UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE

accolades
Spring 2006
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
UAA CULINARY ARTS
AND HOSPITALITY

F R O M T H E C H A N C E L L O R
accolades
Ford Foundation selects the University of Alaska
Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University for
$1,000,000 grant
After a national competition in undergraduate education that
drew more than 675 proposals, the Ford Foundation has selected
a partnership between the University of Alaska Anchorage and
Alaska Pacific University as one of 26 recipients of a $100,000
grant for projects that promote academic freedom and
constructive dialogue.
UAA graduate student Christine Byl receives
distinguished thesis award from Western
Association of Graduate Schools
The Western Association of Graduate Schools announced that
Christine Byl, a UAA masters degree student, is the winner of its
annual Distinguished Thesis Award. This marks the first time an
Alaska student has received this high honor. Byl’s Master of Fine
Arts in Creative Writing and Literary Arts thesis titled,“Breathing
Under Water: Artist’s Heart, Artist’s Mind” was described by the
selection committee as “exceptional.”
UAA Kicks off 1,000 Giving $1,000
This sustained annual giving program of at least $1million will
fund student, teacher and community programs and scholarships
that will make an immediate and lasting impact on the university.
UAA’s promise, in return for each gift, is a report next year on
how your dollars were used and the impact to our students,
faculty and programs.
College of Education receives full
national accreditation
The University of Alaska Anchorage College of Education’s
commitment to excellence in producing quality teachers for our
nation’s children was recognized in Nov. 2005 when it received
full national accreditation under the performance-oriented
standards of the National Council for Accreditation of
Teacher Education (NCATE).
P R O G R E S S I V E
P R O G R A M S
10
Discovery extends mammoth
survival 2,200 years
4
Recipe for Success
UAA culinary arts program
15
16
UAA Debate Team travels
to international competition
Students learn broadcasting skills
through corporate partnership
T H E U A A C O M M U N I T Y
18
Eileen Thompson
Saradell Ard
Dear Friends,
We are pleased to announce the completion of our first-ever
capital campaign. Thank you to the many donors, both
corporate and private, for your commitment and support in
helping UAA to reach well beyond the $12 million goal.
Special thanks to the two co-chairs of the 50th Anniversary
Campaign, Marc Langland and Leo Bustad. This is a
collective celebration.
Funds raised will support UAA Programs of
Distinction, Student Scholarships and Opportunities,
Faculty Excellence, and Facilities. The impact of
campaign gifts is already being felt by those who live,
work, and study on this campus. Students now have
the opportunity to apply for newly endowed
scholarships; faculty can avail themselves of award
and program opportunities; and soon the entire
campus community will have opportunities to gather
in the new Alaska Native Science and Engineering
Program Building.
While many gifts were important parts of this
campaign, we find it especially meaningful that it was
an estate gift (a gift included in a will) that put us
over the top. The legacy of that generous bequest,
arranged more than 20 years ago, will live on in the
endowed, needs-based scholarship and engineering
professorship it created. Similarly, we are planting
Many of you will consider giving $1,000 each year to
UAA because you are alumni and you know that your gift will
continue the legacy of excellence at your alma mater. But
many of you attended other universities. Why should you give
to UAA? Leo Bustad and his wife, Jeanne Davis answer that
question in three simple words: “We live here.” As well as
assisting their out-of-state alma maters, they want to help
young Alaskans to have an opportunity for an excellent
UAA Accolades
Spring 2006
Volume 5, Number 1
Published by the UAA Office of Development
Editors: Megan Olson, Heather Resz
Graphic Design: David Freeman
Photography: Clark James Mishler, Michael Dinneen
20
Libby Roderick
Ed and Cathryn Rasmuson
seeds today to broaden UAA’s enduring tradition of discovery,
learning, and achievement.
Supporters of Seawolf Athletics also are making an impact
on campus. A campaign to raise $1 million to endow student
athletic scholarships is underway. You will find additional
details about the Seawolf Legacy Campaign inside this
magazine.
education. They want Anchorage to be a great city with a
great university providing cultural and intellectual events.
They want UAA’s community campuses throughout
Southcentral to strengthen their regions and to enhance this
Great Land.
Many thanks to all for your ongoing engagement with this
vital, growing university. Mort and I are proud to say with all
For more information about stories included
in UAA Accolades, to make a gift to UAA
or to order additional copies, please contact:
University Advancement
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Drive . Anchorage, AK 99508
Phone: (907) 786-4847
e-mail: development@uaa.alaska.edu
S E A W O L F
S P O R T S
22
Cross country teams:
reaching new heights
What’s next? We are off to a great start with the 1,000
Giving $1,000 campaign. Our goal is to create and maintain a
base of donors at the $1,000 level, thereby ensuring a
sustained $1 million in annual contributions for long-term
support of student scholarships and programs of excellence.
of you, “We live here.”
Elaine P. Maimon, PhD
Chancellor
To learn more about UAA,
visit www.uaa.alaska.edu
On the Cover: University of Alaska Anchorage senior Michelle Stummer.
Accolades 3

FOR
Generations of
graduates prepare fare
around town
Eat a meal in a restaurant anywhere in Alaska and
chances are good it was prepared by someone who
learned the trade in the University of Alaska Anchorage
Culinary Arts and Hospitality Division.
Construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline fueled demand
for qualified people to work in the culinary arts, according to
Tim Doebler, director of the culinary arts, hospitality, dietetics
and nutrition programs at UAA.
