Formation and Applied Ethics, every student, faculty, and staff member at UP who is involved in any type of research now takes a tutorial in ethical research practices, how to handle confidential data, how to accurately give credit to others for their previous work, etc. CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Basic Science vs. Applied Science Basic science (what Ahern-Rindell has been doing for 35 years) pushes research forward to create new knowledge, to present and test a hypothesis, or retest a revised hypothesis. There is an element of curiosity to basic science and a desire to understand how nature works. Applied science usually happens when there is a specific problem that needs solving and scientists are applying previous basic research and acquired knowledge to solve that problem. If the applied science has anything to do with medicine or humans, there is typically a whole host of regulations, approvals, and clinical trials that applied science must follow to bring forward a new technology to benefit society. A good present-day example would be the mRNA vaccines. Many years of basic science and study went into understanding the roles and various structures of RNA and its behavior pertaining to invading viruses (yes, including coronaviruses). Scientists applied this knowledge to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PHAM FAMILY

MEET RAIDEN

The inspiration behind one UP alum’s pitch for more research into a rare genetic disease and potential gene therapies

If you would like to learn more about the Raiden Science Foundation, their story can be found at raidenscience.org

As I was working on this story about genetics research, several UP staff and alumni reached out to tell me about Tommy Pham ’09, MBA ’11, his beautiful family, and the rare disease research foundation Pham recently launched. The company is the Raiden Science Foundation, named after his two-year-old son Raiden, who has been diagnosed with a rare genetic UBA5 disease (so rare that there have been only about 30 genetically confirmed cases worldwide). Before we get to the foundation, I want to introduce you to Raiden. I had the great good fortune to meet him. He is (as you see above) an off-thecharts cute kiddo, he smiles and giggles during peekaboo (especially when it’s his big sister playing with him), he enjoys pools in Hawai'i, and he likes engaging in a hand-tapping game with his mom. “He brings us so much joy,” his mom, Linda Pham, says. The Phams have been very open about their journey as a family. Joy is part of this journey. It has also been very challenging. Raiden’s health battles have been hard—unthinkably hard—but he is also what motivates them every day. Raiden was born in February 2020, right before the start of the pandemic. At three months Raiden stopped hitting milestones. He stopped being able to pick his head up and he vomited about 10 times a day, which led to failure to thrive. They endured many hospital stays, tests, and unofficial diagnoses, and they ultimately had surgery to place a g-tube in his stomach, so Raiden could get the nutrients he needs. Then, in August, they received results after sequencing his genes. The news wasn’t good news. UBA5, they learned, is a recessive, ultrarare, progressive neurological disease.

The family went through what Tommy calls a “dark period.” Tommy, a former biology major who has worked for OHSU and created a biotech startup (through his E-Scholar roots), knew how to read the results. There was very little literature out there on this particular genetic condition. There was no way to sugarcoat the news. They then decided to take a trip to Hawai'i “to make family memories,” before coming back to come up with a plan. Tommy knew how to create a start-up. He knew scientists in the biotech field and elsewhere. He had a ready-made network. He knew who to reach out to. “I’m an E-Scholar and an entrepreneur. I can start a foundation. I can control that. That’s not a problem,” he says. “But with my son’s health, there are a lot of variables. I can’t control that.” So, mere months after the diagnosis, with three UP alums, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist, and a host of other professionals on the team and board of advisors, Raiden Science Foundation was launched. They are raising funds for therapy development and building community with other families walking a similar path. They are hoping their efforts and research (with the goal of getting to clinical trials and gene replacement therapy) will raise awareness of families dealing with the hardships of a rare genetic diagnosis. I have immense admiration for the Pham family. Both Linda and Tommy work for Nike. Right now, they are working from home (truly, they are working 24-7). “We are racing against the clock and have one shot at this,” Tommy says. “We have to start from scratch,” Linda says, “but we have to start from somewhere.”

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Ahern-Rindell and her current research student, senior biology major Christina Buselli, are using CRISPR technology to try to verify that the base change they are seeing in the GLB1 gene of GM1affected sheep is actually the mutation that causes the condition in the sheep model. The base change should cause an enzyme deficiency (this enzyme deficiency is what ultimately leads to the deterioration of the nervous system). How are they aiming to prove this? First they are taking healthy sheep cells and using CRISPR technology to target and “edit out” the healthy GLB1 gene and replace it with the altered version of the gene. If the healthy sheep cells start to express the enzyme deficiency, the science will be another step closer to showing that this base change in the GLB1 gene is the condition-causing mutation. The next step would be to conduct the experiment in the other direction: start with a gene that exhibits the mutation that leads to GM1, then use CRISPR technology to “cut” or “edit” that mutated gene out and replace it with a healthy, functioning gene, thereby removing the condition-causing mutation. This would alter the sheep’s genome, and it would also cure them of GM1.

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Rightly, all manner of ethical questions arise at the prospect of editing a being’s genome—microorganism, animal, plant, or human. Ahern-Rindell wants to use her research to lean into the ethics of CRISPR technology, and she wants the community to lean in too. “With any advances you make in science,” Ahern-Rindell says, “you have to think about the potential consequences. You cannot just do your research and not think about ethical concerns. With any new piece of knowledge you acquire in biology, you have to stop and think about: What is that science telling you? How can you apply that science in a beneficial way? Are there negative consequences to that scientific knowledge and how are you going to determine how best to turn the scientific knowledge into applied knowledge?” Let’s think through a few hypotheticals as they could relate to the sheep cells. If the gene editing is for purposes of medical treatment with GM1—to cure a disease, prevent suffering in a sheep—is that an ethical thing to do? If you could edit that gene out in the cells that make sperm and eggs, then you could theoretically prevent the sheep from handing that gene down

What is CRISPR?

to their offspring. How does that change the ethical considerations? If, theoretically, you edit a sheep’s genes early enough (say, before cells have acquired diversified function), you might be able to remove that mutation so that it is never passed on in their family line ever again. How should we be thinking about that possibility? Replace the sheep cells with human cells in the questions above and it’s not hard to think about how the application of gene editing—or CRISPR technology—to the human genome raises a whole host of serious concerns. The scientific community has been thinking through the ethical concerns from the beginning. There is consensus among the global scientific community that doing gene editing on viable human embryos is not acceptable. Outside of the US, there is a scientist in prison for doing gene editing on two viable embryos, who are now young girls, in an attempt to prevent them from being infected by HIV and developing AIDS. This scientist crossed a line that was globally accepted in the scientific community (especially since there are established alternative treatments for AIDS). And yet, before you get to that line, there are a lot of other uses of CRISPR that are important to think through. Ahern-Rindell and Buselli were given funding to find out what the general student population understands about CRISPR gene-editing technology. Ahern-Rindell believes that society needs

There is CRISPR and there is CRISPR technology. CRISPR is a pattern in the DNA of bacteria. (The acronym itself stands for “Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats,” a mouthful for sure, but it does describe what it is. The “repeats” are the pattern.) Scientists found that this pattern is part of the natural defense system that bacteria use to defend themselves against invading viruses. Essentially, bacteria detect the DNA or RNA of an invading virus and (with the help of their own roaming shape-shifting RNA and the enzymes it helps make), the bacteria’s defense system breaks apart the virus’s genome (made up of either DNA or RNA). The bacteria then incorporate broken bits of the viral DNA into the bacteria’s own DNA. The result? Well, a pattern. But also the virus is disarmed. What’s left in the bacteria’s DNA genome is this repeated pattern of bases that allows the bacteria to continue to recognize and “remember” the virus and protect against that virus in the future. Pretty amazing stuff. Once scientists understood what CRISPR was, they started trying to figure out: how can we do what a bacterium does to a viral genome? CRISPR gene-editing technology essentially harnesses bacteria’s system—using RNA molecules—to target specific DNA and then replaces that targeted DNA with new genetic material. Then, using an enzyme (you’ll often hear CRISPR technology described with the analogy of scissors), the technology cuts the targeted DNA. This technology could be used like bacteria use it—for instance, to target and disable a virus, and then “remember” new incoming viruses. CRISPR technology can also be used to target and cut other genetic material, say, the single base pair responsible for causing GM1 Gangliosidosis in the sheep model, or any other gene. The potential applications of this technology are mind-blowing. CRISPR gene-editing technology is being used for treatment of other diseases, including cancer. Some clinical trials with people who suffer from Sickle Cell Anemia, for instance, have shown success. People who have been sick their whole lives are now free from pain.

CRISPR TECHNOLOGY PROCESS

RNA with a matching sequence of the targeted DNA sequence guides the cutting enzyme (Cas9) to make a precise break in the DNA.

After the targeted DNA is edited out, replacement DNA is added.

