Nine Pacificans receive Order of Pacific honors at Commencement

University of the Pacific honored nine members of the Pacific family with the Order of Pacific during the all-university Commencement ceremony May 11 in the Alex G. Spanos Center. The Order of Pacific is the university's highest award. It honors university regents, faculty members, administrators and staff members who have served with distinction and made outstanding contributions to the university over a significant number of years. The award is an expression of the university's esteem and appreciation for these individuals' dedication to the University of the Pacific.

The following are the 2019 Order of Pacific recipients along with excerpts from their nominations.

Julie Davies, Professor of Law, McGeorge School of Law

Julie Davies is a shining example of the Pacific spirit. For nearly 35 years, she has worked tirelessly and provided endless service equally to colleagues, students and the community. She joined McGeorge School of Law in 1984, and from 2009 to 2013 she was the associate dean for academic affairs. Davies also served five years as director of the Inter-American summer program in Guatemala.

She has served on and chaired countless committees including the 2017 search for the dean of McGeorge as well as the university's committee on the Status of Women, to name a few. Davies has published extensive scholarship in areas such as Torts, Title IX, civil rights litigation, and customary and indigenous law in both English and Spanish. In addition to her scholarship, she generously gives her time to the community and her students. She supervised law students for four years in the school's Community Legal Services Clinic. 

Marilyn Draheim, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Benerd School of Education

For 32 years Marilyn Draheim has been a passionate and highly respected member of the Pacific community and has helped to shape the minds of countless students who have gone on to be educators. Since joining Pacific in 1986, she has served in both faculty and administrative roles. She is known as a respected colleague, an exceptional professor and a dependable administrator. She has been a steadfast mentor for both students and colleagues. Her roles include serving as director of the Academic Skills Center, as chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction for nearly 25 years, and as interim dean and assistant dean. She has helped steward the school's accreditation process and has served on state accreditation teams for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Committee on Accreditation for teacher education. 

Draheim has served on the California Council for Teachers Education and chaired as a regional representative for the Independent California Colleges and Universities for the Education of Teachers. She has written and assisted in writing myriad grants, including a planning grant of $223,071 from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for the integration of a four-year bachelor's degree and special education credential preparation with a focus on transfer students. 

Eric Hammer, Professor of Music Education and Director of Bands, Conservatory of Music (posthumous)

Eric Hammer '73 exemplified what it meant to be a Pacifican. For over 25 years he was a committed alumnus, a devoted faculty member and a tireless champion of Pacific. Hammer joined the conservatory faculty in 1993 and was beloved by students and colleagues alike.

He built and sustained the University Concert Band and the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and supervised the student-led Pep Band. He has led the Symphonic Wind Ensemble to national prominence: this spring the group performed a featured concert at Carnegie Hall during the New York Wind Band Festival. Hammer inspired young musicians teaching at summer band camp, conducting honor bands, adjudicating band festivals and giving clinics at high schools. It was not uncommon for students to say that he was the reason they enrolled at Pacific.

Hammer guided music education student teachers as they launched their careers throughout California.  He also conducted local community ensembles, such as the Valley Concert Band. He connected alumni to Pacific, inviting them back to campus for master classes, arranging opportunities for them to interact with students through receptions and events across the state during the Concert Band or Wind Ensemble performance tours, and bringing them together to perform with current students at the biannual Alumni Band Concert during Homecoming Weekend.

In 2009, he was awarded the Pacific Alumni Association Faculty Mentor Award, in recognition of his significant impact on the lives of students and alumni. A highly respected educator and conductor, he recently was recognized as the Outstanding University Educator by the California Music Educators Association. He taught in clinics and conferences or conducted performances across the United States and abroad. In 2017, he was elected to the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and was the past president of Western Division College Band Directors National Association. He passed away in January 2019 following a brief illness.

Dr. Robert Hanyak, Professor of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

For over 33 years, Dr. Robert Hanyak '79 has served the university as a committed faculty member, a devoted administrator and an advocate for the community. Since 1981, he has been a champion of accessible speech and audiology services. In 1997 he developed a partnership with the Scottish Rite Center to provide children free diagnostic therapeutic services. In 2005, he founded the Pacific Hearing and Balance center to offer low-cost audiological services to the Stockton community. 

Dr. Hanyak is highly regarded by his students and colleagues. He has served department chair and assistant dean and has been recognized for his teaching and scholarship with the United Methodist Teacher-Scholar Award and the Distinguished Faculty Award. He was awarded the Pacific Alumni Association Faculty Mentor Award in 2017. Dr. Hanyak has served in numerous capacities on university committees, most recently on the WSCUC steering committee as part of the university's reaccreditation process. One of his most notable accomplishments would be his leadership in helping to steer the creation of the Doctor of Audiology program launched on the San Francisco Campus in 2015, which was awarded full 10-year accreditation and graduated its first cohort in 2018.

Dr. William Kehoe, Professor of Pharmacy Practice- Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Since joining Pacific in 1995, Dr. William Kehoe '96 has been committed to student success and has been a creative and impactful leader. He has been an enthusiastic member of the Department of Pharmacy Practice where he has been the department chair for nearly 17 years, coordinator of the Master of Science/Fellowship Program, which provides a post-graduate experience for graduates, and the director of the Office of Academic Success and Instruction Support (OASIS). 