In 1972, when the program began, it was very much focused
on institutional cooking, Doebler said.
That changed in 1993 with the opening of the Lucy Cuddy
Center dining room. The Renaissance Project renovated UAA’s
Lucy Cuddy Center and the Center's Hospitality and Culinary
Arts curriculum.
Now another major fund-raising campaign will renovate the
program’s instructional laboratories. One of the Cuddy Center’s
two kitchens will be closed during May 2006 for renovation.
Doebler said the two-year long, $300,000 capital fund drive will
replace some equipment that has been in use since the program
began in 1972.
Students in the Culinary Arts program, from left: DeeDee Fowler, Aurora Wilson,
Stephane Kendall, Niki Foreman, Ramon Peralta, and Amy Voss.
4 Accolades Accolades 5

“When the student leaves here, the graduate needs to be ready for work,”
he said. That means making sure the equipment they are trained on in the
Cuddy Center kitchens matches what industry is using.
Combined, First National Bank of Alaska, UAA and the culinary arts
department raised $300,000.
“I can’t say enough good things about First National Bank,” Doebler said.
“They want to make sure that the facility is maintained.”
Doebler joined the department in September 1986. He had planned to study
accounting in college. That’s what his parents had in mind. But his plans
changed when a high school teacher noticed his interest in cooking and told
him about career options in culinary arts. At the time, the field of culinary arts
was a fairly novel career choice, he said.
“My mother thought it odd that I would get a degree in cooking,”
Doebler said.
Left: Stephane Kendall and Pastry Chef Instructor Vern Wolfram decorate a cake. Above: Ixchel Carroll, Amy Voss and
Alice Landers, front row, smile for the camera. Middle row is, Rebecca Leslie, Grace Huhndorf and Melissa Magnus.
Back row is Mercedes Horton, John Layton, Sonya Irwin, and Niki Foreman.
However students find their way into the programs he operates at UAA,
many are choosing culinary arts as a second career, Doebler said. The average
age of students in the program is 28.
Doebler told the story of one man who had always enjoyed cooking and
when he retired from Fish and Game, enrolled in UAA’s culinary arts program.
Student Jeffrey Hughes called the program one of Alaska’s best-kept secrets.
“The distinguished instructors promote a hands-on learning environment that
allows each student to develop his or her potential, and exposes students to the
many possibilities that exist within the culinary profession,” he said.
6 Accolades
Accolades 7

Another group of students comes to the program through culinary
arts programs at Alaska Vocational Technical Center, the Matanuska-
Susitna Borough School District, Kenai Peninsula Borough School
District and the Anchorage School District’s King Career Center.
High school students in Mat-Su, Kenai and Anchorage districts
also can earn UAA credits for the class, Doebler said.
Industry demand for formally educated culinarians is increasing
across the U.S., he said.
Student Dasha King said she continues to benefit from the realworld
skills she learned at UAA.
"I will always use the techniques they taught me," she said.
Skilled labor in the culinary arts is in such demand that graduates get
six to eight job offers, Doebler said. Most graduates are starting at
about $12 an hour, he said.
“I can’t turn out enough students to fill the demand,” Doebler said.
Left:: Ramon Peralta sears Cornish game hens. Jeremy Krotochwill is hard at work
in the background. Above: Jeremy Rodriquez, foreground, and Wayne Leith prepare
various vegetables for serving. Right: Michelle Stummer serves Amy Green and
Tim Doebler in UAA's Lucy Cuddy Dining room.
Learning hands-on
The Cuddy Center’s dining room offers service and food equal to any
fine dining establishment in Anchorage, but under brighter lights. The
dining room is open Tuesdays through Fridays for lunch only.
But in this restaurant the waiter who served the meal and the chef
who prepared it are in class.
“This is a service class you are in right now,” Doebler said while
sharing a meal at the Cuddy Center with this reporter. “The bakery,
kitchen and this dining room are all instructional laboratories.”
The idea is that students who complete the two- or four-year
programs graduate ready for work, he said. UAA offers a bachelor’s in
hotel management and an associate’s degree in culinary arts.
“I don’t think there is a student in here who couldn’t leave here and
go to work in a dining room,” Doebler said.
The program operates under the direction of an advisory committee
made up of community and industry leaders. They contribute their
real-world expertise to make sure students leave with the most relevant
training possible, Doebler said.
A second career in culinary arts
David Predeger, 59, has enjoyed preparing
and eating nice meals for 30 years.
These days the freelance photographer has
focused his lens on the culinary arts
“I’ve always loved cooking,” Predeger said.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to learn
more about.”
He worked as a news photographer for the
Anchorage Times until 1981 when he began
working as a freelance photographer.
“I’ve been cooking and doing nice things
with food for years; now I’m learning it the real
way,” Predeger said.“There were a lot of things
I didn’t know.”
In the culinary arts program, he said he’s
learning different types of cooking techniques
like grilling, braising and poaching that help him
to expand his culinary repertoire.
“I was doing a lot of nice things before
school. But I kept doing the same thing,”
Predeger said.
He said he plans to pursue opportunities in
catering after graduation.
“Bon appétit,” Predeger said.
“It really is the industry’s training facility,” he said. “We take the
attitude that we’re stewards.
“From the flatware to the tables – it was all paid for by industry.”
Industry also supports the program by hiring students and offering
internships and scholarships, he said.