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to be examining these questions, so they are starting with the corner of society that they know best: University of Portland. It may seem simple to decide that if gene editing will save a child from a life-threatening disease, that this would be something good to explore. But if changing a parent’s genetic code changes the genetic code in a family line forevermore, new questions arise. Who gets to make a decision about someone’s genetic line? If it means a child will avoid a fatal condition, or suffering, is it unethical not to make the change? What are the long-term evolutionary consequences of changing the human genome? Are the voices of those who live with disabilities being centered and heard in these discussions? What happens if parents want to embark on a different kind of gene editing that doesn’t involve treatment for a fatal disease? What if people start wanting to make changes, or “enhancements,” in their offspring? Without regulations, what’s to stop a parent from saying they want, say, a child who has the necessary genes for becoming tall so she can play in the WNBA?

Recommended Reading

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race, by Walter Isaacson, offers a detailed journey of the Nobel-winning biochemist’s career as she followed her research interests (largely her interests in the structure and behavior of RNA) toward the breakthrough of CRISPR gene-editing technology and beyond. This biography includes the big ethical questions, scientific competition (and a wide range of scientist-personalities fueling that competition), along with the ways in which these discoveries are relevant to the pandemic we are all living through at the moment. It’s a timely, highly informative page-turner for the general-interest reader.

And who will have access to this technology? Who will pay for it? Will it (won’t it) exacerbate disparities in health care or in society as a whole? What kind of regulations need to be in place? And another caution, what if editing one disease-causing gene makes you more susceptible to another disease, like cancer? Is it ethical to make that decision for someone other than oneself? Ahern-Rindell doesn’t come with prescriptive answers, but she does want students (and the general public) to be asking questions. If this technology is here to stay, how do we use it responsibly and for the greater good? University of Portland, a liberal arts institution with an Institute that funds research in applied ethics, is well-positioned to have these conversations thoughtfully. “We’re trying to involve citizens and engage the public,” Ahern-Rindell says. And she wants to find ways to educate and combat misinformation. She wants to think critically and carefully about how we can move basic scientific knowledge from the lab into society in a thoughtful and safe way. They will finish out the year working on the sheep model. They will see how far they get in their search for answers. Buselli will present on their findings in a Founders’ Day presentation this spring. She feels a certain responsibility. “People in younger generations are going to be responsible for using this technology for clinical applications,” Buselli says, “so it’s important to understand both the science behind it and the ethics behind using this technology moving forward.” Buselli’s words ring especially true knowing that Ahern-Rindell is due to retire this year. These questions will indeed become the responsibility of the next generation. Ahern-Rindell is looking for a lab to continue work on her sheep cells and build on the body of knowledge that she has amassed in hopes that a treatment/cure for GM1 Gangliosidosis will be possible soon.

JESSICA MURPHY MOO is the editor of this magazine.

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¡Échale Ganas! Mauricio Paz ’22 goes home to southern Oregon during school breaks to work in the vineyards with his family members. A pre-med biology and Spanish double-major, he isn’t afraid of hard work in the fields or in the classroom. What follows is an edited version of a lovely conversation about his fall break.

PHOTOS BY ALISHA JUCEVIC

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N THIS DAY during fall break we started at 7:30 in the morning and worked until about 3:30 pm. All the grapes needed to be picked. We were picking Tempranillo grapes. We pick the grapes along the midline of the plants and leave behind the grapes that are higher up. Usually, the fall harvest is from September to as late as the beginning of November. After the harvest, we prune the plants and get ready for the next bloom. I’ve worked all parts of the year, from the hottest days of the summer to the freezing cold temperatures during the winter. When the vines begin to grow in spring, we choose which ones to grow, and we cut the excess growth. We also cut the vines at the base of the plant—we call them “suckers” because they can take away nutrients. Then you wait until the grapes are ready to pick. Harvest season is exhausting. It’s like a workout because you are sore for the first several days, almost as if you’ve done a bunch of squats. After continuous days you get used to it. It’s a lot of work, so to mentally overcome the intense physical demands of the job, I often treat harvesting season as a competition between myself and my family and coworkers. We see who can make the most buckets that day. It’s $2 a bucket. On this day, I did about 75 buckets. How many buckets I fill depends on the type of grapes we are picking and how long we work that day. The bigger the bunches, the more buckets you fill in a short amount of time. You fill your bucket, dump it in the bin, and get one ticket per bucket. My dad drives the tractor that has the bins attached and gives out the tickets.

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This day the tractor did about seven turns, and two rows of grape plants can be picked after each turn. It took roughly one hour a line. Each row is on average the length of threequarters of a football field. My parents have always told me to work hard and to use my break to make money, so that I can pay for my personal and college expenses. Since they cannot financially help me for school, this is my way of helping them. Also, it’s a time to hang out with my dad, to spend time with my family. We chat all the time, we listen to music and talk about what’s going on with people, catching up on each other’s lives. Someone usually clips a speaker to their pants, and we listen to banda or older music that they listened to growing up. When we knew a photographer was going to come this day, we told everyone and asked if they’d be OK if they might be in the background of a photo. As I usually work with jokesters (it seems), they agreed and said,“As long as I’m going to be famous!” I am the first in my family to go to college, and I have pride in being an FGEN student. I think we sell ourselves short on the things we’ve already done. I’ve asked myself: Am I even a good student? But when I have time to myself, I think about the day I made the shift to come to college, something my parents didn’t do. It was a big leap. I did that. It’s something I’m proud of myself for doing. My family doesn’t always understand how big a deal it is to be doing well in college. They don’t always understand how big an accomplishment it has been. I’m an FGEN mentor at UP because my high school mentor had a big impact on me and helped me find opportunities I didn’t know about. She played a big part in my journey

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to UP, especially in finding financial assistance. Now I know of opportunities that can help other students, so I want to give back and share the knowledge I have. My interest in medicine began when I tore my ACL playing soccer in high school. The orthopedic surgeon displayed a collection of knee models and figures that captivated my eye. This interest inspired me to volunteer at my local hospital in the surgery center, emergency, labor and delivery, and the neurology/orthopedic units where I got to experience different types of medicine. I enjoy working in the medical field. Two summers ago, in addition to working in the fields part-time, I worked as a COVID-19 screener, and I shadowed a nephrologist this past summer. Communication is a crucial part of medicine, and I believe that having a physician who speaks your language and understands your culture is important to quality care. As a Spanish-speaking physician, I plan to serve those who are underrepresented and face a language barrier to ensure that those patients have access to the care that they deserve. I have ambitious goals in life that I have shared with my family, one being my goal of becoming a physician. At home, some family members have nicknamed me “the doctor.” They say things like, “Make sure the doctor eats right.” They are meaning to encourage me, I know. I also feel a lot of pressure on me to fulfill this goal. A saying that my family tells me a lot—and one that has motivated me during times of doubt— has been “¡échale ganas!” It’s hard to translate exactly, but this is my translation: keep going, keep persevering, and keep working hard.

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T H R E E E S S AYS TO N O U R I S H T H E S P I R I T I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y M A D E L I N E M A RT I N E Z

BITS AND PIECES B Y F R . PAT R I C K H A N N O N , C S C

YEARS AGO I led a small group of students from Notre Dame High School for Boys outside of Chicago on a service learning trip to Ireland. We were joining Sister Mairead Hughes on an excursion she sponsored every summer for those teenagers from a tough and poor part of Dublin who had kept out of trouble for the most part, lovely rascals who could, for a couple weeks, hike green hills, kayak and swim along the inlet shores near Ferrycarrig, County Wexford, roast marshmallows, and snooze in sleeping bags in sweet night air. They all cussed, but I didn’t mind. Spoken in soft Dublin brogues, those crass words sounded lyrical. And they always apologized to Sister and me when we were within earshot. More than a few smoked. On the Feast of St. James, Sister gathered them together for Mass as a hen retrieves her wandering chicks. One of them, a girl of thirteen or fourteen, would have none of it. “Ah, but you know, don’t you, this is a feast of the Church,” Sister said solemnly. “And you are a Catholic, are you not?” “Ah, Sister Maireaaaaad,” the girl said. (Here I have her taking a drag from her cigarette.) “I am most certainly a Catholic. I just don’t believe in all that stuff.” I loved her audaciousness. Another—I’ll call him Brendan—was the quietest of them all. You couldn’t help but notice the scar that ran from under his left earlobe to the edge of his chin. He was a small boy, thin and handsome, with a countenance that suggested he was always mulling over something important. In a quiet moment I asked Sister what had happened. Apparently his father had come home one night in an angry and drunken state and took a carpet cutter to the boy’s face. That explained—at least in that moment—why he was so soft-spoken. His wound, unlike most of ours, could not be hidden. Best to remain quiet. Best not to draw attention. On a bus ride one day, Brendan spoke. “Can I have a look at your cap, Michael?” Michael—a young man of eighteen—was one of my students. He was sitting across from Brendan, next to me. Michael’s Notre Dame cap was his treasure. He began wearing it when he was a freshman, and by many accounts, never took it off except when he was inside school. Some said he wore it to bed. Well, Michael looked at me pleadingly, as though Brendan had asked for his left lung. (I am thinking now that Michael would rather have given Brendan his left lung.) I gave Michael no wiggle room, of course.

