58489 Accolades SP10-2.indd - University of Alaska Anchorage

accolades
SPRING/SUMMER 2010
A PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS
CITIZEN
UAA
making a difference arOund thE
World and close tO HoMe

FROM ThE EDITOR
CONTENTS
dear friends:
you’ll read in kathleen mcCoy’s article that “anyone walking,
biking or driving along the perimeters of uAA can recognize
the boundaries of a college campus.” though that’s true,
those who attend or work at uAA cross those “boundaries”
on a daily basis. this issue of Accolades focuses on the uAA
citizen, the individual that belongs to the college community,
but also to a much larger community: Anchorage, Alaska,
united states and beyond. throughout these pages you find
examples of how our worlds are interconnected, and how
partnerships—whether they be on the individual level or the
institutional level—are key to success. you’ll also read about
how uAA and its citizens strive to make a difference in the
community, through events and programming, through service
learning, through volunteerism and through fundraising.
i am so proud to be part of uAA, as an employee, an alum
and a life-long student. i hope after reading this issue of
Accolades you’ll feel a sense of pride for what Citizen uAA
is doing for our community, both locally and globally.
sincerely,
kristin desmith, mfA ‘99
editor
UAA as a
Public Square
2 8
8
More than just a
handshake: 8The UAA
community is rich, intertwined
and growing
UAA Accolades
Spring/Summer 2010
Volume 9, Number 1
18 24
borders:
Homegrown runner:
UAA’s Hallidie Wilt
18beyond the campus
borders: UAA’s citizens
offer a hand through community
service and fundraising
24 SPOTLIGHT
ON ALUMNI
29
Published by UAA University Advancement
Editor: Kristin DeSmith
Assistant Editor: Jessica Hamlin
Contributors: Jeff Oliver, Kathleen McCoy, Cassidy White and Ann Marie Wawersik
Graphic Design: David Freeman
All photos by Michael Dinneen unless otherwise noted
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
Toll free: 1-877-482-2238
E-mail: development@uaa.alaska.edu
To learn more about UAA, visit www.uaa.alaska.edu.

FROM ThE ChANCEllOR
dear friends,
in 2006, the Carnegie foundation named uAA a Community engaged institution. Although there are now 175
schools with this classification, uAA was one of the first 62 schools in the country to be officially recognized for
its commitment to collaborative interactions with community. teaching, learning and scholarship that engages
faculty, students and the community is very important to us. As you’ll see in this edition of Accolades, uAA has
deep partnerships in the community that are addressing the needs of Alaskans and
also deepening our students’ civic and academic learning. these are partnerships
and collaborations that benefit us all.
As Alaskans question how we are being impacted by changing economic
conditions, uAA’s institute of social and economic research is providing research
and analysis that helps policy makers and the public better understand Alaska’s
unique position.
uAA students are mentoring and acting as role models for the triO programs that
serve students who may not have thought of higher education as an option.
Our nursing students are helping refugees learn to deal with cold weather and our
student interns are helping Native villages prepare for energy audits.
throughout uAA’s campuses – Anchorage, kenai, kodiak, prince William sound,
and mat-su – we are working to provide collaborative interactions and related
scholarship with communities that will make a better future for us all.
i encourage you to read in these pages how intertwined uAA is with our many communities. then, please come
visit us. hear our debate team – ranked 12th in the world and second in the nation. Attend a theatre or musical
performance. listen to a public lecture on complexity. uAA offers experiences that will broaden your world and
inspire. go to www.uaa.alaska.edu to find out more.
We are very proud of all that we are doing at uAA and very thankful for all of your partnerships and support!
sincerely,
fran ulmer
Chancellor
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v
x
UAA as
a Public
Square:
Engaging the community
i
through the arts,
conversation and beyond
by Jessica Hamlin
j
e
b

