Alumni

Fall 2018

Cornfields to vineyards

“I quit working in 1996,” says master winemaker David “Merf” Merfeld ’13. That was the year he got a job at Bert Grant’s Brewery in Yakima—one of the early craft breweries in the region.

Merf’s passion for fermentation started in his kitchen a few years earlier. He’d driven west to Seattle from the family farm in Iowa. “Thirty, thirty-one hours straight through,” he says, with maybe an “hour stop for a rain storm in South Dakota.” He was in the ’79 Park Avenue his dad gave him: “a great ride, and everything I owned fit in that car.” The first thing he and the buddy … » More …

Fall 2018

Designer labels

Every wine has a tale and deserves a wine label that can tell that story

That’s what motivates Jim Carey (‘78 Comm.) and Jim Craig from Doubleknot Creative in Seattle, a branding and design firm that has carved out a niche crafting the artwork that graces many Washington vintages.

The designers have seen wine labels in Washington evolve along with the varietals and the state’s wine industry as a whole. Washington wines continue to build reputation and credibility, and going against big hitters like California’s Napa Valley, “world-class wine deserves world-class packaging,” says Craig, the creative director of the firm.

Most of all, … » More …

Fall 2018

Ask Caroline Heldman ’93

A leading voice on sexual harassment, Caroline Heldman ’93 has had a busy year. She coauthored the 2018 book Sex and Gender in the 2016 Presidential Election, and the 2017 book Women, Power, and Politics: The Fight for Gender Equality in the United States. And the associate professor of politics—who specializes in the presidency, media, gender, and race at Occidental College in Los Angeles—frequently appears in documentaries and on news programs to speak about the #MeToo movement and harassment—partly because of her own experience.

Heldman, who had been a regular guest of host Bill O’Reilly on The O’Reilly Factor, alleged in 2017 that … » More …

Fall 2018

Peonies from heaven

Come late summer, Alaska’s farmland blooms with romance and colorful ruffles. It’s the season for peonies in the north country—an unlikely floral industry that, thanks to bridal demand, has given rise to a surprising horticultural gold rush.

The lure is especially tempting for those with small parcels of land. Wayne ’76 and Patti ’75 Floyd, for example, joined the stampede in 2011 with only two acres, and have since created a successful business claiming both national and international markets.

“We’d had this farm bug in our hearts from the beginning but we were never in a place that we could do that,” says Patti. … » More …

Fall 2018

Videos and more from Caroline Heldman

Caroline Heldman ’93 appears in several documentaries, writes, and presents on media and gender. She has emerged as a strong voice about the #MeToo movement and harassment, partly because of her own experience. Watch parts of documentaries and learn more about Heldman’s work below. You can also read about her in “Ask Caroline Heldman,” Fall 2018.

Miss Representation, a 2011 documentary

The Mask You Live In, 2015

Books

Sex and Gender in the 2016 Presidential Election, 2018

The New Campus Anti-Rape Movement: Internet Activism for Social Justice, 2018, … » More …

Fall 2018

Returns on education

Damien Pattenaude went back to his old school in Renton when there was a need. Now he wants to see even more kids return to Renton classrooms as teachers, just as he did.

It has become an even more urgent concern for Pattenaude (’99, ’05 MA, ’16 EdD) now that he is superintendent of the growing Renton School District. Like other school administrators across Washington and the country, he faces a teacher shortage, especially in special education, math, and sciences. Schools also need more diversity among teachers, to better represent the state’s changing population.

Although teacher shortages are not new, the problem is accelerating … » More …

Fall 2018

Being best

A 9-year-old slave girl fanned her young mistress to keep the flies off her while she learned her lessons. Because she picked up enough education to be able to read and write a little, she ended up teaching other slaves and ex-slaves.

Her daughter became a schoolteacher, married to a Presbyterian minister in segregated Columbus, Ohio. The couple passed on the family mantras to their children: “You must get an education to get ahead” and “you must be a credit to our race.”

Their children, the second generation born free, took the advice to heart, attending college and becoming teachers and professionals. One of them, … » More …

Fall 2018

A formula for funny

When Kelsey Cook ’11 was a junior in college she delivered her first stand-up performance during an open-mic night at a campus dining hall.

“You’re basically intruding on everyone’s dinner,” she recalls. Even if the crowd thought something was funny they had food in their mouth so she couldn’t really hear their reaction.

Cook has since made a name for herself in comedy and last spring made her stand-up debut on The Tonight Show and earned her first credit on Comedy Central.

She was also back on the road performing stand-up, including a weekend last April at the Spokane Comedy Club where a … » More …

Fall 2018

Class notes

1950s

The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication recognized Roberta (Bobbie) Ulrich (’50 English) in its Hall of Achievement for more than 50 years of work in the journalism industry. She reported for a number of media outlets, including The Oregonian, and published a pair of books about late twentieth-century Native American history.

1960s

Don Weller (’60 Fine Arts) was recently chosen as this year’s featured artist for “The America’s Horse in Art” show and sale. With an affinity for “cowboy culture” plus decades of graphic design and illustration experience, Weller’s award-winning Western art has appeared on posters, magazine covers, postage stamps, and more.

Bill … » More …

Fall 2018

In memoriam

1930s

John Baecher (’39 Ani. Sci.), 101, April 11, 2018, Salem, Oregon.

1940s

Manley Kjonaas (’40 Gen. St., ’42 Chem. Eng.), 101, April 6, 2018, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Lester Stanley King (’41 Mech. Eng.), 98, June 8, 2016, Puyallup.

Roy V. Lewis (’42 Elec. Eng.), 96, July 30, 2014, Syracuse, New York.

Jack McVicar Hayne (’43 Busi.), 97, February 26, 2018, Conrad, Montana.

Jean C. Sharp (’44 Elec. Eng.), 93, February 19, 2018, Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin.

Rodney Guy Hoff (’45 Phys. Sci.), 92, November 25, 2014, Yorba Linda, California.

Eleanor Baker Macy (x’45 Speech and Hearing Sci.), 95, April 17, 2018, McMinnville, Oregon.

Evelyn J. … » More …