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So Michael took off his cap, reached across the aisle and carefully handed it to Brendan. Brendan inspected it for a moment, noticed the fine stitching, the attentive shaping of its curved bill. He ran his fingers over the entwined ND letters on its face. Then he put it on his head and turned back toward the window to watch the world as it passed by him. I’ll tell you this: that day, wherever Brendan went Michael went. At day’s end, Michael made Brendan surrender the hat. This went on for the next week. Brendan’s ask. Michael’s pleading. Michael’s surrender. Michael becoming Brendan’s shadow until sunset. Brendan’s surrender. The last day: my ND kids are hugging the kids from Dublin. They exchange emails. A long goodbye. I’m in the van watching it all from the rearview mirror. I see Michael looking for Brendan who has his cap. Brendan’s nowhere to be found. Ah, I see him. He’s poking his head out from the edge of the dorm a hundred yards away. He’s wearing the cap. Michael at last sees him. He makes his way, slowly, to Brendan. They meet like two old friends. Heads hanging down. Hands in pockets. They are conversing. Brendan finally looks up. He takes off the cap and hands it to Michael. Michael places it on his head, centers it perfectly. They shake hands. Michael turns and begins walking to the van. I pray to God, I do. I say, You can’t let the story end this way. Please God. I’m not asking for a Hollywood ending. No violins. I want a Jesus ending. Michael stops. He looks up to the sky. On a stack of bibles I swear he did. Do I detect a sigh? He turns around and returns to Brendan. They talk some more. Michael takes off his cap—his love, his treasure, his reason for living—and places it gently, tenderly, on Brendan’s head. He adjusts the cap so it perfectly aligns with Brendan’s eyes and nose. They shake hands. Michael turns and makes his way to the van. He gets in and retreats to the far back and sits next to the window, where he looks out upon the world with a countenance that suggests he is mulling over something important. I do everything not to burst into tears. I’m asked occasionally where I see God in this beautiful and broken world of ours. I begin by reciting a line from Patrick Kavanagh’s poem “The Great Hunger”: “God is in the bits and pieces of Everyday — / A kiss here and a laugh again, and sometimes tears, / A pearl necklace round the neck of poverty.” Then, if they have time, I’ll tell them a story like this one—about a scar that went from below an Irish boy’s left earlobe to the edge of his chin and about a Chicago boy and his baseball cap that became a healing gift, a sacrament of merciful, mending love. FR. PATRICK HANNON, CSC, ’82 is an essayist. He teaches writing at University of Portland.

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GETTING MY BEARINGS When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. —Luke 1:41

BY K A R E N E I F L E R

TWO HUNDRED YARDS from my house is one of the most consistently joyful places on this planet: a dog park. We’re regulars there, along with our cowabunga terrier, Pippin. If all that unleashed canine exuberance somehow fails to restore my soul, Bear does it. Bear is an affable St. Bernard, approximately the size of a Buick, who performs a singular ministry at Arbor Lodge Park most early evenings. She plops herself in the middle of the grassy area, lays on her back with her I-beam legs straight up in the air, and stays that way while the assembled little dogs jump and crawl on and over her, leaping through those legs as if she is the shaggy dog equivalent of a kid’s monkey bars. Bear is absolutely still, her soulful eyes closed for the entire time. Big dogs know not to mess with Bear or interfere in any way with the imps rollicking in their Bear-time. Some interior gong goes off after a half hour or so, the signal for Bear to gently roll over, stand up, engage in a goober-filled shake-off, then amble back to her person for the walk home. Numerous Bears in my life keep me striving for the classroom that can be, the committee that can be, the Church that can be. They are people who appear to move through life as stately cruise ships when I am more like a frantic little dinghy flailing in undisciplined circles out in open water. A single wise word, a perfectly timed cocked eyebrow posing the silent question are you quite sure that is the best action to take at this particular moment?, a hand placed on my arm before I spew a Vesuvius of words—these quiet gestures keep me safe from myself, which in turn keeps me from antagonizing the big dogs out there. Outside the public eye, the Bears of my world provide me with secure play structures to incubate promising projects, heal old wounds, ponder stretches in novel directions. Lake Sagatagan at St. John’s University in Minnesota is a place where I get my bearings

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annually, kindness of my godfriend Eva, who has a few years and oceans of wisdom on me. I save up a year’s worth of slights, inchoate ideas, and thwarted plans and unfurl them to her gentle ears. We always know it’s coming, and it’s always by her invitation that we pack a lunch and take that walk to the little bench by the water, and she always asks, “So tell me how it is with your soul.” And I tell her, with the same unfocused intensity I witness as Pippin clambers over Bear. And Eva listens, and she invites me to clarify, and she sits with my undisciplined thoughts as they stream around her, and she listens some more, and sits a bit longer, and we are quiet for long stretches that don’t feel awkward. And at some point, the gap between what I’ve been doing and what could be more life-giving for me to do narrows, and I have a map for navigating the terrain ahead. And we eat our PBJs and munch our apples and what do you know, one of us snuck in some Oreos, and we savor those while we take in the cardinals that are such a novelty to this Left-Coaster, and the loons, and the Minnesota dragonflies that are so humongous they’re kind of scary, even though they are also quite beautiful. The world seems a lot more manageable. Mary is rightly revered for her Magnificat declaration: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit exults in God, my savior…” But those words are not, as I often assumed, Mary’s immediate response to the angel Gabriel when he upends her world with the announcement that she is pregnant with the Messiah. Faced with impending consequences that must really seem dire, this unmarried young girl goes to visit her much older cousin Elizabeth to sort things out. I imagine the tearful, silent, and lengthy embrace the two must have greeted one another with, both confronting the end of their worlds as they knew them. It’s only after sitting with Elizabeth, sharing her fears and wondering with her “how on earth will I break the news to Joseph and my parents” and breaking bread together—they are both eating for two now—and after allowing one another breathing and sobbing and laughter and wonder room…only then can Mary give full expression to her acceptance of the miracle occurring within and through her, in the soaring poetry we have come to treasure. Here’s a toast to our Bears, quiet pillars who allow us to climb all over them, who guide us through their steadfast listening to get our bearings and emerge as our better selves. KAREN EIFLER directs UP’s Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life & American Culture. This essay is from the forthcoming collection Near Occasions of Hope: A Woman’s Glimpses of A Church That Can Be, available from ACTA Publications this month.

WINTER 2022

SCREENPORCH AS PRAYER B Y J E S S I E VA N E E R D E N

HERE, INTERIOR MEETS exterior, threshold between kitchen scent and a wind murmured with skunk. Screen blocks June bugs and bats though not the slant rain. There is a little time. Metal washtub harbors nasturtium and petunia, and here, the boots to pull on when ready. I tweeze five ticks off the dog, suffocating them first in Vaseline. Yesterday, she snagged a bunny from under the hosta and, the day before, massacred the new robins. Her murderous face spoking bird legs, her hind leg trembling. She sprawls now to my touch. Board fitted and mesh tacked to make space for mercy. And this heat—let the sky make use of it. Out here, I read a letter from my brother who, last year, put that turnbuckle on the screendoor to lift its drag and who has loved his wife for twenty years. He’s building some chairs out of cherry and teaching his son our country’s dark truths. Letters slow life down, he writes. I picture him calling forth the deeper cherry grain with Minwax finish and filling out the shapes outlined for us that seemed so large, capacious, and demanding when we were small enough to fit in closet forts and snug vests with snaps. P.S.—he doesn’t remember that summer I asked him about, when we went to the demolition derby. But I remember his friend Jack’s name called on the loudspeaker and the blue raspberry snowcones in

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the stands and our disposition toward homesickness. He is, I think, a good father to his son. A good teacher at the community college. Good husband. May the chairs turn out. He prays for me in his hot kernel heart to know what shape my life. I water dog and nasturtium and hear my mother’s thoughts on the governor over the phone, my sister’s talk of graduate school, my friend’s news of her dad dying. And the radio, bad news all around from Yemen, Detroit, the local high school. On the table, the market Cherokee Purples and Brandywines ripen, two nectarines and a newspaper boat of blue lake beans for my love. Out here, in these two chairs, was our beginning when we said I miss your shape when you’re not near, I his shape of father of two, trim beard shaved neck smell of sandalwood soap but stronger smell of lakewater, filling my hallway, shirt sleeves rolled up and shoulders to knead and to help brace me, and he my shape of something. I know it only to be a shape of something not yet final. Please, God, a little more time before I go. I promise I’ll be ready. After a bit, I won’t really need the screen so intact. See here, this corner is already loose and I’ve left it unrepaired, and a few bats get in. I put my cheek down upon the porch floor, my temple, my heavy hair, and feel the flutter of a wing. Then, come evening, when the storm begins, all that heat finally useful, when some spray blows in and the temperature falls an octave, I promise I will follow you down those porch steps, in my ready shape. I swear I will follow you anywhere. JESSIE VAN EERDEN is the author of three novels, Glorybound, My Radio Radio, and Call It Horses, and the essay collection The Long Weeping. She teaches English at Hollins University and serves as nonfiction editor for Orison Books.