Around Anchorage it’s nearly impossible to eat out without
interacting with one of Doebler’s former students.
“We have students everywhere,” he said. “Everywhere food is
served we either have a student there now or we have had.”
Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage Marriott Downtown, Anchorage
Hilton Hotel, Sheraton Anchorage Hotel, Costco, Westmark Hotel,
Orsos Italian Restaurant and in kitchens on the North Slope are a few
of the places UAA graduates are working.
“We’ve got generations of people out there now,” Doebler said.
8 Accolades
Accolades 9

A R C H E O L O G I C A L
B R E A K T H R O U G H
Discovery extends
mammoth
survival
2,200 years
A discovery by
University of
Alaska Anchorage
The village of St. Paul on St. Paul Island
researchers on St. Paul Island lends weight
to the theory that hunting by humans was
the main cause of the widespread
extinction of large animals worldwide.
10 Accolades Accolades 11

A R C H E O L O G I C A L
B R E A K T H R O U G H
Crossen presented the paper at the annual Geological Society of
The main question is why mammoths survived out there so long,
America meeting in Salt Lake City in October 2005.
he said.
Qagnax Cave was discovered in 1999 by residents of St. Paul
The chamber is 53 feet underground located in a lava tube about
Island, one of five islands comprising the volcanic Pribilof Island group
49 feet wide and 39 feet high, which made it a natural trap for
in the eastern Bering Sea.The islands are the most remote in North
animals, including mammoth, polar bear, caribou or reindeer and
America.
Arctic fox.
People riding four-wheelers found the entrance to the site when
“Once you got in you couldn’t get out,” Crossen said.
their vehicles nearly fell into the hole,Veltre said.
Many of the 1,250 bones recovered from fox, caribou, polar bears,
“You can’t really see it from any distance,” he said.
birds and at least one mammoth show evidence of being chewed on
Locals went down into the tube and sent a photo of a polar bear
by other animals – including chewed areas and tooth puncture holes.
tooth.When Veltre visited the cave he returned with a
Researchers concluded that the cave acted as a natural trap into
mammoth tooth.
which animals fell, some still alive, to consume bones and possibly the
carcasses of previously trapped animals.
The research project focused on reconstructing the geologic
context, photographing and mapping the cave and the faunal remains,
collecting the bones, testing the central debris cone, and dating the
mammoth remains.The cleaned and dried materials are currently
housed at the UAA Anthropology Laboratory.
The dig was funded by a Faculty Development Grant from UAA
and the TDX Corp. of St. Paul. TDX, the Aleut village corporation of
St. Paul, gave permission for fieldwork and analysis, as well as in-kind
support for a research project that began in 2003.
UAA Archeologists explore the
site of the mammoth discovery,
Qagnax Cave on St. Paul Island
Researchers brought back more than 100 bags of bones from the
cave floor, Crossen said.
Mammoth tusks have been found on St. Paul for a long time –
including one tusk in the Smithsonian’s collections dated to about
8,000 years ago – but no tusks were found among the mammoth
bones and fragments recovered.
W
oolly mammoth remains found in a lava tube cave
53 feet below the surface of St. Paul island have been dated
to about 5,700 years ago.That s at least 2,200 years
The assumption is that previous cave explorers removed some of
the materials, Crossen said.
There’s not much left in the cave now, she said.
younger than any previously dated mammoth remains found in
“We basically took all of the bones on the ground that we could
North America.
see,” Veltre said.
New evidence suggests that the survival of isolated woolly
Crossen said “I felt bad walking anywhere down there because I
Gee, that’s a funny looking tooth
While they may be a little funny looking, the
woolly mammoth s ridged molars are actually
highly specialized to break down the relatively
tough, dry grasses they ate.
Over time, as these teeth wore, the enamel
ridges stood out and worked like grinding mills.
Like modern elephants, six molar-like teeth
developed on each side of the jaw during a
lifetime. But due to the limited space in their
mouths, mammoths used only two pairs of
molars at a time.
Successive teeth grew forward from the back
of the jaw replacing earlier, smaller teeth as they
wore, moved forward, and dropped.
mammoths on the Pribilof Islands may be closely related to the
absence of human habitation on the islands until the late 18th
century when the Russians brought Aleuts there as forced labor in
the harvest of fur seals, according to research by UAA s Douglas
Veltre, Kristine Crossen, David Yesner, and Penn State s
Russell Graham.
The location of Qagnax Cave — in the Pribilof Islands, 310 miles
off the coast of mainland Alaska — makes it an excellent test case in
support of the idea that mammoths most likely survived longer in
areas without human occupation, researchers wrote in a paper titled
Last Outpost of North American Mammoths Found on Isolated
Alaskan Island.
Yesner said he kept walking by the mammoth tooth sitting on
Veltre’s desk. And thinking about the late human occupation of
St. Paul.
That makes the islands a good test case for the idea that
mammoths survived later in areas not occupied by humans. On
Wrangel Island off the north coast of Siberia, for instance, mammoths
survived until about 4,000 years ago.
“The first dates for human and the last mammoth dates are very
close,” Yesner said.
knew I was destroying things.”
Researchers said the cave’s cool temperatures year-round
contributed to the preservation of the bones and make them good
candidates for radio carbon dating and DNA testing.
“There were foxes curled up in the corner with their fur still on
them,” Crossen said.
