Frontier Spirits
Alumni Fellows expand the horizons of their professions

Each fall, the UO College of Arts and Sciences honors three outstanding alumni who have distinguished themselves in their respective careers. Alumni Fellows Awards are presented annually at a special Profiles in Achievement Banquet in November.

The program provides today's students an opportunity to learn from people outside the academy who have taken active roles in shaping our society. Award recipients hold informal seminars, discussing career paths, learning opportunities, and types of skills most relevant to the emerging educated citizen.

(Note: Emery O. Barnes died on July 1, 1998.)

EMERY O. BARNES became the first elected speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly in 1994. Barnes gained much recognition for his public service, earning an appointment to the British Columbia Legislature as a member of the assembly in 1972. He served through 22 years and won five elections.

Internationally respected, Barnes was active in his community and was involved in human rights issues around the world. He served as an ambassador to rising democratic African nations, providing expertise on democracy in government.

Barnes starred in football, basketball and track at the UO, collecting honors as an All-Conference defensive end in 1953. He later served in the military, then played 10 years in the National and Canadian Football Leagues. (From the Autumn 1995 issue of Cascade)

After earning degrees in cognitive psychology, VICKI HANSON M.A. '76, Ph.D. '78, spent eight years conducting research in language and reading at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, and at Haskins Laboratories in New Haven, Connecticut.

In 1986, Hanson joined the IBM research division in educational technology, where she and a colleague created an interactive multimedia computer application for bilingual American Sign Language/English instruction of deaf children. The software, currently in use at elementary schools in the United States and Canada, received an award from John Hopkins University.

Hanson now manages a K-12 education group at IBM, where her development team was honored for integrating speech recognition into software for beginning readers.

Hanson has also served on advisory committees for the federal government, editorial boards for professional journals, and review panels for federal granting agencies. Her professional affiliations include the American Psychological Society and the American Education Research Association. (From the Autumn 1995 issue of Cascade)

JOHN MITCHELL earned his master's and doctoral degrees in economics at the UO. Mitchell, senior vice president and chief economist for U.S. Bancorp, joined the organization in 1983. He previously was a professor of economics at Boise State University for 13 years.

Mitchell keeps management up to date on the current economic situation, edits a semi-annual newsletter, U.S. Bank's Economic Barometer, and co-authors The Portrait, an annual regional economic overview.

Mitchell is chair of the Oregon Council of Economic Advisors, a member of the Western Blue Chip forecast panel, and chair of the advisory committee of the Northwest Policy Center in Seattle. He serves on the American Bankers Association economic advisory committee and is a trustee of the Emanuel Foundation. (From the Autumn 1995 issue of Cascade)