WINTER 2022

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BY DA N I E L L E C E N T O N I P O RT R A I T S BY A M B E R F O U T S

TWO UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND alums—strangers who never met— recently found their lives intersecting in a way no one would have ever predicted. One is a tax accountant named Danie Baker ’11 who majored in finance and accounting and now has a thriving career at Price Waterhouse-Cooper in Seattle. The other is Brett Bankson ’15, who arrived at UP just as Baker was leaving, majored in psychology and French, and then moved on to research in DC and grad school in Pittsburgh to pursue a PhD. The two clearly orbited completely different worlds—until this summer when they both found themselves in a place only a rarefied few ever get to venture: the set of a reality TV cooking show. Turns out, Baker and Bankson do have something in common besides a UP degree (well, that and the fact that they both now live in the Seattle area). Their biggest connection? They both really, really love to cook. A lot. And they each followed their passion for cooking right into a coveted spot on Bravo’s Top Chef Amateurs this summer. The show is similar to the original format of Top Chef, in which professional chefs compete against each other in a series of cooking challenges until by the end of the season only one remains. But on Amateurs, each episode is a one-off, with two home cooks competing against each other for the $5,000 prize and bragging rights. Although they didn’t appear in the same episode (Baker’s episode aired in July while Bankson’s aired in September), they both say it was one of the most challenging, rewarding, and life-changing experiences they’ve ever had. And both can trace their journey to the competition kitchen all the way back to their days at UP. Sometimes a liberal arts education can prepare you for things you never in a million years expected. We caught up with them to find out how it all began and where they plan to go from here.

WINTER 2022

DANIE BAKER ’11 QUEEN OF THE SCREEN

Although Danie Baker went all-in on left-brain subjects during her years at UP (she minored in math too), she never let her right brain starve, or her friends for that matter. “Even in college I’d bake birthday cakes from scratch and throw dinner parties at my house,” she says. “Cooking is stress relief for me, and good food is everything to me. My whole family is a bunch of cooks, so it’s just something I’ve always been into.” Baker says she’s always enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen but only recently decided to get serious about turning her love of cooking into a media platform. She launched a food blog called Hey Danie Bakes and amped up her Instagram account with a steady stream of her professional-level food photography. “It was quarantine when I started the blog. People wanted entertainment. And it has really launched this new part of my cooking life.” Just two weeks after unveiling her blog, casting for Top Chef Amateurs found her and reached out. After several rounds of interviews and auditions, they flew her to Portland in fall of 2020 to tape her episode in the same giant commercialkitchen-turned-TV-set that had just been used for Top Chef Portland (everyone had to quarantine before filming and stay in the Top Chef bubble for the three-day shoot).

DAVID MOIR/BRAVO

Danie Baker and Top Chef alumna Tiffany Derry on the “Opposites Attract” episode of Top Chef Amateurs, which aired July 2021

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Cooking on a soundstage in front of a camera crew is hard enough but add in a one-hour time limit and a judging panel of famous chefs watching, and it was all more than a little intimidating. “I just cook for fun in my kitchen and sometimes bring Instagram along for the ride,” says Baker. “I don’t make gastronomical things with smokes and fogs and mousses and stuff. I make rustic comfort food. It was very overwhelming. I’m thinking, ‘Am I really here? Is this real life? How did I get here?’ When we first walked into the kitchen, I didn’t know we were filming, that’s how nervous and out of my mind I was.” Luckily the two contestants competing on each episode get paired with a professional chef with extensive Top Chef experience as their mentor. “This was the best part,” says Baker, “to cook with someone who’s so knowledgeable. Tiffany Derry was my paired Top Chef alumna, and she’s amazing, an incredibly talented chef who is so low-key and so supportive. She really helped me focus when I was freaking out about what I was going to make. I was 10 minutes in and I hadn’t started cooking! She’d say, ‘Follow your heart and your gut and your intuition.’” It worked. Baker not only met the challenge of cooking a dish that showcased both sweet and bitter flavors, her sweet potato coconut soup (inspired by her family’s sweet potato pie) topped with grilled radicchio and arugula chimichurri stole the show. This summer, when she got the chance to watch the episode from the other side of the screen during a viewing party with friends and family, all of that stress and anxiety was a distant memory. “I knew what was going to happen, but the moment they announced that I was the Top Chef Amateurs champion of that episode, it was just the coolest thing to have all of my close friends and family there to experience it with me. I kept thinking, ‘I want to go back to that moment. Let’s do that again.’” So, instead of being relieved the cameras are off, it seems Baker has developed a taste for the spotlight. She already incorporates short videos into her Instagram feed, but she recently launched a YouTube channel called The Dish! with several professionally shot and edited teasers and a full episode already posted. “While I was filming Top Chef Amateurs, none of this was going through my mind because I was so stressed,” she says. “But a few months after, as I was thinking about it more and more, I was like, that was a fun experience! I can be entertaining; I can make full-fledged episodes. Basically, I felt like you gotta take opportunities and seize them when you have them. Why not keep making content and creating?” Does that mean she’s leaving her accounting career behind? Not so fast. “I love accounting. I took my very first accounting class at UP in the Pamplin School of Business, and I fell in love. I actually do really love my job. But I love food more,” she says. “Cooking is rooted into my person. It’s who I am and what I’ve grown up around. I can’t imagine not being in the kitchen. If a production company came to me, I’d say ‘Absolutely. Let’s make cooking videos.’”

WINTER 2022

BRE T T BANKSON ’15 STUDENT OF THE KITCHEN

Brett Bankson says he has UP to thank for his current preoccupation with food. It started with French class. “My professor, Trudie Booth, told me if you declare a French major, you can study abroad with your financial aid.” Sold! Bankson declared a double major in psychology and French, hopped a plane, and underwent a culinary coming of age. “Being in France for six months, I’m still unpacking that,” he says. “Every evening with my host family we’d eat for several hours. We’d have soup, we’d have salad, we’d have a cheese course.” After he graduated, he moved to Washington, DC, for a research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. “My passion for research and academia started at UP. I had a great time doing research as an undergrad, and I thought, I’ll just keep on doing this. I love doing it and the people I’m surrounded with.” However, while there, those memories of exquisite meals in France took root in the fertile ground of the city’s thriving culinary landscape and grew into a full-fledged obsession. “DC is a great food city, and it really imprinted on me,” says Bankson. “That’s when I started cooking in earnest with a capital E. I was like, I can cook as many meals as I want for myself every day! I can cook for my lab, my friends, my friends of friends. I don’t need anyone’s permission. What if I spend all my hours cooking or going to restaurants and markets?” But cooking remained just a hobby, a creative release, as Bankson continued on the research track, opting to pursue a PhD in visual neuroscience through University of Pittsburgh’s cognitive psychology program. “I had the opportunity to work with these patients in the epilepsy monitoring unit at Pitt. It’s fascinating work. There was no reason to say no.” However, several years later, he now realizes that’s not the same as a reason to say yes. As the work became more difficult, he started questioning his path. “It started to feel like, ‘Why am I doing this?’” he says. He began devoting more of his time to cooking, opting to cater events, wedding receptions, and academic events rather than do his actual work. “It’s where my mind goes when I’m daydreaming, when I’m procrastinating, when I go to bed, when I get up.” And he’s had no shortage of encouragement. “None of my fellow grad students are going to say, ‘Oh I don’t want that ricotta hazelnut tart from you.’ I’ve had a captive audience for the past few years who affirm my own interest in cooking.” So, when Bravo put out the casting call for auditions, Bankson didn’t hesitate for a second. Here was a cool food opportunity that would give him yet another excuse to tie on an apron. And when he finally made it to the Top Chef Amateurs kitchen in Portland, he whole-heartedly embraced every minute of it. “Seeing the Top Chef neon sign, it was like, oh wow. This is the thing I’ve been seeing on TV for years,” he says. “Paradoxically, the surreality of it all relieved the stress. It was like, This isn’t real. It’s a kitchen stage that’s enormous and gorgeous and has famous people on it. I don’t care about outcomes. I just don’t want my hands shaking, and I want to produce food I don’t have regrets about.” Mission accomplished. Bankson was tasked with one of the most notorious of the Top Chef food challenges: the mise en place challenge. He and his competitor must select three ingredients out of a total of 10 options available on a firstcome, first-served basis. They each have one hour to prep those

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DAVID MOIR/BRAVO

Brett Bankson and Top Chef alumna Stephanie Cmar on the “No Room for Mis-stakes” episode of Top Chef Amateurs, which aired September 2021

ingredients and create a dish incorporating them. Once an item comes off the table, there’s no going back. With a little help from his pro chef mentor Stephanie Cmar, he knocked it out of the park with celery velouté (soup) with roasted oranges and brown butter walnut gremolata. Aside from winning, the best part, says Bankson, was getting to spend time with real-deal food professionals at the apex of their careers. “It was a phenomenal experience. Meeting the judges who are Top Chef alums, meeting Gail Simmons. They’re real people who are talented and have a ton of passion. They’re very engaged in their profession.” If anything, the experience has crystallized his resolve to pivot into a career in food. “It was an unexpected opportunity I’m happy to leverage and ride out into the work of catering and private cheffing, which is where my hopes are now,” he says. “I’m in the process of leaving my grad program to pursue food professionally. I love to cook for people, people are happy to pay me to cook for them. I’m still trying to sort it out, but I’m thinking maybe this is something I can actually do.” DANIELLE CENTONI works in UP’s marketing and communications department and is a longtime freelance food journalist and cookbook author.

