Honors College Board of Regents

The Board of Regents is the development advisory group of the Honors College and is comprised of distinguished alumni and friends of Oregon State who are committed to the mission and vision of the Honors College. Board members work with the dean, HC staff, and the HC development officer to promote the long-term success and sustainability of the HC and its programs by serving as external advocates; advisers on fundraising strategies, opportunities, and projects; and direct and indirect contributors to the HC’s long-term goals and stability. Board members’ engagement and leadership is central to the achievement of the HC’s mission.



Andy Bartmess

 

Residence: Boston, MA

Career:  I am currently the President and co-owner of Dawson Forte, a US-based luxury apparel company based in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Our primary clothing brand is Kinross (https://www.kinrosscashmere.com/). I have spent much of my career in the luxury apparel business, both in the US and the UK. Earlier in my career I worked in Engineering and Production Management for IBM and in Management Consulting with Deloitte.

What inspires my commitment to the Honors College? 

My commitment to the Honors College is grounded in my own OSU experience. I was raised in Oregon and attended OSU as an undergrad. I was a first generation college student. I grew up in a large, awesome family - a blue-collar family. My primary work experience at that time was summer jobs changing truck tires. My years at Oregon State were an inflection point in my life. My major was Industrial Engineering and the IME department at OSU was fairly small. As a result, I spent a lot of time, and developed excellent relationships, with a handful of my professors, including with Dr. Tom West, who was the Dean of IME at the time. I also participated in the OSU Honors Program, a precursor to the Honors College. It too was also a relatively small community, and it introduced me to subjects and issues that were entirely foreign to me. The coaching and mentorship I received from these individuals and groups, along with the OSU classroom education, was transformational for me and laid the foundation for the rest of my life. Finding these small, close communities and professor-relationships within the much larger OSU community was key to this. When I see the Honors College students and sit in on UHC classes and activities today, I can’t help but see a reflection on my own experience. With the talented peer group, small class sizes, extensive one on one work with professors and study abroad opportunities, it is certainly a “super-charged” version! How could I not be passionate about that? The fact that talented students have access to this sort of experience at a state university is remarkable and so important. I can’t help but be a UHC evangelist!



 

Belinda Batten

 

Residence: Corvallis, OR

Career:  Oregon State University senior advisor for strategic initiatives and professor of mechanical engineering

What inspires my commitment to the Honors College? 

When I was an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, I was active in the Honors Program and it made all the difference in my college experience. Connecting with like-minded students was a key part, but even more, being in small honors colloquia with inspiring faculty stands out in my memories as the most positive experience of my undergraduate years.  My commitment to Honors is my way of paying it forward.

 

 

Adam Bean

 

Residence: Santa Clara, CA

Career: Continuous Improvement Program Manager, Fitness Studio co-owner

What inspires your commitment to the Honors College?

Seeing the beneficial impact the Honors College and the experiences it offers has over the students and those with whom they engage.

 



Cort Brazelton

 

Residence: Coburg, OR

Career: Co-CEO for Fall Creek Farm and Nursery Inc.

Cort Brazelton joined the HC Board of Regents in 2014. A 2003 graduate of the Honors College (HBA, History), Cort is the co-CEO for Fall Creek Farm and Nursery Inc., the largest blueberry nursery and blueberry genetics company in the world. After graduating from Oregon State, Cort attended the Monterey Institute of International Studies, with linguistic specialties in Spanish, German, and Italian and a specialization in macroeconomics. He now works closely with business partners throughout the Americas, Europe, and Africa. He previously worked in management at Driscoll's Strawberry Associates and spent a number of years as a partner in a consultancy for agriculture investors. Cort is also an avid fly fisher and musician.

Mary Deits Rousseau

 

Residence: I currently live in Portland, Oregon, where I have lived since 1974. 

