Three distinguished members of Reed’s faculty retired this year and were celebrated
during Reed’s Reunions weekend.
Joe Buhler ’72
Joe Buhler ’72 received his B.A. from Reed, in mathematics and physics, and earned his Ph.D.
from Harvard in 1977, with a focus on algebra and number theory—the study of finite extensions
into rational numbers. He taught at Pennsylvania State University before joining the Reed faculty in
1980; he was appointed professor of mathematics in 1991. Buhler has been recognized as one of the world
leaders in computational algebraic number theory, and has also worked in algebra, cryptology, combinatorics,
computing, geometry, and signal processing. He is an accomplished juggler, and introduced juggling
classes into the physical education curriculum at Reed. According to Buhler, the connection between
juggling and mathematics is readily acknowledged, for “it demands a talent for manipulating,
inventing, and experimenting.” He was appointed deputy director of the Mathematical Sciences
Research Institute in Berkeley, California (1991–2001), and was researcher in residence there
for the 1986–87 academic year. Buhler is now working as director of the Centre for Communications
Research in San Diego.
Cara Carr
Cara Carr worked part-time at Reed, beginning in 1975, before becoming a full-time director of costuming
in 1989. She was also a part-time instructor in design, and taught courses in pattern drafting, costume,
make-up, and design. Carr received a B.F.A. in dance theatre from the University of Utah in 1967,
and an M.A. in theatre design from Idaho State University in 1975. She was a professional ballet dancer
with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, earning soloist status in 1967. At the Reunions luncheon, Kathleen
Worley, professor of theatre, described Carr as having a quiet sense of humor and a lot of patience.
Her costume shop was an energetic and supportive environment, where the “impossible” was
achieved using the “minimal”—costumes were creative, perfectly suited to each character
in a production, and also perfectly operational.
Steve Kapsch
Steve
Kapsch, professor of political science and director of Reed’s
Public Policy Workshop, came to Reed in 1974 from the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D.
from the University of Minnesota in 1971. Kapsch taught constitutional law, civil rights, and policy
analysis. As director of Reed’s Public Policy Workshop, he was principal investigator for Portland’s
Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative (STACS) through the National Institute of Justice,
evaluating problems and devising intervention strategies, involving social control through civil
forfeiture and youth gun violence. Kapsch helped develop Reed’s international and comparative
policy research and was a curriculum member of the education policy committee. Kapsch was a senior
Fulbright fellow in Slovenia (1994–95) and in Germany (2001–02). At the Reunions luncheon,
Peter Steinberger, dean of faculty, commented that the overriding theme of Kapsch’s career at
Reed was his exemplary integrity. He was “scrupulous, careful, profoundly honest,” and
had a “deep love
for Reed and a powerful sense of justice.” Kapsch responded that Reed is a distinctive academic
setting because of the willingness of its students to take learning seriously, to challenge faculty,
and to work hard.
Joe Buhler ’72
Cara Carr
