This past July, Dr. Sarah DuBrow’s friends, family, and colleagues flew into Eugene from all over the country and gathered on the UO campus to honor her life, both academic and personal. Dr. DuBrow died in February of an aggressive form of cancer, leaving a big hole in our department and our hearts.
The Sarah DuBrow Memorial Symposium, held on UO’s Knight Campus, provided an opportunity to hear about Sarah’s academic and professional life through the eyes of her mentors, colleagues, collaborators, and trainees. In the opening talk, UO’s Dr. Brice Kuhl described how Dr. DuBrow had suggested that the Memory Disorders Research Society, of which she was a member, hold their annual conference in Eugene. Although that didn’t happen in Dr. DuBrow’s lifetime, the Memorial Symposium did fulfill her dream of gathering together top memory researchers in the place where she so enthusiastically began her faculty career. Next, UO’s President at the time, Michael Schill, recounted Dr. DuBrow’s incredible achievements. Then, in a series of academic talks, Dr. DuBrow’s colleagues, collaborators, mentors, and trainees presented discoveries that stemmed from research projects conducted with and inspired by Dr. DuBrow, while also sharing their memories of her and what made her passionate.
Dr. DuBrow’s friends and family gathered again the next day for her memorial service in the Ford Alumni Center, where they heard eulogies from people throughout her life: her father, her childhood friends, and her colleagues. Her husband, Ben, also shared his memories of their time together, going through a beautiful slideshow of their young daughter Eve’s life. In a touching finale to a very moving memorial service, Sarah’s father gave everyone pint glasses etched with “Raise a glass to Sarah” and filled with rose petals. Everyone then walked to the Frohnmayer Footbridge and threw the petals into the Willamette River as a goodbye to the brilliant, beloved, and much too soon departed Dr. Sarah DuBrow.
If anyone would like to donate to the UO scholarship fund in Dr. Sarah DuBrow’s memory, you can do so by going to U.O.'s giving page. Where it says “I would like to give to” scroll down to “Other.” Type in “Sarah DuBrow Memorial Fund (Psychology)”. If you have questions, please email Sara Hodges.