Career: I graduated from law school in 1974 and worked from 1974 to 1986 as an Assistant Attorney General in the Oregon Department of Justice. I was appointed to the Oregon Court of Appeals in 1986. I was an associate judge on the court until my retirement in 2004. I served as the Chief Judge of the court from 1997 until 2004. Since my retirement, I have worked as a mediator and arbitrator in the State of Oregon.

What inspires your commitment to the Honors College?

I was a student in the Honors College of Oregon State from 1967 to 1971. Since that time, the program has developed significantly and now offers students an incredible opportunity to enhance their education at OSU. I am particularly impressed with the interdisciplinary opportunities that the Honors College now offers students.

Dennis Edwards

 

Residence: Detroit, MI

 

Kenneth Krane

 

Kenneth Krane, Professor Emeritus in the OSU Department of Physics, has been one of the HC's most active faculty partners since the founding of the College in 1995. After engaging with the HC as a faculty member, on the OSU Faculty Senate, and on a numer of thesis and scholarship committees, Ken joined the HC Board of Regents in 2011.



Paul Lorenzini

 

Residence: Camas, WA

Career: Worked for Atomics International (a division of Rockwell International) – 1969-1976. Practiced Law, Portland, Or – 1976-1979. Co-Founded and led development of NuScale Power, together with Professor Jose Reyes – 2007-2013.

What inspires your commitment to the Honors College?

First, the Honors College plays a vital role in retaining the highest caliber Oregon High School graduates in the local area; Second, it brings well-deserved academic stature to the University; And third, it is personally exciting/stimulating to be around both the students and the program.

 


Eric MacKender

 

Residence: Redondo Beach, CA

Career: Technical General Manager at Chevron

What inspires your commitment to the Honors College?

Many things have led to my commitment to the Honors College, but a few worth highlighting are my interest in supporting the College's mission to pursue academic excellence, my desire to return the help that I was offered while at Oregon State, and the opportunities I have had to meet and engage with the promising current student body and dedicated staff.

 

Kathy Pinard

 

Residence: Pleasanton, CA

Career: Currently Senior Director, Retail Customer Support for TiVo; formerly Director, AT&T (various positions including Program Management Office and Customer Support)

What inspires your commitment to the Honors College?

I am an OSU alum with undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Business.  While attending OSU I participated in the Honors Program, which was a predecessor of the Honors College.  I have been very impressed with the incredible expansion and influence of the Honors College; it bares little resemblance to the Honors Program of my day!   My son chose OSU because of the Honors College and will graduate this spring.  He has had such a remarkable college experience, thanks in large part to the Honors College.  After participating on the Parent's Leadership Circle, I want to continue my involvement with the Honors College and OSU, even after my son graduates.     

Betty Reynolds
 

Residence: West Linn, OR

Career:  I’m a retired state executive, served as executive director of state regulatory agencies, and volunteered on local, state, and national boards.  After retiring, I served two terms on a school board; on a community college board; was President of Oregon School Boards Association; Board and Treasurer of National School Boards Action Center; and served on state and national policy and advocacy committees. 

What inspires my commitment to the Honors College? 

I’m inspired by the commitment of the honors college to student success, inclusion, accessibility, collaboration, and to scholarship, research, and a transformative learning experience.  

My commitment to scholarship at OSU spans three generations: I graduated Magna Cum Laude from OSU, my daughter is an OSU Honors Program alum, and my two granddaughters are enrolled in the OSU Honors College.

I also earned a MS in Public Affairs and Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy, and view education as a P-20 continuum. I’m looking forward to facilitating connections throughout the continuum, and with external partners and stakeholders.

Kyle Shaver

 

Residence: McMinnville, OR

Career: Emergency Physician and Director

What inspires your commitment to the Honors College?

The UHC made a significant impact on my college experience, peer group, life goals, and career aspirations.  I am happy to be able to contribute to the UHC so that we can maintain the significance of the student experience as we grow, expand, and keep up with the outstanding students that continue to attend OSU and participate in the UHC.

