In Memoriam Dr. Sandra Jenkins |
In Memoriam The mission of the CPSC’s Retirement Recognition Program (RRP) is to honor the work of our OPA Members upon the retirement of a psychologist’s professional career. We are adding In Memoriam to the RRP as another way to honor a psychologist and their life’s work. By expanding the RRP’s mission we are providing a place where we can remember those who have passed and their contribution to the field of psychology. We begin by remembering and honoring the life and professional contributions of Dr. Sandra Jenkins Dr. Sandra Jenkins (Sandy) was born September 27th, 1945, to two deeply committed educators. Her father, Edward D. Jenkins, Sr. was a high school chemistry teacher and the Offensive Football Coach at the historic Arthur Harold Parker High School located in the equally historic Smithfield neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama. Her mother, Carolyn Wells Jenkins was a history teacher at Forest Hills middle school and the Fairfield Industrial High School, in Fairfield, Alabama. Sandra attended Brunetta C. Hill Elementary School, skipping two grades, and then Arthur Harold Parker High School, where she was a Majorette. In a sign of things to come, she graduated from both schools with Honors. At 16, Sandy entered Michigan State University, graduating with her Bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1968 and her Master of Arts in anthropology in 1977. During her time at Michigan State, she became a civil rights activist and joined the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) as well as the Freedom Riders. Sandy was always an advocate of causes relating to injustice, inequality, and oppression in violation of the civil rights of all races, colors, genders, sexual orientations, creeds, and religions, among others. Women's rights, in particular, were very important to her. She pursued her Clinical Psychology PhD at the University of Oregon, where she gained very broad clinical training across the lifespan, completing her Internship at the University of Minnesota Medical School and earning her doctorate in 1985. One of Sandy's most valuable experiences during graduate school was a community outreach practicum with a focus on providing clinical services for underserved women and children in the rural community of Florence, Oregon. This would later become a model for her diversity-focused outreach teams at Pacific. In 1989, Sandy became a faculty member at what is now the Clinical Psychology PsyD Program in Pacific's School of Graduate Psychology. For the next 26 years until her retirement in 2015 as Faculty Emerita, Sandy was a gifted and insightful educator, mentor, supervisor, colleague, and friend to many in the Pacific University community. Her unwavering commitment to fostering social justice awareness and advocacy brought many important and lasting changes to SGP and to the broader psychology community in Oregon. As the Director of Diversity for many years, she patiently and persistently worked with colleagues and students to illuminate the nature and impact of systemic oppression and implicit bias. She introduced faculty trainings, a required human diversity laboratory for all students, and an annual diversity conference on a broad range of topics. These efforts benefitted not only alumni and faculty colleagues, they in turn exponentially multiplied her impact on clients and the greater psychology community. Through her understanding and insight about how social change takes place, Sandy understood that it was also necessary to advocate for systemic changes in Portland and the state of Oregon. She thus served on the Oregon Board of Psychologist Examiners for five years, bringing important conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion to the Board's discussions and spearheading an effort to require a minimum number of hours of training in DEI topics for renewal of psychologist licenses. She also collaborated with colleagues to improve the screening of applicants for Portland Police. Their goal was to ensure that admitted recruits were well-versed and capable of working with challenging issues related to the minoritized identities of many individuals involved in the criminal justice system. In all her work, Sandy drew from a background of consciousness-raising and feminist theory, fostered in her days as an undergraduate student at Michigan State and in her lifelong ties to feminist bookstores and counter-culture initiatives. Sandy frequently suggested to students and faculty that they form affinity groups to discuss and address common topics and was often perplexed about why it was even necessary to suggest such groups, as they came second nature to her. She took mentoring seriously; once she took someone on as a mentee, she was their mentor for life. She gave out her phone number to all, saying, "Call me," and meaning it. Many students and colleagues called her for consultation years after any formal ties had ended. She loved to have long conversations about any topic, preferably over brunch. Sandy had many deep and abiding interests and she remained a student at heart, reading voraciously, fly-fishing as much as her body would allow, and enjoying a wide range of music and movies. Commensurate with the way she lived, she would have it no other way but to continue the teaching and learning process in the sunset of her life, choosing to donate her body to science to benefit the OSHU School of Medicine. Sandra leaves a legacy of valued lessons and numerous cherished memories to her brother, Edward “Buzzy” D. Jenkins, Jr. (Debra); her niece, Dana Ayana Jenkins (Peter); grand nephew, Adam Gabriel Kabir; cousins, lifelong forever friends from near and far; Pacific University faculty, and her former students. The family wishes to thank the many friends, colleagues, former students, and other local professionals that have offered immeasurable support during their time of great need. In lieu of flowers, food, or condolence gifts, please consider donating to the Dr. Sandra Jenkins Memorial Fund that was established and named in her honor and memory by the Clinical Psychology PsyD Program at Pacific University to which she dedicated so much of her time and energy.
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