The dates from the mammoth bones tested are so close they may
all be from the same animal; all at least 2,200 years younger than any
previously dated mammoth remains found in North America.
Yesner said there also is some funding to radio carbon date some of
the caribou bones to see if they are from the original herds that
roamed Alaska or the herds of reindeer that were introduced later.
12 Accolades
Accolades 13

P R O G R E S S I V E P R O G R A M S
There’s no debating
a winning tradition
UAA debaters flourish in
World Championship environment
Fresh from success at World
Championships, UAA debate team
looks to the future, unwilling to
rest on laurels
F
or UAA communications associate professor
and coach Steve Johnson’s internationally
renowned debate team even a “New York
minute” seems long enough to make a point.
Just ask debaters from Harvard,Yale, Oxford,
Cambridge, MIT, and an array of other
prestigious colleges and universities that have felt
the pressure applied by a well-turned phrase or
the helpless realization that their UAA
opponent is simply a quicker study. There’s just
no debating success.
When asked how a team from remote Alaska
can produce such winning tradition on the world
stage, Johnson says,“UAA has an award-winning
debate team. UAF has a nationally competitive
rifle team. It comes as no surprise to me that
Alaskans excel in arguing and shooting.”
For more than 10 years, orators from
tradition rich, well-endowed schools, have
learned the hard way how talented and focused
Seawolf debaters can be under Johnson’s
leadership. A parliamentary debate national
championship in 2002 and continued success at
world and national
competitions have elevated the program to a
level of prominence far exceeding expectation
when it began in 1982.
Once a “drifting” college freshman himself,
Johnson discovered the joy of intellectual
challenge in debate and turned it into a life-long
passion. “I knew the moment I stepped on stage
and faced the audience in my first debate that I’d
found my life’s work,” he recalls.
Determined to share his passion, he has
taken an upstart program to the upper echelons
of intercollegiate debate, but not without sacrifice
and perseverance. Funding is always on his
mind. But contributions from university alumni
and the community, along with support from the
university, help provide the resources necessary
for fielding a team at a world-class level.
It’s all about being resourceful. The team for
example, well in advance of competition,
prepares and reviews volumes of material related
to current events, world politics, controversial
issues, matters of public policy, and ongoing
philosophical debate, from which a “for and
From left: Chris Kolerok, Rose Helens-Hart, Steve Johnson
(Head Coach), Lindsay Eberhardt, Adriel Mathew, Hilary Seeger,
Chanille Lewis (Assistant Coach), Dana Ovsak, and Tom Lassen.
against” perspective is derived. Debaters must
be prepared to present arguments on both
sides of an issue.
At this year’s world competition, two of the
compelling topics of debate were whether a
legally-enforceable right to a minimum
standard of living should be recognized and
whether Japan should be given a permanent seat
on the UN Security Council.
“Our student competitors are very well
versed on a myriad of topics and have spent
many hours working issues from all
perspectives” the coach adds. “In competition,
once one of our teams is given a topic and
perspective for debate we refine our thinking
and hone-in on the elements of a logical position
and presentation.”
In recruiting debaters or identifying
prospects it is glaringly obvious when someone
has what it takes to be great. Not unlike
athletics, music, or theater – talent is talent.
Johnson’s job is to help refine it, channel it, and
mold it in a team environment.
“We have just 15 minutes to prepare once a topic has been announced and only 14 minutes
to articulate our position.Talk about pressure. UAA’s four two-member teams thrive on it.”
The key for the individual is focus. But it
helps when a competitor is knowledgable about
a topic, can validate a position, exudes confidence,
loves to argue and is expecting the audience to
hang on every word. Is it a performance?
Certainly, but with substance, the coach feels.
“It’s all about matter and manner,” Johnson
says. “At some point you may realize that your
opponent has an equally compelling and valid
argument and then it becomes about
strategy and tactics.”
In parliamentary debate, each speaker has
seven minutes, the first and last of which are
protected. During the middle five minutes,
positions are subject to challenge, question, and
interruption from the other teams in the round.
The presenting competitor must decide whether
to acknowledge a challenge or ignore it, making a
team strategy essential.
“An opponent’s challenge often presents an
opportunity to emphasize your own position and
we work hard on identifying those situations,”
Johnson explains.
The UAA faculty-run debate program
periodically displays its competitive prowess on
campus debating issues of public policy and by
hosting local high school competitions.
Johnson believes that this type of exposure is
essential in identifying future Seawolf debaters.
The team will also host the inaugural Cabin
Fever Debates intramural competition this
Spring semester in an effort to promote the art
of debate and enable all UAA students the
opportunity to compete for prizes and slots in
the U.S. Universities Debating Championship.
A member of the National Parliamentary
Debate Association (NPDA), the nation’s largest
intercollegiate debate organization, UAA not
only excels as a team, but has produced two
national rookies of the year.
While the country typically witnesses the
staged folly of candidate debates during
presidential campaigns, it’s not everyday we’re
exposed to well thought-out discussion of
important issues by a group of bright, articulate,
albeit somewhat animated and very opinionated
young people in a public forum. Unless, of
course, you’re Steve Johnson who knows better
than most how fortunate UAA is to field a
debate team that provides a voice for one of the
state’s greatest resources, today’s Alaska
college student.
You could make the argument that
spending the winter holiday break in Ireland
discussing issues of international significance
and profound ideology was worth the trip.