Joachim Strenk

 

Residence: Austin, TX

Career: I joined my business partner Sanjay Nasta at Microassist in the spring of 1992, and was involved in Microassist’s success story for 25 years, until my retirement in 2017. Until 2005, I supervised Microassist’s training division, which provided statewide training solutions for State of Texas agencies and local governments. In addition, I held leadership responsibilities in all three of Microassist’s divisions. I then became the VP of Business Development, leading Microassist’s web application and training business development efforts. I retired after 35 years of service from the Army National Guard  and have served overseas deployments in Kosovo and Iraq. In my final assignment, I was the Chief of Staff for the Texas Army National Guard. I graduated from Oregon State University and the Honors Program in 1986.

What inspires your commitment to the Honors College?

When my daughter was enrolled at Oregon State, I was not aware that the Honors Program had matured and became the Honors College that it is today.  Jessie joined the Honors College in her sophomore year and seeing the difference that it made in her collegiate experience inspired me to join the Board of Regents and work towards making the program available to more students.  Prior to joining the board I was part of the Honors College Parent & Family Leadership Circle for 3 years.


Jerry Walker

 

Residence: Dallas, TX



Alicia Wendler

 

Residence: Portland, Oregon

Career: Middle School Counselor at Alice Ott Middle School in the David Douglas School District

What inspires your commitment to the Honors College?

I am so excited to see all that is going on at Oregon State as a University and within Honors College.  The faculty at OSU are passionate about what they teach and college students show this passion through high level work.  It is exciting to see the Honors College continue to grow in how it supports students to reach their dreams.  I'm also impressed with how faculty inspire continued learning and work hard to make graduating from  OSU within the Honors College a possibility for students regardless of their needs.

Bennet Yee

 

Residence: Mountain View, CA

Career: Research and advanced development in computer security and applied cryptography

What inspires your commitment to the Honors College?

Education is the cornerstone of civil society. The Honors College inspires future inventors, business and political leaders, makers and builders to push themselves for deeper and wider knowledge, to learn how to learn and how to create new knowledge. This is what inspires me to want to help support the educators who inspire.

Emeritus Board of Regents

 

Kevin Ahern

 

Kevin Ahern is a professor at Oregon State University, where he has been a member of the faculty since the mid-1990s, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses and serving as head advisor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. An OSU alum (PhD, 1986), Kevin also served as OSU's Director for Undergraduate Research until 2015. He is well known for his popular YouTube video lectures on biochemistry, which have been watched by students in every country in the world, including Greenland. Along with fellow Board of Regents member Indira Rajagopal, Kevin is the author of Biochemistry Free and Easy, an open educational resource textbook available for the iPad and personal computers. Taking full advantage of electronic delivery, the textbook abounds with multimedia educational content, including full sets of the YouTube video lectures, rotatable 3D molecules, adaptive learning exercises, full electronic linkage to internet resources, and recordings of Metabolic Melodies, an extensive collection of songs about biochemistry that he uses to teach the subject.

Roy Arnold

 

Roy Arnold holds an Emeritus appointment at OSU after an impressive number of OSU administrative positions; including Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences (CAS), Provost and Executive Vice President for OSU, and Executive Associate Dean of CAS. Roy came to OSU from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he served as the Vice-Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. His academic area is Food Science and Technology. He served as national president of the Institute of Food Technologists, a 28,000 member scientific and professional society, in 1994-95. Roy lives in Corvallis with his wife Jane. They spend a lot of time with their grandchildren in Olympia and enjoy hiking, spending time in the outdoors, and traveling. Roy has provided continuing leadership to the HC, the Agricultural Research Foundation, the OSU Retirement Association, and in the community of Corvallis. Roy served as a Board of Regents member from 2009-2011.