WINTER 2022

60s 1964

Donald J. Chisholm ’64 was honored by the Idaho State Bar with its Distinguished Lawyers Award in September. His career began in rural Idaho, working with various firms until starting his own firm, Chisholm Law Office, in 1983. Donald’s areas of law include general practice, real estate law, banking, and more.

1969

Joe Schiwek ’69 was recently featured on the front page of the Catholic Sentinel for his work as the Archdiocese’s archivist. In 1975, Joe graduated with a master’s in library science. Shortly after he was asked to serve on the Archdiocesan Historical Committee, being officially hired as their archivist in 2013. Between 1975 and 2013, Joe held various jobs, including librarian and records person for an architectural firm. His work as the Archdiocese’s archivist is extremely careful, thorough, and thoughtful, often involving questions of baptismal records. He is in charge of keeping and caring

for many texts and other documents highly valuable to the Catholic community, especially in Portland. You can find the article by going to the Catholic Sentinel website, catholicsentinel.org. Congratulations, Joe!

70s 1971

We received a lovely note from Thomas J. Rothschild ’71: “My older brother was stationed in Bermuda with the US Army (I am not sure who he had to bribe). He met a woman there, married her, and they lived there for several years. I went to visit him in August 1970 (the summer before my senior year at the University of Portland). On August 12, 1970, I was introduced to the young lady who was the babysitter for my brother’s children. This young lady, Filomena, took time off from her job, and gave me a personal 2-week tour of Bermuda. From September of 1970 to May of 1971 we wrote lots and lots of letters. My close friends at the University probably remember my constant talking

SEND US YOUR NEWS We’d love to hear from you! Use the updates section as a way to get the ball rolling on Reunion catch-ups! Write to portlandmagazine@up.edu

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about her. On May 9, 1971, Filomena came to Portland for my graduation. She and my mother pinned my 2nd Lieutenant bars on me. Filomena returned to Bermuda, and we started writing letters again. In my October 6, 1971, letter I proposed marriage. On October 12, 1971, she telegraphed back, “Yes.” We were married on May 20, 1972, at Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church in Bermuda. Filomena does have family in Bermuda, so we have visited several times over the years.” Congratulations, Thomas and Filomena! Marla Salmon ’71 received the American Academy of Nursing’s highest honor. She was recognized as a “Living Legend” in the field of nursing. A leader in the field for decades, Marla’s impact on health policies, health education, and the field of nursing is national and global in scope. Marla served as director of the Division of Nursing with the US Department of Health and Human Services and held dean positions at Emory University and University of Washington. She was also a member of the Clinton White House Task Force on Healthcare Reform and chair of the World Health Organization’s Global Advisory Group on Nursing and Midwifery. She continues to teach as a professor of nursing and global health and adjunct professor of public policy and governance at UW. Congratulations, Marla,

on this immense honor that you so richly deserve.

1979

Mike Anderson ’79, ’82 has an update to share: “After a career in Operations Management and Public Service I am retiring at the end of 2021. I spent 35 years in Food and Electronics manufacturing then in 2009 went to work for the State of Oregon followed by the City of Portland. I developed an expertise in lean manufacturing which I adapted for government. At the state I worked for several agencies such as Fish and Wildlife, Forestry and the Department of Administrative Services. I helped smooth out many processes and reduced millions in costs. One of my highlights was redesigning the Big Game, Fishing and Bird hunting regulation booklets. Ironically my position was the victim of budget cuts, so I went to work for the City of Portland. I have taken ‘Teaching, Faith, and Service’ to heart. I love to volunteer and for over 20 years spent 900–1000 hours a year volunteering for many groups. Boy Scouts, Ski Patrol, the City of Vancouver, the Rose Festival, and Special Olympics are my favorites. I hope in retirement I can do more. Finally, I love to teach First Aid for the scouts and ski patrol, and serve as the Finance Chair for Orchards United Methodist Church in Vancouver.” Congrats, Mike! We are excited to see where retirement takes you. CONTINUES ON PAGE 44

CLASS NOTES

UP’s beloved Reunion Weekend tradition is making its long-awaited return, and we want you to be there! It’s time for our Pilot community to reconnect, reminisce, and renew on The Bluff. While we know many of us have had difficult experiences in the past few years and many of us may still feel anxious about the state of things, we also know we are going through this together. Reunion Weekend 2022 will offer new possibilities for closeness and JOY.

up.edu/reunion

ALUMNI REUNION WEEKEND

JOI N US! J U N E 24–26, 2022

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CLASS NOTES

Health-Care History in the Making Ozzy’s Girls: The Story of the Gutsy Women Who Built a Healthcare Empire by Terri Wallo Strauss Ozzy’s Girls tells the stories of a group of nursing students who worked under the guidance of Harriet Osborn (i.e., Ozzy), director of education for St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing, which merged with University of Portland in the 1930s. Many of Ozzy’s students became important players in the fabric of Portland’s health-care systems. Their stories are revealed through the experiences of the late Dee Rennie Wallo, the author’s mother, during her years as a nursing student from 1942 to 1946. Dee Wallo later became a nurse leader at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. The narrative notes the historical context in which these nursing students were getting their start in the profession—nurses had to find a “source” from the local drugstore to give them the tip when the silk hose shipment came in, which, if obtained, they’d need to dye white themselves for their nursing uniforms. (The material was in demand for parachutes during World War II.) There were food rations, air drills, and there was sometimes bad news about loved ones fighting in the war. When the war ended, “the party downtown lasted for days.” Some of the stories feel somewhat timeless— students sneaking out of living quarters through the fire escape, and dating and flirting seems to be the same (sometimes awkward) dance it may always be. Dee met her husband, Ed Wallo, at UP. The scene we’ve excerpted notes the presence of the polio epidemic during Dee’s pediatric rotation as she was trying to decide what field of nursing she wanted to pursue. The high stress of health care during a pandemic offers some eerie perspective.

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Dee Rennie Wallo ’46 (front) with other members of the Class of 1946 lined up at the St. Vincent School of Nursing

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TERRI WALLO STRAUSS

Harriet Edna Osborn (otherwise known as “Ozzy”) is known as the first nurse in Oregon to receive a bachelor’s degree and became the director of education for St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing, which merged with University of Portland in the 1930s.

The “Principles of Pediatric Nursing” was a rotation Dee looked forward to since she loved children. She didn’t like having to cross town to Providence Hospital though, since that meant riding the streetcar all the way back to the Nurses’ Home after an entire shift. Pediatrics was certainly noisy and lively during the daytime, thought Dee, when she entered the ward later that week. The cheery wallpaper and the bright colors made for a festive atmosphere. Dee soon learned, however, that there was nothing worse than sick children. It bothered her to see these tiny humans flushed with fever, confused about where they were, and crying for their parents. The most common reason a child was hospitalized was for a tonsillectomy, which was a brutal surgery at the time and left the children in pain for days. Even the promised ice cream didn’t bring a smile. Dee had heard stories of diphtheria also being found. One entire shift of nurses had to be tested and some quarantined following exposure. Penicillin, a godsend, was being mass produced and distributed to hospitals. Dee was thrilled, knowing that if it had been invented and available when she was a young child, she would have avoided many of her grave illnesses. However, the penicillin was only available in three-hour doses and, of course, had to be injected. That meant that the nurses would move through the ward injecting the penicillin, and by the time they got to the other side all the children were crying. On this particular day, all was quiet. As Dee walked quickly down the hall, intent on visiting some of her favorite older children in the playroom, she glanced outside to see the rain. The sky was black, and the rain was driving down in sheets, hitting the hospital’s windows with tiny pinging sounds. Suddenly, a crack of thunder was heard and the hospital lights flickered. Dee cast an eye upward, frowning to herself. Sure enough, she heard a quick sizzle and then a zap, and the lights went out. Sister suddenly rounded the corner, her skirt flapping behind her. If it wasn’t for the worried look on her face, Dee would have laughed at her attempt to run in her full habit, the nun’s wimple catching wind as she sailed down the hall. “Dee,” she gasped in panic, forgetting to address her properly as “Miss Rennie.” “The electricity is out. The iron lungs. We have to rock them so they will keep working.” With that, she turned and ran, and Dee charged behind her, quickly catching up. They entered the ward where children stricken with polio lay wrapped in their iron lungs, the metal cylinders that kept

them alive. Known as tank ventilators, iron lungs helped people with polio breathe. Without power, the iron lungs couldn’t oscillate and help the children breathe. The children’s faces were peeping out of the cylinders, and they clucked their tongues as Dee ran in—the only sign they could make to indicate they couldn’t breathe. “Cluck-cluck-cluck” rang out in unison, their faces filled with apprehension. Dee grabbed one and Sister grabbed another. A fellow student, Marcy, ran in. Fortunately, between the three of them, they were able to rock the three patients and keep the iron lungs moving. Dee could feel beads of sweat on her forehead. Her heart seemed to beat faster. Some more sisters and doctors came running to provide support and help keep the iron lungs going until the electricity turned back on. When the humming came on and the lights flickered again, Dee almost dropped in relief. Mercifully, it was over. Dee stroked a little girl’s hair that peeped out of the iron lung. She could tell the girl had no fever. She knew Sister would come by to check each small patient thoroughly and the subsequent charting would be done. With tears in her eyes, Dee walked out of the ward, her steps heavy. Sick children were not for her, she told herself.

