Five Alumni to be Honored at Homecoming
Pacific University is pleased to announce the 2016 recipients of its Alumni Awards. These distinguished alumni will be recognized Oct. 14 at a special ceremony during Homecoming on the Forest Grove Campus.
Fran O’Brien ’65 | Outstanding Alumni Award
Fran O’Brien ‘65 spent her career serving children with special needs as a special education teacher in California. While she was still a student at Pacific, though, she got a taste of education and civil rights by teaching young children in Mississippi as part of the Freedom Summer project. She has dedicated her life to providing opportunities to children who have often been told they can’t achieve succeed.
Jim Radcliffe '80 | Outstanding Alumni Award
Jim Radcliffe ’80 earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education at Pacific before going on to a master’s in biomechanics at the University of Oregon. Today, he is the strength and conditioning coach for Oregon Ducks football, where he is known for leading by example and getting the most out of his athletes. For more than 30 years, he has made Oregon players stronger and faster — and inspired young student-athletes to reach for new heights.\
Bob Barrett ’66 | Dave & Sandy Lowe Outstanding Service Award
Bob Barrett ’66 is Captain Pacific. His superhero identity may have started as a joke, but it’s a great metaphor for his ongoing commitment to his alma mater. Barrett came to Pacific as a student from Pennsylvania, and though he has spent most of his marketing and sales career moving around the country — often living far from the Pacific Northwest — a part of his heart remains in Oregon. Barrett is a member of the Pacific University Board of Trustees, a generous supporter of athletics, the College of Business, and much more at Pacific, a wrangler of Alpha Zetas, and, more than anything, a lifelong Boxer.
Michael Bridges PT ’08 | Emerging Leader Award
Michael Bridges PT ’08 began his career in engineering before deciding that the most impressive machine is really the human body. After earning his doctorate in physical therapy at Pacific, Bridges went on to private practice and then returned to Pacific, first as an adjunct, and now as a full-time professor at his alma mater. Bridges also has put his engineering background to work: he created and patented a device to hold ice packs more efficiently on injured shoulders. Still early in his career, Bridges is improving care for patients through his innovation and dedication to the next generation of physical therapists.
Kaely Summers ’08 | Emerging Leader Award
Kaely Summers ’08 started volunteering at her Tacoma church’s food pantry when she was just a middle-schooler. That first introduction to hunger and poverty, however, opened her eyes. At Pacific, she majored in international studies, traveling extensively and broadening her understanding of social issues globally. Today, her focus is local, as the manager of Adelante Mujeres’ Forest Grove Farmer’s Market, which is both a business incubator for Latina women and a source of healthy food and fellowship for the community. Early in her own career, Summers has already made a mark, expanding the market and tackling significant community issues one step at a time.
Join us in celebrating these outstanding Pacific University alumni at the Alumni Award Reception & Ceremony at 5 p.m. Oct. 14. Register today for this celebration and more Homecoming festivities.