His service to the university includes serving on Academic Council and helping to establish the Institutional Review Board. He has served as President and on the Board of Regents for the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. He is also a member of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and California Society of Health-System Pharmacists. He has more than a thousand peer-reviewed publications and presentations to his credit, has received multiple research grants and appointments to editorial boards of highly regarded pharmaceutical journals and drug information references. His work has been utilized by national and global pharmacy, psychiatry, neurology and education communities. 

Dr. Kehoe has been recognized by his students on multiple occasions with the school's Teacher of the Year Award and Outstanding Instructor awards, and by the university with the Eberhardt Teacher-Scholar Award, Long Foundation Fellowship, and the Distinguished Faculty award. He is the founding advisor of the Christian Pharmacy Fellowship student chapter and the student chapter of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

Lynn King, Assistant Vice President for Student Life

Lynn King has served in several administrative roles during his 18 years at Pacific with exceptional commitment. He started his career at Pacific as the director of Intercollegiate Athletics, where he established the Orange and Black Ball, athletics' major annual fundraiser, raising millions of dollars in support of new and renovated athletic facilities and endowments. Under his leadership, the Tigers claimed 18 Big West Conference team titles and made 28 NCAA Championship appearances. Pacific also had 38 All-Americans who earned a total of 59 All-America awards. As special assistant to the president, he worked with all three campuses to develop the Enterprise Risk Management program for the university and served as the first Title IX coordinator. In his current role as assistant vice president for Student Life, he provides leadership and oversight for Recreation Services and Facilities, Services for Students with Disabilities, Student Health Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, Religious and Spiritual Life, Student Wellness Programs, Sustainability Initiative and Veterans Services. King's career at Pacific has embodied his personal goal to provide a meaningful impact on the safe and positive experience of Pacific students.

Bruce Peltier, Professor of Psychology and Ethics, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry

Bruce Peltier embodies the humanism and the humanistic model that respects the dignity of each individual and fosters limitless potential for the future growth of Pacific dental students.  He is described as the "heart" of the Dugoni School of Dentistry, empowering many young doctors to be confident and caring providers to patients. Peltier began his career at Pacific as a part-time provider of counseling services to students, staff and faculty which was unique to any dental school at the time. With continuous service for over 20 years, Peltier served as professor of psychology and ethics and directs the biomedical ethics education, behavior science and doctor-patient relationship skills.

In addition to supporting and inspiring individuals to fulfill their potential, his scholarship has benefited the university and the dental profession as a whole. Peltier has published three books with his innovative dental ethics curriculum that is well known and respected throughout the country. He has been recognized with the Pierre Fauchard Academy Faculty Recognition in 2012 and the Joseph J. Krajewski Award of the Northern California Section of the American College of Dentists in 2011. He has given numerous invited lectures across the country and internationally. He was honored in 2009 with the University of San Francisco Distinguished Lecturer Award and by University of the Pacific with the United Methodist Teacher/Scholar Award in 2001 and Thayer Award in 1997. His expertise has served the entire University through his chairmanship of the Ethics Across the Curriculum and Institutional Learning Objectives committees.

Brian Weick, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Computer Science

Brian Weick embodies the teacher-scholar model and has brought national recognition to the university since joining Pacific in 1995. In nearly 24 years of service, Weick remained on the cutting-edge of his profession, investing wholly in the intellectual development and support of Pacific students and representing the university with honor, distinction and immense pride. He has demonstrated his excellence through his leadership of the Mechanical Engineering Department for 14 years, overseeing three successful accreditation visits and more than doubling department enrollment during that time. He also led the development of the bioengineering program. During his tenure as chair of mechanical engineering, he developed a student design facility, general manufacturing lab and other new labs for integrated engineering work.

He is dedicated to his students, profession and university and gave generously of his time to student organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Student Chapter, Pacific Student Chapter of Automotive Engineers, Tau Beta Pi honor society and undergraduate research in materials characterization. He also served on many faculty and graduate committees, including the Committee for Academic Planning and Development, Student Grievance Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee to integrate liberal arts and professional education, the university program review committees and various tenure and employee search committees. 

Frank Wiens, Professor of Piano, Conservatory of Music

For 43 years, Frank Wiens has served his colleagues, his students and his profession. As a professor in piano, Wiens has mentored and taught many students at various skill levels, many of whom have gone on to have successful careers in the profession. He began a piano competition became the Zeiter piano competition, an annual event that attracts and recruits many high-level pianists from high schools across the state.

During his tenure at Pacific, he received the Research-Lecturer Award, the Distinguished Faculty Award and the Eberhardt Teacher-Scholar Award.  Wiens is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Pi Kappa Phi, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), and Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC). He has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Purcell Room in London, and in the Brahmssaal of the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. He has performed as a soloist with the Atlanta, Denver, and Detroit Symphonies, among others, and has recorded Rachmaninov's Third Piano Concerto with the Slovakia National Orchestra. He has donated his time giving benefit concerts, and in 2009 he was honored by the Stockton Arts Commission for Outstanding Achievement in Music.