Agreat city needs a great university, and the University
of Alaska Anchorage has increasingly fulfilled that
role for Anchorage. UAA strives to not only support students
but to build and strengthen organic connections with the community.
In 2006, the Carnegie Foundation officially named UAA as
one of only 62 community-engaged universities, in both classroom
and community connections. Serving as a Public Square for the
community is so important to UAA that we’ve made it one of our five
strategic priorities in UAA 2017, our 10-year Strategic Plan.
This story will explore just a handful of examples of how UAA
is working hand-in-hand with its community to bring fresh and
stimulating opportunities to students and the public.
A CENTER FOR THE ARTS: Theatre and dance
performances, art exhibits
UAA strives to enrich its community through a host of arts and
entertainment events. From theatre and dance performances, to a
range of art exhibits, UAA is truly a hub of arts and entertainment
for its community.
UAA’s Department of Theatre and Dance produces four
theatre performances and two dance performances each academic
year, providing acting and technical experience to students and
excellent entertainment options for Anchorage residents.
Connie Ozer and her husband have been season-ticket
holders to UAA theatre performances since they moved to Alaska
in 1992. “Wherever we’ve lived, we’ve tried to support university
theatre,” she said. “It’s always an adventure. We like theatre, and
we like people who take risks in theatre – that’s often what happens
in a university setting. We like what we’ve seen at UAA.”
Auditions for all theatre and dance performances are open
to the public; preference is given to students, but there have been
several community members involved in UAA performances in the
UAA Theatre and Dance professor Fran Lautenberger received a mini-grant to create a puppet show for
The Children’s Hospital at Providence.
Photo courtesy of UAA Department of Theatre and Dance
“Terra Nova” Fall 2009. Standing back row: Nathan Huey (Evans), Jaron Carlson (Scott),
bradford Jackson (Oates). Seated front row: Zach Gowdy (bowers), Joshua Kovach (Wilson)
past. Whenever possible, the department invites community members,
some of which are alumni, to serve as guest artists, exposing
students to new skills and talent.
Recently, Theatre and Dance professor Fran Lautenberger
received a $1,100 mini-grant from UAA’s Center for Community Engagement
and Learning to create a puppet show for The Children’s
Hospital at Providence. Lautenberger and a team of students are
working to design a set of puppets, and write and produce a series
of scripts. The skits, still a work in progress, will be about life in the
hospital to help children adapt to a new environment. “My goal is to
entertain the kids that are already
in the hospital and make new kids
feel welcome,” said Lautenberger.
The scripts will further be developed
for Anchorage elementary
school children to introduce them
to health care professions in
Alaska.
UAA’s dance program
produces two large performances
each year: Dance Ensemble and
New Dances. The program also
hosts two guest artists annually,
bringing the community a wide
range of artistic perspectives and
opportunities. Professional jazz
and tap dancer Katherine Kramer
visited UAA in fall 2009 to offer two
free workshops to the Anchorage
community.
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UAA dance professor and researcher Jill Flanders Crosby
extends beyond UAA’s and Alaska’s borders through her field work
in Ghana, West Africa and in Cuba. Her research traces how the
religious dance of the Ewe people of Ghana came to small towns in
Cuba, carried there by enslaved Africans forced to labor in sugar
refineries. Crosby demonstrates that religious rituals, including possession
by deities during community dance ceremonies, continue
as an important cultural and identity story for present-day Cubans.
Crosby and a fellow faculty member Brian Jeffery will open an artsbased
instillation in Havana, Cuba in December 2010 that’s based
on Crosby’s fieldwork in West Africa. The show will eventually be
presented in Anchorage.
Another dance faculty member, Leslie Ward, coordinates
dance workshops with the Anchorage School District, sponsored
by the Alaska State Council on the Arts Artists in Schools program.
She also led a “Super Saturday” workshop at a local Title I lowincome
school to incentivize dance and empower students, while
instructing teachers from at-risk districts to utilize dance principles,
concepts and exercises in their schools. She also works with Camp
Fire USA to train staff to lead movement.
UAA Dance Professor Jill Crosby dances at a religious ceremony with “Dashi” in
Dzozde, Ghana. Dzodze is an Anlo-Ewe community near the Togo border and is Crosby’s
main research field site.
The University hosts a series of art exhibits throughout the