Inarose Ries (Zuelke) (center) and classmates, Class of 1947

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CLASS NOTES

80s 1982

Joe White ’82 recently retired from his post as executive director of the Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer. In his note to the organization upon his departure, he shared the evolution of his relationship with the Rivkin Center, which started with the diagnosis of his late wife, Lori. He has upheld his promise to her to help other women find ways to fight this disease. Warm congratulations on your muchdeserved retirement, Joe.

90s 1993

Cathy Barr ’93 sends us this: “Hello UP! I have never given an update of my life to Portland Magazine. I stayed in touch with a few folks over the years, including my dear friend Brian Doyle prior to his passing. So, here goes: I graduated with the class of ’93, although I was a non-traditional student. I worked at UP for 25 years in the Student Accounts office and the Development office, leaving in 2001. I recently retired in July of 2021 from PeaceHealth as the Executive Director of their PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center Foundation after 20 years of service. I am enjoying the stress-free life and looking forward to the future.” Thank you, Cathy!

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Curt Ranta ’93, ’94 has been working as the founder of the Ranta Group, a Los Angeles company working to build sustainable housing developments, focusing on low-income families and communities. Most recently, the Ranta Group has been working on a new apartment complex made primarily with used shipping containers, 72 to be exact, with the goal to rent to low-income tenants. Elizabeth Scofield ’93 recently published her book Nordic Influence on Emerson’s Self-Reliance. Congrats!

1997

Kathy Mulkerin ’97 recently ran for, and won, an election for Walla Walla School District Position 1. She announced her running in March of 2021, and election results were confirmed in December of the same year. Prior to this position, Kathy worked as a paralegal.

00s 2006

Trevor Caldwell ’06 was recently hired at the Portland office of Miller Nash, a law firm. He is working as a member of the firm’s employment law & labor relations practice team.

2009

In March 2022, Jean Louise Pullen ’09 is publishing her book Regenerate Your Reality: Your Guide to Regenerative Living, Happiness, Love, and Sovereignty. A portion of proceeds from each purchased book will benefit the planting of three trees.

10s 2012, ’13

Lia (Samieenejad) Vennes ’13 and Chris Vennes ’12 welcomed their second boy Elliott Jon in May of 2021. Evan Daniel, now three years old, is excited to be an older brother. Congrats, Lia and Chris!

2016

James Paul Gumataotao ’16 published an article titled “A Seat at the Table of Plenty” on the Ignatian Solidarity Network website. In the piece, James reflects on a favorite church song of his, “Table of Plenty,” while weaving in reflections of gathering, one’s relationship with God, and making space for all people to worship and to be seen in God’s image. James is a theology teacher and campus minister at Cristo Rey Boston, a Catholic high school in Massachusetts. You can find his article at ignationsolidarity.net. Portland Jobs with Justice has a new executive director, Jill Pham ’16. The foundation-supported workers’ rights nonprofit is a coalition of over 100 labor and community groups. Jill first became active in labor when she got a job at New Seasons to help a union campaign by UFCW Local 555. She later worked for Washington State Nurses Organizing Project and for Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals. Jill, 27, says she even has memories of being on a picket line as a toddler when her dad, a member of Machinists Lodge 63, was on strike at Boeing. She first got active in JwJ while working on a degree in social work from University of Portland.

As the JwJ executive director, she’ll oversee two to three staff represented by Communications Workers of America Local 7901. Jill says she wants to stabilize JwJ, connect mutual aid groups to unions and nonprofits, and continue the work of former director Will Layng to develop a worker resource center.

2019

Alex Bridgeman ’19 was selected as one of Portland Business Journal’s “Inno under 25” for his podcast, Think Like an Owner, a weekly podcast interviewing small company owners and investors. Alex was also honored for his work with The Operator’s Handbook, a printed publication showcasing stories from small business owners concerning the growth of their companies. Dagan Kay ’19 was chosen as one of Portland Business Journal’s “Inno under 25.” His company, Produce Mate, makes antimicrobial kitchen mats designed to extend the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables and, as a result, combat food waste.

20s 2021

Evangeline Muyano ’21 was recently selected as one of Portland Business Journal’s “Inno under 25” for her work co-founding the company rePLA. The company develops algae-based biodegradable plastic to be used for prototyping with 3D printers, a more environmentally friendly alternative to the plastics currently being used to print with.

CLASS NOTES IN MEMORIAM

Our heartfelt prayers and condolences go out to the families of the following individuals. Requiescat in pace. Jeanne Menoret Graham ’43 passed away on November 20, 2021. She was 103 years old. A proud life-long Oregonian and resident of Corvallis since 1946, Jeanne was among those who survived both the Spanish Flu and the COVID pandemics. Jeanne rode in Model-T cars, made her family get up very early to watch the Apollo Moon launch, and marveled at modern computer technology. She met her beloved husband, Robert Douglas Graham, at Fort Riley, KS, where she served as a nurse and Robert was a pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Bob passed away in 2004. Jeanne loved to garden and fish, was an avid Oregon State sports fan, and played tennis into her seventies. She is survived by two daughters, four grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Mary “Molly” Auer ’44 died on the evening of September 21, 2021, in Medford, OR. Mary grew up in Marshfield, OR, obtained her associate and nursing degrees from University of Portland’s School of Nursing, and served for two months as a lieutenant in the Army medical corps. She and her husband, Carl Auer, raised eight children together. Molly had a deep capacity for wonder and joy. She loved life, wine, food, creating things, reading, and being with family. She was a member of St. Monica’s Catholic Church for most of her life. An artist, mother, nurse, and poet, she will be deeply missed.

Robert Paul “Bob” Jones ’46 passed away on September 11, 2021, at home with his family at his side. In the fall of 1942, he enrolled in University of Portland. In December of 1942, duty called and he enlisted in the US Navy and its pioneering V12 program to help the war effort by training naval officers. He continued his education at University of Portland, transferring in May of 1943 to Iowa State College. On September 11, 1948, Bob married his high school sweetheart Vera LeJeanne Houston. They had six children together. Donald Hirtzel ’49 passed away July 21, 2021, at the age of 95. Born in Silverton, OR, Donald moved across Oregon throughout his childhood. Eventually settling in Bend, he graduated from Bend High School in 1939 and worked in the sawmills. Donald graduated from University of Portland with a degree in business administration. After working in Redmond, OR, for Consolidated Freeways, he joined the Army. In 1961, he went back to school to get his master’s in education from University of Oregon. Among many things, Donald was an avid traveler and reader. Beverly A. Block Boyd ’50 died on October 1, 2021. She graduated from University of Portland with a bachelor’s degree from the School of Nursing. Bev worked in hospitals across the country. She, her husband, and their three children moved to Roseburg, OR, in 1968 where

she worked at Mercy Medical Center from 1968 until she retired in 1993. Bev re-joined the workforce and worked at the Oregon Surgical Center and Weston Eye Clinic until 2013. She will be missed. Maxwell “Max” Freshley ’51 died on October 4, 2021. Max graduated from University of Portland with a degree in physics. He joined the General Electric Company’s Tech Grad Program at the Hanford site in Richland. In 1965, he started a career with Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, retiring in 1993 as a manager/senior staff scientist. He devoted most of his professional career to researching the development of light water nuclear reactor fuels. He met his life partner, Betty L. LaCombe, while attending Multnomah Junior College. Together they had two children. After retiring, Max enjoyed numerous hobbies and activities and was fortunate to have had an active life well into his late eighties. Max’s nature was to be thorough and precise in every undertaking. He will be missed. David Hall Yee ’51 passed away peacefully on, August 24, 2021, at his home surrounded by family. David was born in Guangdong, China. After graduating from University of Portland, he was drafted into the Army and served from 1952 to 1954. In 1955 he married his beloved wife, Feng Chen. He worked at the Bureau of Mines for 31 years, retiring from a career as

a research chemist in 1986. David loved fishing and camping, traveling up and down the west coast with his trailer and camper van. He was an active member of the Chinese Scientists, Engineers and Professionals Association of Portland. Donald Butsch ’52 died August 26, 2021. Born and raised in Mount Angel, OR, Donald married Robinette “Bobby” Amen in 1948. A hero of the “greatest generation,” Don served in both theaters of World War II in the 86th Infantry, winning the Bronze Star. Don lived a life of service, practiced pharmacy for over 50 years, and served both city and state in numerous elected and appointed capacities. He will be missed. Dan Duffy ’55 passed away on October 24, 2021. At University of Portland, he majored in psychology. It was at a pep rally that he first encountered a freshman named Boots Murphy. He would reconnect with Boots a few years later, after he entered the US Air Force. They were married on June 14, 1958. He retired from the Air Force in 1987 and retired from his phone company job a few years later, turning his attention to golf, volunteering, happy hours, and more golf. He will be greatly missed. Richard “Dick” L. Lang ’55 died on October 3, 2021. Dick was a partner in a downtown Portland law firm for many years and lived in the city all of his life. After graduating

WINTER 2022

CLASS NOTES IN MEMORIAM

from UP, he attended Lewis & Clark (then Northwestern) Law School. He had a closeknit group of friends from his early school days and his years practicing law. Among Dick’s favorite activities were tennis, reading, and trying out new gadgets. He is survived by his wife, Christin, and his two children.

