Alumni

Economics for a Healthier Planet

ECONOMICS - How much do Americans value clean water versus affordable meat? These are the types of tradeoffs Emmett Reynier had to weigh while participating in a research fellowship with the US Environmental Protection Agency. Reynier graduated with a PhD in economics in winter 2025 and is off to a postdoc job at Stanford University and then will be a faculty member at University of Georgia.

Traveling the Ducks way

SOCIOLOGY - Dwight and Sylvia Lang married just two years after they began dating and then pursued higher education together as first-generation, low-income students. In 1983, they graduated from the University of Oregon, each earning a PhD in sociology. “We’re Ducks,” Sylvia says. “So this is another way of saying ‘thank you, Oregon.’ What happened in Eugene between 1977 and 1985 was very significant for us. It shaped who we are in many ways.” 

From Autzen Stadium to the Political Arena

POLITICAL SCIENCE - Rachel Bitecofer came for the Grateful Dead at Autzen Stadium but stayed for an undergrad degree. Now a political strategist and author, Bitecofer started her college career at 24 as a single mom. In 2009, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences Magna cum laude as a McNair Scholar. She continued her education at the University of Georgia, receiving her PhD in political science and international affairs in 2015.
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Ducks fly high at Veterans Affairs for those who served

GLOBAL STUDIES - Jennifer Esparza served in the Marines Corps for 11 years, earning the rank of staff sergeant and a half-dozen awards. In 2011 she enrolled at the UO, and in 2017 she earned a bachelor's degree in international studies and went to law school at Georgetown University. She worked for the Biden-Harris administration as a White House liaison and now is senior adviser to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Tanya Bradsher, the department’s second-highest official.

From Arafat to the Dalai Lama, sociology alum shielded leaders

SOCIOLOGY - When Burks arrived at the UO in 1992, he had no idea what to study, but an introductory sociology class grabbed his attention. “It appealed to my curiosity about what makes people tick,” he says. Burks would go on to have a career filled with danger and intrigue as a special agent for the US government, protecting international dignitaries and overseeing security at embassies around the world.
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