Portland State Magazine Winter 2008

ALUMNI NOTES COMPILED BY MYRNA DURAY 1956-1959 Kathryn "Kathie" Curtis '63 basketball team in the 1968- is retired and writes, "Moved 69 and 1969-70 seasons. from Oregon to Colorado in Borgny Young '59 is a retired November to care for my only Jon Jalali '67, MBA '71 reacher living ar Friendship grandchild, so my daughter can attended the inauguration of Village, a retirement com- continue biology research." Mary Cullinan as president of municy in Tempe, Arizona. Southern Oregon University in Cliff Ferry '63 is president of Ashland, October 13, 2007, on the Nevada Board ofEduca- behalf of PSU. Jalali is retired 1960-1969 rion. He lives in Elko, Nevada. and formerly served as man- ager for rhe city of Medford Thomas Hatch '64 is a retired finance department. He is an Wayne Haglund '62 is an copy editor and wire editor. alumni ambassador for rhe invertebrate paleontologist Hatch worked ar The Oregonian southern Oregon region. in rhe department of earth for 21 years, followed by 23 sciences ar Mount Royal Col- years with rhe Deseret Morn- Kenneth Sample '67 is a cap- lege in Calgary, Canada. ing News in Salt Lake City. He rain in the U.S. Public Health was an official scorer for the Service. Sample lives in Sand- Making history RO BE RT K. " BO B " SU TT ON MA '7 3 has gone from historian for Oregon Stare Parks in rhe 1970s to an appointment this fall as chief historian of rhe National Park Service. Sutton is only the ninth person to occupy this top post with rhe park service since it was created 76 years ago. And he credits Portland State's History Department-in particular the late Prof. Gordon Dodds-with launching his career. "I just became completely absorbed in history while I was there," Sutton exults. "My classes in history at PSU were hard, bur they gave me the discipline I needed to succeed." While Sutton was pursuing his master's degree, he worked part time as a ranger at Fort Vancouver, a job Dodds steered him towards. He also was a curator at the Oregon Historical Society. Sutton completed his Portland State degree with emphasis on the Civil War and Western history and later obtained a Ph.D. from Washington Stare University. For the past 12 years Sutton was supervisor of the Manassas National Battlefield Park in Virginia, which attracts more than 800,000 annual visitors. At Manassas, Sutton emphasized not just the battles and soldiers bur the experience of civilians and slaves, as well as the causes of the War Between the States. From his new office in Washington, D.C., Sutton provides direction to the national parks interpreting the significance ofAmerica's historically designated places. There are two major projects on his to-do list: the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War (2011-2015) and the 2016 centennial of the National Park Service. A native Oregonian, Sutton often visits his parents, now in their 90s, who are still in good health and living in Salem. When he can, he stops in at Fort Vancouver "happy to see much that is familiar, and much that is new and wonderful." ■ BY CLIFF COLLINS 22 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE WINTER 2008 stone, Minnesota (near Minne- apolis). The area reminds him of Portland, "bur wirhour rhe ad- vantages ofMAX and Powell's Books," he writes, adding chat he is retirement eligible, "bur having too much fun to quit." John Fuller '68 retired follow- ing 36 years of employment with rhe Union Pacific Railroad as general yardmaster, yard- master, and conductor. He is a charter member of rhe Portland Track Club, Oregon Roadrun- ners, and the PSU Hall of Fame (wrestling). He and his wife, Carol, live in Yuma, Arizona. Bob Sutton is now chief historian of the National Park Service. '73