Ruth Beyer

 

Ruth Beyer was the chair of the Board of Regents until the end of her term or service in 2011. She is an attorney in the Corporate practice group for Portland-based firm Stoel Rives. She served as the Managing Partner for the firm’s Portland office from 1995-2005. In 2005 Ruth was selected by her peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America and in 2006 as an Oregon Super Lawyer. She serves as a Trustee for the Oregon State University Foundation, and is a co-founder of the Oregon State University Women’s Giving Circle. A 1977 alumnus of the OSU Honors Program, Ruth Beyer holds a degree in Political Science and a Juris Doctor degree from Notre Dame.

John Byrne

 

John Byrne Emeritus Board Member, is OSU Emeritus President (1984-1995) and joined the Board in the fall of 2002. Byrne taught an HC Colloquia, Leadership and Personal Success, for many years. Although retired, John continues his involvement with the OSU campus and keeps a busy schedule of professional advising and consulting. John also paints and has shown work through the Pegasus Gallery on 2nd Street in Corvallis.

Teri Calcagno

 

Teri Calcagno is a college counselor at Central Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon. As a counselor to potential HC students, Teri provides a unique and important perspective to the board. She is an active member of both the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) as well as the Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling (PNACAC). She served as PNACAC President in 2006-2007. Teri is currently the State Representative for Oregon for ACT providing input to the organization regarding college admissions and workforce development. A 1989 alumnus of OSU, Teri Calcagno holds a bachelors degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Human Services.

James Davis

 

James Davis was a member of the HC Board of Regents from 2011 to 2013, following many years of support for the HC. Jim was a family practice physician for over 30 years, and he graduated from OSU in 1951. He lived in Bend, and he was passionately involved in blazing and maintaining snowshoe trails throughout Central Oregon. Jim and his wife created the Jim and Dee Davis University Honors College Scholarship t0 support HC students. Jim passed away in 2014.

Roy Gaussoin

 

Roy Gaussoin graduated from OSU in 1956 with a degree in Business and Technology. He is retired president of Silver Eagle Manufacturing and Silver Eagle Industries, a trucking and transportation products manufacturing company founded by his father in 1933. Roy served on the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees from 1985 to 2004 and served on both the Council of Regents Advisory Committee and the BASF Board of Directors from 2002-2006. He is a past president of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. Through the years, Roy and his wife Shirley (also class of 1956) have generously supported OSU through Athletics, the Honors College, the University Fund, and various scholarships. Roy served on the HC Board of Regents from 2006-2012. Roy and Shirley live in Lake Oswego and have three grown children.

Mike Hogue

 

Mike Hogue is a life-long resident of the Lower Yakima Valley. He has been a board member of Yakima Chief, Inc. since its inception in 1998 and currently serves as Board Chairman. Founder of the Hogue Cellars winery, he was majority owner and Board Chairman until 2001 when the business was sold. His newest joint venture is the Mercer Estates winery. Mr. Hogue was a charter member of the Washington Wine Commission and during the last two years of his twelve-year service performed as Board Chairman. Mr. Hogue currently serves on the Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District Board of Directors. Service not so closely tied to his businesses includes twelve years on the Central Washington State Fair Board, on which he currently serves as Chairman, past service on the Prosser School Board, and two terms on the HC Board of Regents from 2005-2011. Mr. Hogue is married and has four children. He enjoys golf, fishing and flying.

Chuck and Nancy Huston

 

The parents of an Honors College alum, Chuck and Nancy Huston live in Fairfield, CA. Chuck is a chemist and leader in the biotech field, and Nancy worked at a senior level in local government. They served on the Board of Regents from 2020-2023.

Carol Juckeland

 

Carol Juckeland Emeritus Board Member lives in Portland/ South Waterfront, Oregon. She is a retired elementary teacher and calligrapher. 

 

Kathy Kralj

 

Kathy Kralj Emeritus Board Member lives in Gresham, Oregon where she is a College Counselor at La Salle High School. Previous experience has included college counseling at St. Francis Academy and Mt Hood Community College. She and her husband have three children.