That is, if you’re a member of the highly
touted UAA debate team which returned
from Dublin after competing in the World
Universities Debating Championship where
it finished in the top third of 233 teams from
29 countries, including Russia, South Africa,
China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.
The eight-day tournament featured more
than 740 one-hour debates at University
College Dublin, where the Seawolf’s four,
two-person debate teams each competed in
nine preliminary rounds. Among the schools
UAA faced in the “Swiss-draw” format that
matches teams of similar skills were Oxford,
Cambridge, Harvard, and Yale. All four
UAA teams finished with winning records
bettering teams from Princeton, MIT,
Fordham, Vassar, and Brown. The
University of Toronto won the championship.
UAA’s top two teams included Rose
Helens-Hart, a senior majoring in
journalism and public communications, and
Michael Rose, a junior history major; and
Tom Lassen, a political science junior
teaming with Chris Kolerok, an economics
junior. This tandem finished just three points
shy of qualifying for the single-elimination
championship round. The Seawolf teams of
Lindsay Eberhardt and Dana Ovsak, and Ben
Ferguson and Hilary Seeger also placed high
in the tournament.
“Championship competition brings out
the best in our teams, demonstrating once
again that UAA’s debating program belongs
with the best in the world,” said coach
Steve Johnson.
14 Accolades
—Debate team coach Steve Johnson
Accolades 15

P R O G R E S S I V E P R O G R A M S
O
ne person’s hockey game is another
person’s learning opportunity.
While one group of University of Alaska
Anchorage Seawolves pushes the puck from end
to end of the ice, another group follows the
action with TV cameras.
Under a new agreement with GCI Cable,
UAA students majoring in journalism and public
communications will work as GCI interns to run
the cameras and produce the live broadcasts
from Sullivan Arena.
Journalism and Public Communications chair
Fred Pearce said the partnership provides the
kind of opportunities for television students that
the Northern Light provides for newspaper
reporting and production.
Pearce said it’s one of several partnerships
that provide television production opportunities
for students. Other partnerships include the
State of Alaska, Municipality of Anchorage,
Anchorage School District, Providence Health
Systems in Alaska.
Pearce said the opportunities become part of
students’ production resumes.
Partnership broadcasts
home hockey games,
trains students Fans can
watch UAA games live
on Channel 88
In addition to the live broadcast of all 18
home games on GCI Cable Channel 88 in the
Anchorage and Mat-Su areas, the three-year
agreement makes a simulcast available for GCI
Internet Broadband customers in Anchorage,
Fairbanks, Juneau and the Kenai Peninsula.
Pearce, who functions as the broadcasts’
producer, helped coordinate the deal between
GCI and UAA. When GCI decided to begin
sports production, it just seemed like a natural
arrangement, he said.
“It's good for JPC students, UAA Athletics,
UAA, and GCI,” Pearce said.
UAA director of athletics Steve Cobb said
the joint venture will dramatically increase
exposure of UAA's flagship athletics program,
which saw only nine televised broadcasts
last season.
“We’re very excited for our fans and
student-athletes to have this opportunity to
showcase our program,” he said.
Bob Ormberg, GCI vice president of cable
marketing and programming, said the partnership
is part of the corporation’s long-term
relationship with UAA.
“Our goal is to continue our community
involvement and support of this university,”
he said.
The broadcasts will be simulcasts featuring
long-time play-by-play announcer Kurt Haider.
He said the agreement is a win-win partnership.
“This is real world stuff for our students.” UAA
hockey radio broadcasts generally are on AM-
550 KTZN, with some games on AM-650 KENI.
Pearce said plans to expand the program
include a weekly coaches show – The Coach
Shyiak Show with Haider. The long-time voice of
Seawolf Hockey is entering his 10th season.
Ultimately, the goal is to develop a product
that is the “highest evolution” of a “small
market” production, Pearce said.
“We're not there yet, but the reaction has
been very positive and the students are engaged
and happy with the product,” he said.
T
he University of Alaska Anchorage’s School of
Nursing is leading the nation again.
Alaska’s nursing school became the first in the
nation in September 2005 to have an Area Health
Education Center Program.
Associate director Beth Landon said all other
similar centers are associated with medical schools.
The new education center is part of UAA’s Alaska
Center for Rural Health, she said.
Nationwide, the centers are intended to create
formal relationships between universities and
community partners to strengthen the health
workforce in underserved communities.
But getting an Area Health Education Center
Program in Alaska where there is no medical school
was tricky, Landon said. After exercising a little used
amendment that supports education centers in
nursing schools, Alaska spent nearly a year to
confirm its eligibility to compete, she said.
Landon said the new center wouldn’t be possible
without support from donors like the Alaska Native
Tribal Health Consortium, Alaska Regional Hospital,
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, Ketchikan General
Hospital, Providence Alaska Health System, Yukon-
Kuskokwim Health Corp. and Valley Hospital.Their
donations helped to fund the nursing program
expansion project, which helped UAA get the new
designation, she said.
UAA School of Nursing
first in nation to house
an ‘Area Health
Education Center
Program’ to address
statewide health care
shortages
In this first three-year cooperative
agreement, the UAA School of Nursing will
initially contract with the Yukon Kuskokwim
Health Corp. and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital
to create AHEC education centers within their
organizations.
Next, the Alaska Family Practice Residency
will expand to serve Anchorage and the Mat-Su
Borough. In the next three-year cycle, two to
three more centers will be added to expand
services statewide.
