“Some of us who were there, who saw it all, seem like they’re shoving that shared reality of what we went through into the recesses of their minds.”
Lisa Murkowski, The Interview
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:The Feed
Did you hear the news? The Willamette family is growing! Willamette just announced the creation of a new School of Computing and Information Sciences to support the expansion of its rapidly growing computing and data science programs.
The School of Computing and Information Sciences becomes the university’s fifth school, joining the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Law, the Atkinson Graduate School of Management and the Pacific Northwest College of Art. The formal creation of the new School will help enhance Willamette’s current offerings in computing and information science and create pathways for even more of the interdisciplinary opportunities that Willamette is known for. #WillametteAlum #WillametteUniversity
Learn more in the link in our bio.
#WillametteAlum Carina Comer's MBA'15 mission to create sustainable work in the food industry motivated her to get her MBA from Willamette in 2015. She found that employers were unwilling to give her a chance, though, because they couldn't imagine how to tap into the talents of someone who they only saw as a blind cancer survivor.
Carina will be honored at the 2023 Alumni Awards during Alumni Reunion Weekend. Please join us on June 16th at 4 p.m. to celebrate and honor all of this year's winners. Registration for the Alumni Awards and a list of all the 2023 recipients are linked in our bio.
From the Willamette Alumni Community, congrats to the class of 2023 for graduating and officially becoming a part of the alumni family. We can't wait to see what you do in life moving forward! #WillametteAlum #ClassOf2023
#WillametteAlum Alfredo Zuñiga's BA'12 innovative research in neuroscience continues to push scientific questioning and has filled important gaps in scholarship. Alfredo's Ph.D. research focused on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying alcohol use disorder, with an emphasis on the role of stress neuropeptides. Alfredo completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas, where his work centered around the hippocampal mechanism of learning and memory. After graduating from Willamette, Alfredo went on to receive his Master's degree in Integrative Physiology from the University of Colorado and his Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Oregon Health & Science University.
Alfredo will be honored at the 2023 Alumni Awards during Alumni Reunion Weekend. Please join us on June 16th at 4 p.m. to celebrate and honor all of this year's winners. Registration for the Alumni Awards and a list of all the 2023 recipients are linked in our bio.
From the Willamette alumni community, wishing all of our PNCA students a happy last day of classes and congrats on finishing Focus Week!
To all of our Alumni, what was your favorite Spring course you took?
#WillametteUPNCA #WillametteUFinals
#WillametteAlum Jamal Raad BA'08 is a co-founder and executive director of Evergreen Action. This group helped design and pass the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant federal climate investment in American history. Jamal has dedicated his life to fighting for progressive change from the inside on Capitol Hill and political campaigns across the country.
Jamal will be honored at the 2023 Alumni Awards during Alumni Reunion Weekend. Please join us on June 16th at 4 p.m. to celebrate and honor all of this year's winners. Registration for the Alumni Awards and a list of all the 2023 recipients are linked in our bio.
#WillametteAlum Himalaya Rao-Potlapally MBA'19 is the Managing Director and Solo General Partner of The BFM Fund, a $10-million seed-stage investment fund focusing on Black founders. After earning her MBA from Willamette University, Himalaya received specialized training in Venture Finance and progressed at seven firms as an Associate, Deal Lead, and eventually Fund Manager.
Himalaya will be honored at the 2023 Alumni Awards during Alumni Reunion Weekend. Please join us on June 16th at 4 p.m. to celebrate and honor all of this year's winners. Registration for the Alumni Awards and a list of all the 2023 recipients are linked in our bio.
#WillametteAlum Mary K. Hughes JD'74 legal education, a precursor to a life as an Alaskan lawyer, truly established her commitment to others through Willamette University’s motto, “Not unto ourselves alone are we born.” She’s lived the example through generations of law students she has welcomed and supported. For years, she worked with the College of Law recruitment and retention initiatives and developed the 4+3 program with the University of Alaska, where she is a Regent. She has also served Willamette as a Life Trustee Emeritus and the Law Leadership Cabinet. She has tirelessly supported efforts to establish Willamette Law as “Alaska’s Law School.”