University of Oregon Medical School in 1962. In 1963 he began a career as a medical epidemiologist with the CDC. Later, he became a medical epidemiologist in what is now the acute and communicable disease program, serving as the manager of that program for five years. His work is greatly appreciated and he will be missed.

Michael Strong ’56 passed away on October 1, 2021. A Tacoma native, Michael attended Holy Rosary, Bellarmine Prep HS, and graduated from University of Portland. Upon college graduation, Michael joined the US Air Force and trained as a navigator. After four years in the Air Force, Michael joined The Alcoa Corporation. Later he started his Certified Financial Planning firm with Raymond James & Assoc., where he worked until retirement. Michael was a devout Catholic, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and recently a great-grandfather.

James F. Senko ’58 died on July 30, 2021. Jim entered the US Air Force in 1959 following his graduation from University of Portland with a degree in industrial engineering. He married Patricia Lynne Alessio on New Year’s Eve of 1960. The Air Force sent him to Washington State University, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering in 1964. He retired from the Air Force in 1980 as a Lieutenant Colonel. Jim then became a computer engineer with Boeing. Upon his retirement from Boeing, Jim pursued his passion for gardening. Jim is survived by his children and seven grandchildren.

Eugene “Gene” Deiss ’57 passed away in 2021. During his service as a chaplain’s assistant in the Navy, his best friend James Hartford introduced Gene to his sister Shirley, and they fell in love. They married in 1952, started their family in San Diego, then moved back to Portland, where Gene graduated from University of Portland with a BA in business administration. He touched and inspired many lives, and will be remembered for his dedication, love, compassion, and generosity.

Joy Ann Johnson ’59 died peacefully October 17, 2021. In 1942, Joy moved with her parents and brother Lyle to Vancouver, WA. She typed war bonds at a local bank before getting a job as a secretary at Shumway Junior High School, a position she held for sixteen years. Joy loved birds and enjoyed gardening, working crossword and Sudoku puzzles, and was a fan of Nebraska football. Joy was preceded in death by her parents and brothers Don, Quentin, and Lyle.

Frederick Hoesly ’57 passed away on September 19, 2019. An Oregon native, Frederick graduated from an MS-MD program at the

Ralph S. Clemens ’60 died on September 5, 2021. He was born in the East Bay of San Francisco and raised in Portland, OR. After graduat-

PORTLAND

ing from UP, Ralph began a career at General Electric where he worked for 27 years. He loved the outdoors: he was an avid skier, he golfed, and he sailed. He was also an avid reader, especially on the subject of energy. In addition to his wife, Maryann, with whom he shared 45 years of marriage, he is survived by many family and friends. Muriel Lezak ’60, a neuropsychologist renowned for her work on the science of brain injuries, died on October 6, 2021, at the age of 94. Muriel was born in Chicago. She attended the University of Chicago, completing her undergraduate work in 1947, and stayed on for a master’s in human development, which she received two years later. While attending UChicago, she met a law student named Sidney Lezak, and the two married in 1949 before moving to Portland, OR, and having children. She received a PhD from University of Portland. She also began teaching psychology at the University and at Portland State University. In 1966, Muriel began working as a psychologist for the Veterans Administration (VA), caring for soldiers returning from Vietnam and those who had ongoing neurological trauma from previous wars. Her book, Neuropsychological Assessment, was published in 1976 and soon became the gold standard for understanding the cause and effect of brain trauma and mental health disorders, as well as how to best evaluate patients. The sixth edition of the book is due to come out in 2023 and will be titled Lezak’s Neuropsychological Assess-

ment. Muriel is preceded in death by Sid and her son. She is survived by her two daughters and nine grandchildren. Paul Seida ’60 passed away on November 11, 2021, at the age of 84. Paul loved discovering opportunities to help those less fortunate— whether buying Thanksgiving dinner for a family or lending a hand to someone in need. He mostly enjoyed taking care of the animals on his “farm” which included a multitude of cats, dogs, Sika deer, horses, and the many birds that visited his feeders. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Marlene (Meckes) Seida; his four children; and four granddaughters. John Ward ’60 passed away peacefully at Providence Seaside Hospital, surrounded by his loving family, on August 10, 2021. Born in Astoria, OR, he was raised in Portland. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics, with a minor in French, from University of Portland. He met the love of his life, Terry ’62, at UP while she was studying to be a nurse, and they were married in 1964. He co-owned the Harvest House in NE Portland for 12 years before moving to Cannon Beach in 1975, where he owned and operated the Driftwood Inn until he retired in 2003. He is survived by his wife, their two children, grandchildren, and many other family members and friends. William “Bill” Wilson ’60 passed away on August 23, 2021. After meeting his future wife, Carol Larkins ’60, on a blind date in the summer of 1956, they both went on to attend UP. Bill received his degree in business and Carol attended

nursing school. Bill and Carol were married May 14, 1960, shortly before their college graduations. After starting their family, they moved to the Orchards neighborhood of Vancouver, WA. Bill worked in the business offices at the Port of Vancouver. He worked there for 30 years, retiring in 1995. Bill is survived by Carol, their three children, and five grandchildren. L. Martin “Marty” Baudendistel ’62 passed away at home on March 23, 2021. His wife of 41 years was Maggie Leineweber Baudendistel ’68. A longtime Portland resident, Marty was a graduate of Central Catholic in addition to UP. He is survived by Maggie, his daughter, his sisters Marianne ’58 and Nancy, and two grandchildren. John “Paul” Canard ’62 passed away in 2020 at the age of 81. He graduated high school in 1957, joined the Air National Guard, and enrolled in and graduated from UP with a degree in business. After retiring from his 40-year career, he and his family moved back to Vancouver, WA, from Idaho. Known by his grandchildren as “Grandpa Candy,” he was a loving and adventurous grandfather. Paul is remembered as a generous person and a wonderful storyteller. Rudy Albert Mariman ’62 passed away on October 12, 2021. Immigrating to the United States from Berlin, Germany, as a teenager, Rudy and his mom, Heidi, made Estacada, OR, their new home. Earning $1.25 an hour working at his stepfather’s sawmill, Rudy learned the value of manual labor and an honest day’s work. He graduated from UP with

a degree in engineering. Rudy then accepted an engineering position with McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, CA. By 1972, the newly formed Rudy Mariman & Company opened an office on Bayside Drive, in Newport Beach, and he began a career in real estate and land purchases. He took great pride in his firstgeneration immigrant roots and gave several scholarships to University of Portland in support of first-generation college students. Rudy Mariman is survived by his wife, Gloria. Marian Weaver ’67 passed away peacefully under the care of Catholic Hospice at Holy Cross Hospital on November 13, 2021. She received a master’s in library science from University of Portland, and she worked as a librarian at Fairway Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale for 25 years. An avid sports fan, she had Miami Dolphin season tickets for 35 years. Marian had an infectious smile, was very outgoing, and enjoyed sharing stories of travel adventures with anyone who would listen. Marian is survived by her husband of 52 years, Donald, and beloved nieces and nephews. Geraldine “Gerri” Kursinsky ’68 passed away peacefully on October 24, 2021. Gerri earned her master’s degree in music education from UP. In 1965, she was selected for an assignment to teach music in Bremerhaven, Germany, for the US Department of Defense. While there, Gerri met Bill Kursinsky. They were married for almost 50 years. After finishing their time in Germany, they moved

to Michigan. Gerri taught music in the Waterford School district for six years in Michigan before moving to Phoenix, AZ. There she taught music at the Paradise Valley School district in Phoenix. Gerri taught music for 32 years before retiring. She will be deeply missed. Arnaldo Rodriguez ’68 passed away on June 27, 2021. Born in 1945 in San Juan de los Yeras in the province of Villa Clara, Cuba, Arnaldo was the youngest of seven siblings. When he was 16, he immigrated to the US, first landing in Miami, FL. He was placed in a crowded youth refugee facility for a few months until he was relocated to Portland, OR. Arnaldo continued his education at UP, where his life took a fateful turn as he met a fellow freshman, and future wife, during orientation named Lucia Miltenberger. Arnaldo graduated from UP with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. In 1977, his family moved to Olympia, WA, when he got a job as director of admissions at Evergreen State College. His family relocated to Claremont, CA, in 1997 for a new job as the vice president of admission and financial aid at Pitzer College. In 2013, his beloved wife Lucia passed away. When he was ready to begin his next chapter, Arnaldo diligently researched retirement communities for one that would fit his needs: one that emphasized and facilitated a strong community, one with a strong spiritual center, and one with a dedication to social justice causes. After his search, he was pleased to find that the perfect new home was just three miles from his house—