Alaska’s rural and other underserved areas
struggle with a health workforce crisis. The
entire state of Alaska is designated a Health
Professional Shortage Area or Medically
Underserved Area, Landon said.
Last year, the State of Alaska funded a UAA
study to look at recruitment costs for 13
distinct provider types in rural health facilities
at 330 clinics, hospitals, mental health centers –
tribal and non-tribal.
The AHEC Program, including the AHEC
Centers housed in health agencies across the
state, will achieve its purpose by working in
three areas: encouraging youth to pursue
careers in health care; facilitating clinical rotation
opportunities in underserved sites; and
improving access to continuing education for
health professionals in underserved areas.
Alaska is one of the last states in the nation
to get an AHEC program. Only Iowa, Kansas,
North Dakota and South Dakota have yet to
establish AHEC education centers.
“ We’re very excited
for our fans and
student-athletes to
have this opportunity
to showcase our
program.”
UAA director of athletics
Steve Cobb
16 Accolades
Accolades 17

Eileen Thompson
E
ileen Thompson is passionate in her support of
UAA. That passion has made Eileen a tireless
ambassador for the university in the Anchorage
community. It also earned the class of ’94 graduate
the UAA Alumni Association’s highest honor: the
Alumni of the Year award.
The education Eileen received in getting her
bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Public
Communications at UAA has served her well in her
position of marketing director for Denali Alaskan
Federal Credit Union. Typical of Eileen, she chose
to “pay it forward” through service and commitment
to the Alumni Association and the work it does in
promoting the university in the community and in
fund raising to support student scholarships. Eileen
has served on the UAA Alumni Association Board
of Directors for three years.
The projects she has spear-headed or been
deeply involved with including: the annual Raffle,
the Seawolf license plate, the Pendulum Campaign,
partnering with Green & Gold Fridays, and recently,
the highly successful Alumni Curtain Calls. She
was instrumental in Denali Federal Credit Union
members having the opportunity to support UAA
through their use of the ‘Seawolf’ checks.
THE
UAA
COMMUNITY
T
hough Saradell Ard, 86, retired from the
University of Alaska Anchorage more than 20
years ago, two scholarships given in her name
continue to impact art students.
A leader in the Alaska arts scene for more than 30
years both as a painter and educator, Ard is the
matriarch of the university’s art department.
After a decade of teaching at Alaska Methodist University, now Alaska
Pacific University, Ard accepted an offer to help launch the art department
at the Anchorage Senior College in 1973, which eventually became UAA.
In her second year, Ard was appointed chair of the humanities division.
Over the next few years she added speech, drama, music and journalism
classes to the school’s offerings. She served as the Dean of the College of
Arts and Sciences from 1976-77. And retired from UAA in 1985.
The scholarships that carry her name, Saradell Ard Art Scholarships,
offer financial assistance for tuition and other educational expenses for
two full-time UAA students who are formally admitted into a
degree-seeking art program.
Saradell Ard
and Scholorship recipient
Chih-Chiang Lo
“I really feel one of the duties in life is to pass it on,” Ard said of the
scholarships her will provides in perpetuity. “That’s building for posterity.”
The first award assists a bachelor’s of fine arts candidate whose work
shows the most promise during his/her junior year for use during his/her
senior year at UAA.
The second award goes to an art major who has returned to college to
prepare for a second career. These scholarships are talent scholarships and
no consideration will be given to financial need.
During her many years with the university, Ard earned a reputation as a
leading expert on circumpolar Inuit art.
18 Accolades
Accolades 19

THE
UAA
COMMUNITY
U
Libby Roderick
niversity of Alaska Anchorage program manager for the Center for
Advancing Faculty Excellence Libby Roderick has spent years as a
songwriter, performer, writer and activist, but it’s 42 words she penned for
a friend in 1988 that have brought international acclaim to this
life-long Alaskan.
In recognition of her cumulative contributions, Rep. Ethan Berkowitz
presented her with a citation from the 24th Alaska Legislature on Oct. 22.
“Throughout her career, Libby Roderick has given back to Alaska and
to her many causes through insightful songs, workshops, performances and
commentaries as well as by her ever-present activism,” Berkowitz wrote in
the citation.
He said he’s known Roderick’s parents Jack and Martha Roderick since
her father was the Greater Anchorage Borough Mayor from 1972 to 1975.
“I picked her because she does good music for good causes,”
Berkowitz said. “I’ve always liked her music.”
Roderick is one of a handful of Alaska musicians who is as well known
internationally as she is at home.
Mostly, her notoriety centers on her signature song “How Could
Anyone,” which has been translated into several languages and performed
by countless groups worldwide.
The hopeful anthem has generated so much buzz that in August 2005,
CNN’s global news program Anderson Cooper 360 did a five-minute
segment on the worldwide healing impact of her song.
The Alaska Associated Press
followed that with a story in September
2005 that was picked up by media outlets
ranging from the New York Times to
ABC News and the Hindustani Times.
The CNN story prompted Roderick to
release a 10-song compilation CD titled
“How Could Anyone.” It’s her sixth
release, so far.
Over the years she’s received hundreds
of e-mails and letters from people
telling their personal stories about how
they are using the song.
“We have bags full of letters and
stories,” she said. “It just sort of took off
all over the world.”
Roderick said the song’s universal
message of belonging has
been used in every
conceivable format and
venue, from videos, films,
and slide shows to hospitals, prisons, kindergartens, marches,
peace gatherings, weddings, funerals and shelters.