Allan Lane

 

Allan Lane Emeritus Board Member joined the Board in the winter of 2003, lives near Oxford, England. He is currently the Head of The Derivatives Research group at Barclays Global Investors. Allan earned his PhD at the University of Washington at Seattle, where he developed his strong affection for the Northwest. Prior to this he obtained a degree in mathematics at Oxford University in the UK.

Joseph Maxwell

 

Joseph Maxwell is a research scientist in the biotechnology industry. He lives in Westborough, MA.

David McIntyre

 

David McIntyre is an emeritus professor of physics at Oregon State University in Corvallis who served on the Board of Regents from 2020-2023.

Norm McKibben

 

Norm McKibben who joined the Board of Regents in 2009, retired as a civil engineer after working 25 years with Peter Kiewit Construction and at the time of retirement was president of several subsidiary companies. Norm is currently managing partner and/or consultant for more than 600 acres of the top vineyard sites in Walla Walla (Pepper Bridge, Seven Hills, and Les Collines). He is also managing partner of Pepper Bridge Winery and active partner in Amavi Cellars and Artifex Winery. He is a past chairman of the Washington Wine Commission and the Washington Transportation Commission. He has a “no problem cannot be solved mentality,” and has created one of the most technologically advanced viticulture sites in the U.S. As a champion of sustainable viticulture, Norm is a partner in Quality Compost LLC, which produces an excess of 8,000 cubic yards of compost each year. This compost is used in vineyards across the Walla Walla Valley, virtually eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizers in vineyards using compost.

Bryce M. Payne

 

Bryce M. Payne Emeritus Board Member is Vice President and Relationship Manager with Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage. Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage provides lending, servicing and advisory solutions to the commercial real estate industry. He is also a member of the Portland Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP). Mr. Payne holds an MBA from the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon (2001) and was an undergraduate in the OSU University Honors College with an HBA in Computer Science and HBS in Business Administration (1999). While at OSU, he co-founded The Chronicle (then known as The Ecclesia), launched The Daily Barometer online and studied abroad at Lancaster University in the UK. Today, he lives in the Portland area with his wife, and in his spare time enjoys traveling, photography, and cycling.

Carol Hill Pickard

 

Carol Hill Pickard graduated from OSU with a BS in Clothing, Textiles, and the Related Arts in 1976. While attending OSU, Carol was involved with a number of extracurricular activities from the marching band to serving as a Resident Assistant in Buxton Hall. Carol went on to earn her J.D. in 1979 from William and Mary’s Marshall Wythe School of Law. Carol began her career working as an attorney for the U.S. Army JAGS Corps then moved on to the Department of the Navy from 1983-1988 as a civilian attorney. Carol was a partner in the law firm Stenberg, Sunseri, Roe, Pickard and Rudy in San Jose for twenty years. Carol is married with three children. She has remained an active member of OSU’s community by serving two terms on the OSU Alumni Association Board. Carol joined the HC Board of Regents in 2005 and became the Chair of the Board in 2011. Her term on the Board of Regents ended in 2016.

Indira Rajagopal

 

Indira Rajagopal is a senior instructor in the OSU Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, where she teaches a wide cross-section of OSU's student population. Her association with the HC began in 2004, teaching the Honors Biology laboratory sections, a three-term series that she still teaches. She has, since, taught other honors courses, served on a number of honors thesis committees, and was interim associate dean for the college. A co-author, with fellow Board of Regents member Kevin Ahern, of a free electronic biochemistry textbook, Indira is a staunch supporter of open educational resources. She is keenly interested in the improvement of undergraduate teaching in the sciences as well as science communication, and she served as associate editor for Biotechnology Technology and Software Review for seven years. Happiest when surrounded by students, Indira serves as faculty advisor to both the Biochemistry and Biophysics undergraduate club and the Cap and Gown chapter of Mortar Board at OSU. Indira served on the Board of Regents from 2014-2018.