Mary will be honored at the 2023 Alumni Awards during Alumni Reunion Weekend. Please join us on June 16th at 4 p.m. to celebrate and honor all of this year's winners. Registration for the Alumni Awards and a list of all the 2023 recipients are linked in our bio.
From the Willamette alumni community, wishing all of our College of Arts & Sciences students a happy last day of classes and good luck on finals!
To all of our Alumni, what was your favorite Spring activity to do on campus?
#WillametteUCAS #WillametteULaw #WillametteUMBA #WillametteUFinals
Last week, family, friends and community members gathered to participate in the Pacific Northwest College of Art's annual Focus Week.
During Focus Week, PNCA suspends classes and the entire PNCA community — students, faculty, and staff — comes together to support seniors as they present their thesis proposals and final projects. This year, Dean Jen Cole was there along with Linda Kliewer, Associate Professor and Director of BFA Thesis, who has led PNCA's thesis program since 2005.
Congrats to all the PNCA students who presented at Focus Week!
#PNCA #PNCAFocusWeek
#AlumniAwardWinners We are proud to introduce the Alumni Award Recipients of 2023! Congratulations to all of the amazing alumnae award winners for all of their accomplishments. We present awards to these alumni for their personal achievements and service to Willamette. The awards are Lestle J. Sparks Medallion, Distinguished Alum of the Year, Professional Achievement, Non-Nobis Solum, and Innovative Achievement. Read all about our award winners using the link in our bio.
#FeaturedAlum Joshua Kindred JD'05 reflects on the importance of the inaugural immersion externship experience.
Kindred worked with Zach Forrester JD'23 in Alaska and wanted to provide Forrester with a firsthand look at what it means to be a lawyer. The immersion externship gives students the opportunity to build relationships in the legal community as well as immerse themselves in legal practice. These kinds of experiences are not traditional to law school education, but this unparalleled experience can expedite one's professional journey and helps "[bridge] the gap between law school and practice [and] is an important step in helping…future law students…set [themselves] up for professional success." Wow!
Kindred wants to continue supporting this immersion externship program throughout his time on the bench in order to help the tradition carry forward.
Read the full story by clicking the link in our bio.
#WillametteAlum #WillametteLaw #WillametteExternship #WUMentor
Today is Bearcat Day, when we welcome our admitted College of Arts & Sciences students to our Salem campus. One of the highlights of the day is watching students ring the bell to signify their decision to officially join our Willamette community. As Willamette alums, we couldn't be prouder of these brand new Bearcats. Welcome to the Willamette family! #WillametteAlum #BearcatDays #WillametteUniversity
That's a wrap on the 24th annual Student Scholarship Recognition Day — a celebration of student research and achievement throughout their time here at Willamette! Congrats to all the incredible students who shared their hard work with us today.
Pictured: Kaya McCartan BA'23, presenting research on the "Cognitive Implications of the. volunteer Firefighter Lifestyle."
#StudentScholarshipRecognitionDay #SSRD #WillametteUniversity #WillametteAlum
For #FeaturedAlum Jihan Haddad BA'16, the theatre has always been an outlet for artistic expression. However, the support she received from her undergraduate professors gave her a sense of direction which she has followed from role to role in venues from New England to New York City.
After casting Haddad as Helen of Troy in Ellen McLaughlin’s “Helen”, Director Michelle Seaton, a visiting artist at WU, stated that the play was meant to be "about seeing past the facade of physical appearance and perceptions, and believing in your voice and yourself.” Haddad continues to see this theme in her life outside of WU as the theatre community she has built fearlessly challenges traditions of "race, gender, and sexuality". Wow!
Haddad is currently co-starring in Lauren Yee’s “The Great Leap,” a play about basketball and taking chances, at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, until March 19.
Read more about Haddad's WU journey by clicking the link in our bio.
#willamettealum #willametteuCAS #willametteutheatre
#FeaturedAlum Gale Lucas BA'05 originally had plans of studying Environmental Science, but the hands-on Psychology research experience that she gained at Willamette University opened her up to different opportunities.