The simplistic three-minute song has just 42 words, but
seems to contain the power to change hearts, Roderick said.
“How could anyone ever tell you
You were anything less than beautiful?
How could anyone ever tell you
You were less than whole?
How could anyone fail to notice
That your loving is a miracle?
“How deeply you're connected to my soul.”
“The message is people are beautiful and how can anyone
tell them something else,” Roderick said.
It speaks to a universal part of the human experience, she
said. Everyone has felt like they are “less than” others at some
time in their lives, Roderick said. More fame and fortune may
be on the horizon for this Alaskan. She said the producer of
the CNN piece wants to do a documentary about the impact
“How Could Anyone” has had on people throughout the
world. They are in conversations now with HBO to produce
a documentary.
T
he Business Education Building, affectionately known as BEB and a
UAA landmark, received a grown up new name in September -
Edward and Cathryn Rasmuson Hall - honoring the Rasmusons for their
matchless contributions to the University of Alaska, the state, and the
community of Anchorage.
Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich joined the Rasmusons, UAA
Chancellor Elaine P. Maimon, UA President Mark Hamilton, and the UA
Board of Regents at the re-naming ceremony.
Ed Rasmuson, a prominent Alaskan banker, now retired, is the chair of
the Statewide Advisory Board for Wells Fargo Bank and is also chair of
the Rasmuson Foundation, established by his grandmother in 1955. The
Foundation is one of the largest in the Northwest with $425 million in
assets that fund arts and culture, health and human services, community
development, and education efforts throughout Alaska.
Community service is an important value for the Rasmuson family and
both Ed and Cathy have served over many years on numerous boards and
committees. Ed is only the second Alaskan recipient of the Boy Scouts of
America Distinguished Scout Award recognizing Eagle Scouts who, after
25 years, have distinguished themselves in their life’s work and in sharing
their talents with their communities. He is the only individual to have
served on the boards of all three of the state’s universities: the University
of Alaska, Sheldon Jackson College, and Alaska Pacific University.
Ed and Cathryn Rasmuson
20 Accolades Accolades 21

S E A W O L F S P O R T S
L O O K I N G B A C K
UAA men’s and women’s
cross country teams
reach new heights
in 2005
Above: Freshman David Kiplagat leads the pack on his
way to victory at the UAA Invitational, Oct. 8 at
Kincaid Park. The Kenyan was GNAC runner-up and
Conference Freshman of the Year, helping the Seawolves
to their third NCAA berth in five years. Right: Senior
and Eagle River native Stacy Edwards races along with
freshman Laura Carr at the UAA Invitational. Edwards
earned the fourth GNAC All-Conference finish and third
Academic All-Conference honor of her career.
UAA cross country runner and skier, Mandy Kaempf maintained a 3.88 GPA in
sociology while becoming the first Seawolf skier ever to capture multiple
national titles when she swept the 5-K classical and the 15-K freestyle races at
the 2005 NCAA Ski Championships in Vermont.
A premier Seawolf basketball player, Peter Bullock (UAA ’04) captured back
to back All-West Region and All-GNAC honors
while at UAA. He was the first Seawolf to
make three Shootout All-Tournament teams
and left UAA with seven school records. An
honors student, Bullock majored in economics
and was twice his team’s scholar-athlete award
winner. Peter is considering a career in law
or education.
Year after year, UAA recruits and educates
talented student-athletes who prove they can
balance competitive and educational requirements at the college level. These
athletes are successful students who on average maintain a 3.0 grade point
average (GPA), or better.
This fall, UAA Athletics introduced The Seawolf Legacy – a $1,000,000
campaign to establish a student-athlete scholarship endowment for each sport.
22 Accolades
Seawolf Legacy:
Athletics Launches a $1,000,000
Campaign to Establish a Student-
Athlete Scholarship Endowment
Fund at UAA
I
n a sport where peaking at the right time is essential, the UAA men’s and
women’s cross country teams reached new heights in 2005.
After a men’s title and a women’s runner-up finish at the Great
Northwest Athletic Conference Championships both Seawolf squads
focused on the all-important NCAA Div. II West Regionals where the top
three teams in each race qualify for the NCAA Championships.
The Seawolves answered with their best performances of the year. While
the 14th-ranked men took third-place, it was the unranked women’s squad
who provided the drama, edging GNAC rival Seattle Pacific by just five
points for the final NCAA berth.
It was the second straight Nationals for the women’s program, while the
men earned their third trip since 2001. UAA became the first GNAC school
to send both its men’s and women’s teams to the NCAAs in the
same season.
At Nationals in Chino, Calif., the women responded with another
outstanding race, placing 12th, led by junior Mandy Kaempf’s 46th-place
effort. The men had a tougher time but still managed 20th-place, as freshman
David Kiplagat finished 47th. A total of 256 Division II schools
compete in women’s cross country, while 236 field men’s teams.
Coach Michael Friess, in his 16th year, was named GNAC Coach of the
Year for men’s and women’s team, honors he has earned multiple times.
But, he was most pleased by the individual achievements of his student
athletes and pleasantly surprised by the success of the teams.
“From the start, the team showed a willingness to work,“ Friess said.
While there are no guarantees, the chance for success is low without hard
work, according to the coach, and this year’s group understood that, helping
make them winners.