Don Richards

 

Don Richards lives in Boston where he is Managing Partner of NorthShore Capital Advisors, LLC, a boutique investment banking firm specializing in mid-market transactions. Prior to joining NorthShore in 2004, he was Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions of Iron Mountain Incorporated. Iron Mountain is the leading company in records and information management. Before joining Iron Mountain, he practiced corporate law with Bingham McCutchen LLP in Boston from 1992 to 1997. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from Cornell University (1992) and was an undergraduate in the old Honors Program at OSU with a BS Business Administration (1986), and Political Science (1989). Mr. Richards served on the HC Board of Regents from 2001-2011.

Julian Uselman

 

Julian Uselman, '02, is an Honors College alum, family physician and healthcare administrator based in Silverton, OR. He served on the Board of Regents from 2015-2023.

Melinda von Borstel Smith

 

Melinda von Borstel Smith received her doctor of pharmacy from OSU/OHSU college of pharmacy in 2008. She currently works as a pharmacist for Safeway, with her daily goal being to help educate the public on their medications and lifestyle choices, hoping to thereby improve long-term patient outcomes. Melinda is a 2006 graduate of the Oregon State Honors College and received the HBS in Nutrition and Food Management and an HBA in International studies with a minor in Spanish. Melinda is thoroughly enjoying being done with school, having time to read books she had set aside for the last 8 years, and having more time to spend with her husband. Together they spend their free time hiking and challenging themselves to undertake new activities, recently having completed the Portland Marathon and with their sights set on competing in a triathlon. They live in Southwest Portland and are actively involved in their church, Cedar Mill Bible.

Tom Wall

 

Tom Wall was a Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Seattle. He completed his PhD (1974) at the University of Washington and was an Associate Clinical Professor in both the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and the Department of Psychology at the UW. Additionally, he was an Associate Professor of Graduate Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Seattle Pacific University. For six years he served on the Board of Seattle Country Day School, a private school for gifted children. His wife worked as an Educational Psychologist in private practice and they had two children, both of whom have graduated from the HC. Tom passed away in 2016.

Margaret Walton

 

Margaret Walton Emeritus Board Member graduated from OSU (then OSC) (1955) with a degree in Business Education. She was an active member of Mortar Board, Talons, and various other student groups. She married James Walton and has three children and seven grandchildren. Her husband passed away in 1993. She has many active community involvements. She was the first female President of Corvallis Country Club, and President of the Samaritan Village Board of Directors. She has been President of the OSU Alumni Association and received the Dan Poling Alumni Service Award. She was an advisor to OSU Mortar Board for three years and twice served as President of the local PEO Chapter.

Mary Carlin Yates

Mary Carlin Yates spent 32 years as a diplomat for the US Department of State serving primarily in three geographic regions: Asia, Africa and Europe, where she served as Ambassador/Chief of Mission in Burundi, Ghana and the Sudan as well as working in senior positions with the US Military and in the White House at the National Security Council. Mary’s longtime commitment to the Honors College is inspired by, in her words, “the brilliance of the students and the dedication of the Honors College leadership. I hope my modest contribution is helping the Honors College continue to increase the focus on building tomorrow’s global citizens who are critical to engender more world stability and economic prosperity.” Mary served as a Board of Regents member from 2012-2021.

Julius Young

Julius "JJ" Young, Jr. served on the Honors College Board of Regents from 2017-2019. A 1994 graduate from Oregon State University with a degree in economics, Julius was a banking executive with Wells Fargo, based in the Houston area, where he was also active as a board member for the Boys and Girls Club. During his time at Oregon State, Julius was a four-year letterman in football and was captain of the team during his senior year. His support for the HC Board of Regents was inspired by his "confidence that the Honors College will produce great leaders for tomorrow." Julius passed away in 2021.