After conducting research with Professor Jim Friedrich, Lucas found her passion in the psychology of human interaction. After completing her Ph.D. at Northwestern University, Lucas continued to follow this passion in her postdoctoral research by looking at "the relationship and the bond of social engagement that we can have with technology".
Lucas now works as a research assistant professor at the University of Southern California's (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering and the Institute for Creative Technologies. Wow!
Read more about Lucas and her journey at WU by clicking the link in our bio.
#WillametteUniversity #WillametteUPsychology #WillametteAlum
#FeaturedWUAlum Perrin Crespi BA'22 recently interviewed with the Pacific Northwest College of Art’s Office of Career Design about how her internship experience "was a crucial step in her journey from student to professional."
After graduating with majors in civic communication and media as well as minors in studio art and sociology, Crespi began the search for a summer internship to kickstart her career. A communications assistant position at the Joint BioEnergy Institute, a lab within University of California Berkeley, opened and Crespi found herself enthusiastic about the work without having an official science background.
Crespi now works as an events and communications associate at BioMADE where they "fund programs, startups, nonprofits and schools that are interested in becoming a part of Bioindustrial manufacturing." How cool!
Read more about Crespi's journey and check out her art and design portfolio by clicking the link in our bio.
#willametteualum #willametteuCAS #willametteuinternship
#WillametteAlum This is a reminder that you're invited to attend an exclusive online-only WU Stream event featuring a panel of banking experts, focusing on what's been happening in the banking industry on April 3 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. (PDT).
The recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse have sparked understandable worry. We’ve gathered an impressive panel who can discuss in plain language what the current situation is, what the near future looks like and what this means to the economy and for you.
Panelists:
-Rohan Grey (Moderator): Associate Professor of Law and Willamette’s resident expert on the law and regulation of financial institutions and markets
-Joan Reukauf MBA’15: Executive VP, Chief Operating Officer at People's Bank of Commerce
-Tim Myers BA’93: President and CEO at the Bank of Marin and Bank of Marin Bancorp
Register by clicking the link in our bio. A Zoom link will be emailed to you after registration, but if you do not receive one contact alumni@willamette.edu.
#WUStream #WillametteAlum #SVB #Banking #VirtualEvent
#PNCAAlumSpotlight: Artist Olivia Harwood BFA'21. Harwood is a Portland-based artist who recently had her solo exhibit "Possessions, Possessions" displayed at the Fuller Rossen Gallery in Portland.
Harwood pulls much of her inspiration from childhood, current, and previous surroundings. The exhibition features work exploring soft, unsettling, and detailed imagery of objects and collections creating a "supernatural world" of acquired personal possessions.
Additionally, the themes of shame, deconstruction of identity, and the burdens of adolescent dilemmas are explored while asking viewers the question "How long do you hold onto visions of yourself? When do you let them go?"
While this exhibition is no longer open to the public, exhibition photos and the original press release are linked in our bio.
#pnca #pncaarist #pncapainting
#PNCAAlumSpotlight: Artist Steph Littlebird BFA'15. Littlebird is an artist from Banks, OR who in her most recent project with author Carole Lindstrom, illustrated the "poetic tribute to Indigenous rituals, strength, and culture" that is "My Powerful Hair".
She also has her exhibit "This IS Kalapuyan Land" at the Pittock Mansion.
Steph Littlebird recalls childhood as an Oregon resident and descendant of the Kalapuyan people as one that "…exalted pioneer and Oregon Trail mythology [but] my tribal history was absent from school textbooks and regional remembrance."
Littlebird now gets to tell her story in the present in a place that resides on the boundary line between the Atfalati-Kalapuyan people and the Chinook. “It’s really empowering we’re taking up space", says Littlebird "I want children to know this history."
To celebrate “My Powerful Hair,” which will be published on March 21, Littlebird and Lindstrom, will meet young readers at two events on Sunday, March 26. At 11 AM (Two Rivers Bookstore) and at 2:30 PM (Pittock Mansion).
Read more about Littlebird by clicking the link in our bio.
#pnca #pncaartist #pncapainting #pncaprintmaking
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