Meanwhile, the prospects for staying atop the GNAC are even better, as
Friess loses just one senior among the top five runners on both teams, and
reloads with another outstanding recruiting class.
UAA has an exciting and vibrant athletic program with 11 competitive teams
in a broad array of intercollegiate sports. Each year, athletic programs
improve, as does the competitive environment. Of the 151 total studentathletes,
UAA currently offers aid equivalent to nearly 75. A scholarship
endowment will ensure that funds are available now and in the future to
cover the tuition, room, board, books and partial fees of
our excellent student athletes.
This endowment will allow these funds to be
dedicated in perpetuity for the sole purpose of
providing scholarship assistance for athletes. The first
of four phases, the academic year 2005-06 seeks to raise
$1,000,000. Subsequent phases have goals of $1.5
million each.
UAA competes as a member of the National
Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) in four
conferences: the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, Great Northwest
Athletics Conference, Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association and the
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Contact Seawolf Athletics at 786-1250 to learn more about how to
support the Seawolf Legacy campaign.
From Left: Beth Leffingwell,
Robert Barnett, David Barnett and
Bernadine and Donald Barnett
Historic photo I.D. parties bolster
UAA’s archival photo collection
A walk down memory lane is easily triggered by a photo. But
when memories fade, a photo may be all that remains to tell
the story. And, as important as the photo is in preserving a
story, only when matched with written narrative is it
guaranteed to endure.
UAA archivists maintaining the university’s photo collection
know this only too well, and have recently begun a program to
help preserve the stories behind the photos they harbor. The
concept is simple, but successfully facilitating the process
requires lots of help from the community. Simply identifying
people in the historical photos is often a good start according
to Steve Rollins, dean of the UAA/APU Consortium Library.
In the past year, UAA and the College of Fellows Library Committee
have hosted four “Historic Photo ID Parties” to help identify the photos included in
the library’s large collection of historic Alaska photos. The “parties,” which have been
held on campus at UAA’s new library, as well as with the Pioneers of Alaska,Anchorage
Women’s Club, and at Chester Park, have offered the chance for many to connect with
old friends and with the memories captured in these photos. These gatherings have
resulted in the positive identification of more than half of the photographs reviewed.
“It is very important to identify as much as possible in the photographs found in
our archival collections. The more we know about a photograph, the more valuable it
is in documenting Alaska’s history and in preserving the past,” Rollins says. “A
documented photograph can be an effective teaching tool, as well as a valuable and
unique resource for historical or genealogical research.”
UAA will continue efforts to identify more photographs from its extensive archival
collections. All are welcome at the next Historic Photo ID Party on Saturday,April 22,
2006 at the UAA/APU Consortium Library from 2-4 p.m.
Recognize anyone?
Christine McClain (center front), with Alaska
Communications System (ACS) employees,
poses for the camera in this 1954 era
photograph from the Christine McClain
(1915-1989) Collection. If you know anyone
else in this photo contact Steve Rollins at
srollins@uaa.alaska.edu
Accolades 23

G E N E R O U S D O N O R S
Family Gives UAA $300,000 for
Education Scholarships
Largest Individual Contribution to
Promote Alaskan Careers
in Education
T
he family of Patty McManamin
donated $300,000 to UAA’s College
of Education to help fund 12 scholarships
a year for students pursuing a career in
education. It is the single largest
individual donation the university
has received.
The generous gift was made in honor
of the former Anchorage special
education teacher who died of breast
cancer in 2003. The Patty McManamin
Education Endowment was created by
her family in recognition of her passion
for teaching.
The first scholarships will be awarded
this spring.
Mary Snyder, dean of the College of
Education, said 85 percent of Alaska’s
teachers come from outside the state
right now.
“This will allow us to encourage Alaskans to become
Alaskan teachers,” she said.“Having good teachers is critical
to the economic health and welfare of the whole state.”
McManamin was born in 1952, while her parents were on
a business trip to Seattle. After graduating from high school in
Santa Barbara, CA, she earned a bachelor’s degree in theater
arts and journalism from Northern Colorado University
in 1974.
Upon returning to Anchorage, McManamin completed her
student teaching at Bartlett High School, but did not begin her
teaching career right away. She worked as a dental assistant,
small business owner, real estate agent, and a bookkeeper
before substitute teaching.
As a substitute teacher Patty had a preference for the
special needs programs. She loved special education and
returned to school to complete her master’s degree in special
education from the University of
Washington in 1992. She spent the next
10 years working for the Anchorage
School District as a teacher in the
adolescent unit at Alaska Psychiatric
Hospital.
Diagnosed with breast cancer on
Christmas Eve 1999, her four-year battle
with the disease included surgeries,
chemotherapy, radiation, and more
chemotherapy. As a testament to her
commitment to her job, she spent her
vacations undergoing the major
treatments in order not to interfere
with her teaching. Throughout her
illness, she rarely missed a school day,
and worked up until 10 days of her
Patty McManamin death, passing away on March 6, 2003.
The family’s $300,000 gift is the
largest individual gift made to UAA.
Patty’s husband, Jerry Ulmer, and her
brother John P. McManamin chose to donate funds from the
estate of her mother Mary Jean McManamin to create
the endowment.
“Patty brought true passion to her work and continually
demonstrated genuine care and concern for her students and
co-workers,” her family said.
Because of her devotion to teaching, her family created an
endowment in her name to provide scholarships for students
who might one day carry on her dedication to education.
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