Reaching Potential
Former baseball player and current assistant coach Dusty Meyer ’19 is a recipient of a scholarship from the Roloff family.
Meyer came to Pacific for its prestigious science programs, and the opportunity to play baseball under outstanding coaches was a big bonus. He studied exercise science (now kinesiology), was a starting infielder for Boxer Baseball, and started coaching summer baseball after his first year — sparking a passion.
“Not only did it help me see the game of baseball in a different point of view, but it also dramatically shaped the way I played the game,” he said.
Now, as a recent alumnus, he’s working full time at a local physical therapy clinic, and he’s back at Pacific helping future generations as an assistant coach for the baseball team.
Scholarships, Meyer said, gave him security as a student — but the Harvey J. Roloff Scholarship for Pedagogy and Coaching was especially meaningful.
Harvey Roloff, for whom the scholarship was named, played football and basketball at Pacific and went on to coach basketball and track & field for the then-Badgers. He was inducted into the Pacific University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995 and also is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics District II Hall of Fame and the NAIA District II Coaches Hall of Fame.
Roloff’s son, John Roloff, is an acclaimed artist who started the scholarship in his father’s honor. The younger Roloff’s work has been shown at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, San Francisco Museum of Art and elsewhere, and he is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. For his contributions to Pacific, John Roloff is being inducted into the President’s Circle, honoring donors who give more than $100,000 in their lifetime.
“I’m very happy to see the Roloff family getting this recognition, as this scholarship is very special to meand has meant a lot for my teaching and coaching career,” Meyer said. “It was like a validation for me, that my professors, peers and coaches saw me in the same light that I did.” ■
This story appears in the Winter 2020 issue of Pacific magazine as part of a series on the impact of Pacific donors. For more stories, visit pacificu.edu/magazine.
