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.

Helen J. Frye was the first woman to become a federal judge in Oregon, nominated by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. Today she is a United States Senior District Court Judge for the 9th Circuit. A former public school teacher and state circuit court judge, Frye's most noteworthy rulings have dealt with sex discrimination in higher education, voiding the incorporation of Rajneeshpuram, Oregon, and the battle over the spotted owl with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. She received her B.A. in English from the UO in 1953, her M.A. in 1961, and her LL.B. from the UO School of Law in 1966. (From the Autumn 1997 issue of Cascade)

Douglas R. Hofstadter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for his book, Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. He has been a professor of cognitive science and computer science at Indiana University since 1988. He is also director of the Center for Research on Concepts and Cognition, and serves as an adjunct professor of philosophy, psychology, comparative literature, and the history and philosophy of science. With a mastery of several foreign languages and interests in both the arts and sciences, as well as seven published books and more than eighty articles, Hofstadter is much sought as a lecturer. He received his M.S. in 1972 and his Ph.D. in 1975, both in physics, from the UO. (From the Autumn 1997 issue of Cascade)

(Note: Luther Jerstad died on Oct. 31, 1998.)

Luther "Lute" Jerstad was the first Oregon resident to climb Mount Everest, where he also took the first motion pictures from the summit in 1963. As founder of Lute Jerstad Adventures, he has specialized in climbing, trekking, and game-viewing tours of Nepal and India. With fifteen expeditions in Nepal, India, Alaska, and the Yukon Territories, Jerstad has been the subject of articles and adventure films. He has two published books and numerous articles to his credit, and has received awards from the King of Nepal, four presidents and prime ministers of India, and U.S. President John F. Kennedy, among others. Jerstad received his Ph.D. in theatre arts, with a specialty in Asian studies, from the UO in 1966. (From the Autumn 1997 issue of Cascade)