Pilgrim Place. He is survived by his children, three older sisters, and three nieces. James “Pat” Meagher Sr. ’69 died on March 19, 2021. He was born on July 10, 1944, in Portland, OR. He died surrounded by his family on March 19, 2021, at his home in Umatilla, OR, at the age of 76. Roxann Mary Heffelfinger ’70 passed away peacefully at her home on October 11, 2021. After graduating with honors from St. Mary’s of the Valley Academy in 1966, she attended UP and earned a degree in music education. She went on to specialize in the Orff method while teaching in Klamath Falls, OR, before moving to Anacortes, WA, in 1972. In 1975, she received a teaching certification for gifted education from Western Washington University. In her retirement, she served as the president of the Fidalgo Island Quilters guild and a board member of the Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum. Jeanne (Macomber) Butcher ’71 passed away on August 11, 2021. Her family lived in Pendleton, OR, until Jeanne started her freshman year at Linfield College in 1962. Within two months she met her future husband, Paul. In the next four years she completed her degree at Portland State University and got her MA at UP. For 30 years, Jeanne taught grades 7–12 in schools in Ohio and all over Oregon, concluding with 15 years at JB Thomas Middle School. Jeanne worked thousands of volunteer hours at numerous charities. She is survived by her spouse of 53 years as well as her sister, Connie.

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CLASS NOTES IN MEMORIAM

John C. Ritter ’72 passed away on November 18, 2021. As a child, John underwent many operations, which may have contributed to his love of reading, especially history. He was a history major at UP, while also working at Blitz Brewery and serving at UP’s Blitz Man on Campus, a role he was uniquely suited to fill. He later earned master’s degrees in history, special education, and geography, and he earned a Fulbright in Egypt and a Rhodes Scholarship. He became an educator, and he fell in love with a librarian, Linda Chamberlain. He ran the education program at the Oregon State Penitentiary for 35 years, co-authored a book about the institution’s history, and went on to numerous other teaching posts. John also started Salem Underground Tours which remained much in demand even as his health waned. He was someone who aimed to build connections with people. He is survived by his wife, Linda, and his children. Frederick J. Carleton ’73 died on April 8, 2021. After graduating high school, Fred attended UP where he met his wife, Gina ’74. After graduating from University of Oregon’s law school, Fred joined a law office and worked as city attorney of Bandon, OR, for 30 years. Fred was a devoted husband and father. He was noted for embracing life, which included such things as hiking, kayaking, and always buying too many books to fit into his suitcase. He will be missed. William “Billy” Malone ’73 passed away September 16, 2018, at the age of 88. Billy was a longtime owner and operator of Orchid Cleaners in West Nashville. He was

PORTLAND

also a member of the former Charlotte Avenue Church of Christ, now Charlotte Heights Church of Christ. He is preceded in death by his daughter, Tia Malone. He is survived by his wife, Becky, of over 35 years, as well as many extended family members. Ernest “Ernie” D. Casciato ’76, ’99 died on August 16, 2021. The youngest of four children, Ernie grew up in Portland. He attended, and later taught at, LaSalle High School, performing there and on stages around Portland. His greatest happiness, however, was the success of his many students both at LaSalle and at St. Therese Catholic School. Ernie was preceded in death by his parents, Irene and Don; by his brother, Michael; and by his nephews, Michael and Nathan. He is survived by his sister and brother. He is dearly loved by his nieces, nephews, and grandnephews, and many Italian cousins. Richard D. “Dick” Walker ’76 passed away on October 26, 2021, at his home in Lake Oswego. Born in Spokane, WA, Dick proudly served in the US Navy during World War II. He earned a master’s in education at University of Portland. He married his high school sweetheart, Freeda Matheson, and they raised six children. The family settled in Portland where Dick would begin his 33-year career with the Portland Police Bureau. Starting as a patrol officer in 1955, Dick rose through the ranks and was appointed Chief of Police before retiring in 1990. Throughout his career, Dick developed lifelong friendships with police officers, politicians, and business leaders.

An avid runner, he completed the Portland Marathon and Cascade Runoff. Dick is survived by his six children, 10 grandchildren, 15 greatgrandchildren, and his companion, Brenda Pine. Constance “Connie” Colvin ’79 passed away October 28, 2021. She received her diploma from St. Francis School of Nursing in Pittsburgh, PA, prior to joining the US Navy Nurse Corps. While in the Navy, she met her first husband Captain Charles E. Klingmeyer Jr. They married in 1957 and welcomed a daughter, Mary Patricia, in 1959. Charles died suddenly in 1961 due to medical complications while the family was stationed in Tokyo, Japan. She was remarried to Lieutenant Colonel Clifford Colvin. After Cliff’s retirement from the Marine Corps in 1972, they moved to Baker City, OR. Connie received her master’s degree in nursing from University of Portland in 1979. Karen (Quinn) Bredbenner ’80 passed away on October 9, 2021, after a one-year battle with cancer. Karen attended University of Portland’s Salzburg program before transferring to St. Mary’s College. She spent many years as an elementary school teacher. She radiated positivity, loved life, and was a loving and caring wife, mom, sister, aunt, daughter, and friend. She will be sadly missed by her loving husband of 38 years, Timothy, her two sons, parents, her brothers and sisters, and countless others. Renato “Rey” or “Reny” Jarra Estrada ’86 passed away on October 8, 2021. Renato was born to Julian and Elisea

Estrada on April 18, 1961, in Kahului, HI. He moved to the mainland after graduating from Baldwin High School in Wailuku, HI. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from UP, Renato went on to work at Unify Corporation, where he met the love of his life, Kathy. They married in July 1990 and raised three beautiful children in Chandler, AZ. A beloved husband, father, grandfather, sibling, uncle, and friend, he will be missed. Emily A. Peters ’90 passed away on August 12, 2021. Emily was born in Portland, OR. She had three younger brothers. After graduating from Castle Rock High School, she attended Washington State University. Emily went on to earn a master’s degree from UP. Emily married her best friend and the love of her life, Gene Peters, on June 19, 1971, and they raised four children together. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2021. Emily loved people and had a way of making them feel special and loved. She made friends wherever she went. She will be deeply missed. Allen James Bruun ’96 died on August 5, 2021. After his graduation from high school in 1960, he joined the Navy and served a tour of duty as a jet mechanic on the aircraft carrier, USS Midway. After his discharge, he returned to Seattle where he worked as a machinist for Stetson Ross Machine Company for 15 years. He married Jeannette Barr in 1973. He earned his master’s degree from UP and taught until retiring in 2004. He is survived by his wife, five children, his sister, two brothers, and seven grandchildren.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

FOR THE LOVE OF IT

Ironing ON THE COMMUNAL steps of the Ganges River in Varanasi, India, people take care of all kinds of business. Certain days are for laundry. I watched three women wrestling with an eighteen-meter-long sari in a stiff breeze, the multicolored fabric flapping and dancing in billows. They were ironing with the wind, and laughing all the while. Perhaps women have ironed as long as they’ve had clothes. My mother made me iron the sheets, towels and pillowcases for a family of five every Saturday afternoon. She did the laundry, sorting and shifting and folding, while I ironed. The linens dried on a clothesline and the room filled with the fresh, sunshine scent of cotton as I worked. A little girl with a big sheet is quite a project, and hours passed while we talked now and then, lapsing into silence. When I finally finished one, she would take an end and we would fold it much the way one folds a flag, and with that much care. I realize now that the reason my mother made me do this chore had nothing much to do with smooth sheets. She was just

keeping her most unpredictable child out of trouble for a few hours. I like to think that we were company for each other too— that she liked having me near while she did her mundane chores. These days, I iron alone in the basement. I pay attention, and take my time, watching the pile of clothes move from a heap on one side to a line of straight hangers on the other. The scent of warm cotton rises with the whuff of steam and the gentle rustle of fabric. I still iron shirts the way my mother taught me: one sleeve, the other sleeve, the collar, the front, the back—a body memory almost as old as I am. My thoughts wander without a goal, each lasting as long as the length of a seam. Sometimes I think of my mother and the women along the Ganges and the community we form through space and time. Small tasks, noticed by few, but each making the world a little bit smoother. SALLIE TISDALE ’83 is the author of ten books, most recently The Lie About the Truck. Her essays have appeared many times in this magazine.

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BOB KERNS

This year’s MLK Day celebration involved a vigil on Friday, January 14, at the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. Three members of the UP community read King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

University of Portland Magazine Winter 2022

Articles inside

For the Love of It

Health-Care History in the Making

The World We Want

Dream Teams

Campus Briefs

Visiting Voices

Sports

In Memoriam

The Experts