year at its various galleries on campus. Artists from across the community
showcase their talent in UAA’s galleries, exposing students,
staff, faculty and visitors to campus to a compelling array of artistic
perspectives. The Student Union Gallery hosts an ongoing schedule
of shows that are coordinated, publicized, designed and curated by
students. It attracts approximately 7,000 visitors a year. Other galleries
include the ARC Gallery in the UAA/APU Consortium Library and
the Kimura Gallery in the Fine Arts Building.
Dr. Roger Tsien was the keynote speaker at the 2009 Freshman Convocation
event, sponsored each fall by the University Honors College.
A sounding board: Public
lectures and author readings
Since 2000, the UAA Campus Bookstore has hosted 332 free public
events, featuring a slew of writers, historians, health and political
science professionals, and even chocolatiers. “We really want to
provide a space for learning and creativity, and welcome the community
to campus,” said Rachel Epstein, the bookstore’s special
events coordinator. “There’s a lot going on here; it’s very exciting to
have access to so much information. The Bookstore is an informal,
comfortable place that nurtures learning, where people can come
and ask questions.” Events range from philosophical panel discussions
and lectures to poetry readings and candy-making demonstrations.
“There’s something for everyone,” said Epstein.
Epstein says these events are created to bring people
together to discuss relevant topics in today’s society. “We’re not
necessarily looking for answers, but are trying to foster conversation
and get people to think about ‘what does it mean to…’ or
‘what if…’?”
Several other departments and programs offer the larger
community a chance to engage through lectures and readings:
• Every summer, the Department of Creative Writing and Literary
Arts (CWLA) hosts the Northern Renaissance Arts & Science
Series, nearly 10 days of public readings by visiting writers.
• The Environment and Natural Resources Institute (ENRI)
sponsors two science-based public lectures each year, the most
recent one was on marine animals in a changing ocean.
• Annually, UAA hosts a public event as part of the Bartlett
Lecture Series. Past speakers have included Chuck Klosterman,
Angela Davis, Noam Chomsky, Jonathan Kozol, among many others.
• The University Honors College hosts public lectures as part
of its Freshman Convocation program each fall. Past speakers have
included Roger Tsien, Donald Johanson, Alan Lightman, Sir Paul
Nurse, among others.
• Other annual public lecture series at UAA include the
Polaris Lectures, the Undergraduate Research Symposium, the
Relevant Research lectures, the Complex Systems lectures, the
Diversity Month lectures, among many others.
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UAA Concert Board: (L-R) Andrew Cochrane, Alex Ede, Brennan Foote, John Kendall, Mariel Savage, Ben Altemus
Events central: UAA students program
for the whole community
UAA’s Student Activities team coordinates with various
University programs and local organizations to bring a diverse
range of events to the UAA and Anchorage communities.
The 2-year-old student-driven Campus Programming Board
expands UAA’s campus programming efforts, while giving students
the opportunity to develop leadership skills. It’s made up of
appointed students from representative campus organizations that
focus on developing campus-wide events. Students will research a
band, comedian or lecturer, look at schedule and funding opportunities,
and make a decision based on what they think will appeal to
other students and foster a sense of community at UAA.
Similarly, the Concert Board, comprised of seven elected or
appointed students, brings major entertainment to campus. Past
performers include Iron & Wine, The Mountain Goats, comedian
and actor Tracy Morgan and film director Kevin Smith.
The Concert Board also coordinates the annual A Cappella
Festivella, now in its 17th year, which brings outstanding national
vocalists to Anchorage. Last year’s event featured Grammy awardwinning
African American female a cappella ensemble Sweet
Honey in the Rock.
“You never know when one event is going to change someone’s
life,” said Michael McCormick, assistant director of student
activies. “There’s a great mix of students and community members
that come to our events; that interaction is really exciting. The connections
that people make here can change lives.”
Another hugely successful event is the annual Thanksgiving
Feast, hosted by Union of Students (student government) and
Seawolf Dining. Students provide financial support for the event in
addition to volunteering their time to help prepare and serve food.
The event sees everyone from students from out of state who don’t
have a place to go for Thanksgiving, to families in need of a warm
meal. The 2009 feast brought in nearly 400 people from the Anchorage
community.
accolades 5

AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE IDEAS: A place
for discussion and debate
UAA and neighboring Alaska Pacific University (APU) are partners
in a Ford Foundation Difficult Dialogues initiative to improve the
learning climate on college campuses, making them more inclusive
of minority ways of knowing and safer places for learning and
the free exchange of ideas. An outcome of the Difficult Dialogues
project is the UAA/APU books of the Year program. Now in its
fourth year, the program is a shared platform for raising contentious
issues that the community can explore together. It prepares
reader’s guides, hosts community forums and keynote lectures by
featured authors.
“We select books that get people talking,” said John Dede,
who’s overseen the program since its inception. Two books are
chosen each year based on an overall theme designated by the
UAA provost and the APU academic dean.
The 2008-‘09 Books of the Year, Growing Up
Native In Alaska by A.J. McClanahan and Yuuyaraq:
The Way of the Human Being by Harold Napoleon,
spurred many controversial conversations. To
increase basic understanding of the issues, UAA
and APU faculty wrote and published a companion
reader, Do Alaska Native People Get Free Medical
Care? (and other frequently asked questions about
Alaska Native issues and cultures), to continue those
conversations and give readers a better understanding
of Alaska Native cultures.
A spinoff from the Books of the Year program is
a series called The Warrior Forums, five roundtable
discussions and Q&A sessions programmed for Alaska
Native students. These discussions invite Alaska Native
youth from across the community to help decide
what they need to know for the 21st century and the
impact they can have on their communities. Topics
range from talking to elders, subsistence, healing from
intergenerational trauma and the application of traditional
Alaska Native ways of leadership versus modern leadership
challenges. The series has been developed by Native leader Larry
Merculieff, and is sponsored by the UAA Diversity Action Council
and the Alaska Humanities Forum.
Another UAA group that fosters dialogue is the Seawolf
Debate Team. Each spring, the team sponsors the Cabin Fever
Debates, UAA’s intramural debating tournament, to provide students
an opportunity to hone critical thinking and advocacy skills. All
debates associated with the tournament are open to the public,
focusing on topics of interest to the campus and Anchorage communities.
The team also hosts the Alaska State High School Drama,
Debate and Forensics tournament each year, and holds workshops
for local, regional and international debaters and teachers. The
competitive Seawolf Debate Team recently ranked 12th in the world
and tied for 2nd in the U.S. (behind Yale, tied with Harvard), in the
2010 world rankings for university debating programs.
books of the Year 2009-‘10, “Responding
to Climate Change in Alaska”
• The Whale and the Supercomputer: On
the Northern Front of Climate Change,
Charles Wohlforth
• Shopping for Porcupine: A Life in Arctic
Alaska, Seth Kantner
The 2010-‘11 books of the Year theme is
“Service in a Foreign Land.” The books
will be announced soon.
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GREEN AND GOLD SPIRIT: UAA athletes
in the community
Everyone likes to win, but Seawolf Athletics is about more than
just winning games and championships. It’s about Green and
Gold spirit, loyal fans, a group of award-winning student-athletes
and bringing together the Anchorage community.
As part of its long-standing annual Carrs/Safeway Great
Alaska Shootout, the Athletics Department created the “Adopt a
University” program. Anchorage and Mat-Su area high schools
are selected to host visiting Shootout teams. Students from the
participating high schools support the Shootout teams through
cheerleading and band. The department also organizes an
internship program for high schoolers to involve them with the
event by supporting sports medicine and sports information
aspects of the Shootout.
Each year, the department adopts a
non-profit program that focuses on health and/
or youth issues to raise awareness for their
cause. Support for this includes ad space in
programs, donated game tickets, announcements
at games and more. Past non-profits
include Alaska Literacy Program, Nothing But
Net, Shots for Tots, Alaska Special Olympics and
Children’s Miracle Network.
To say the athletics department is tied to
its community is an understatement. Nearly 100
corporate sponsors have a vested interest in
Seawolf Athletics. “Our partners take pride in
the successes of our athletics program,” said
Tim McDiffett, associate director of athletics.
In fact, many partners end up hiring studentathletes
after they graduate because of their
competitive nature, strong time management
skills and overall well-roundedness.
“Seawolf athletes are held to the same
standards, maybe even higher standards, as other students,”
McDiffett said. “We’re proud of our student-athletes and the way
they represent our university.” A quote displayed on the wall of the
Wells Fargo Sports Complex sums up the department’s philosophy
in just a few words: “Show class. Have pride and display character.
If you do, success will take care of itself.”
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee also coordinates
several outreach activities throughout the year, including the annual
Reading with the Seawolves and Skate with the Seawolves. Each
spring, about 50 student-athletes participate in the Reading with the
Seawolves program, which connects them with Anchorage-area
elementary school children to read their favorite childhood books.
Skate with the Seawolves brings together the Seawolf hockey team
and hundreds of UAA hockey fans for an outdoor skating session
at Westchester Lagoon. An estimated 500 fans attended this year’s
event held on Jan. 31.
UAA athletes participate in the Reading with the
Seawolves program at a local elementary school.
Pictured from right to left: Skier Jaime bronga,
hockey player Jared Tuton, gymnast Rebekah booth
and skier Sarah Tegeler.
UAA hockey player Jon Olthuis skates with young
Seawolf Aubrey Northcutt at the 2009 Skating with
the Seawolves event at Westchester Lagoon in
Anchorage.
Would you like more information on something mentioned in this story?
Check out the following Web sites:
UAA Strategic Plan 2017: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/chancellor/uaa-strategicplan-2017.cfm
Student Life and Leadership: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/sll/
Difficult Dialogues: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/cafe/difficultdialogues/index.cfm
UAA/APU books of the Year: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/books-of-the-year/
UAA Campus bookstore: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/bookstore/
Seawolf Debate Team: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/seawolfdebate/
UAA Department of Theatre and Dance: http://theatre.uaa.alaska.edu/
Jill Crosby Dance Footage: http://www.youtube.com/user/UAAnchorage#p/
a/7ED2F052376D2688/0/fH2G9rrRfcQ
Seawolf Athletics: http://www.goseawolves.com/
UAA Master Calendar: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/eventmaster.cfm
accolades 7

More than just
a handshake:
The UAA/Community
relationship is rich,
intertwined and growing
by kathleen mcCoy

Anyone walking, biking or driving along the perimeters of
UAA can recognize the boundaries of a college campus,
with special pathways for the ebb and flow of students and
faculty. And plenty of sports, fine arts, theatre, lectures and other
performance events draw local residents onto the large, wooded
campus.
But many people don’t realize how deep into the greater
community the University stretches. From research to practicums to
service projects, UAA’s students and faculty mingle with and work
alongside Alaskans in every sector of community life.
Whether its providing facts for voters and
legislators in shifting economic times, or mining a
nonprofit’s data bank so it can better tell its own story
of service, or responding to changing workforce
training needs, the university/community relationship
is rich, intertwined and growing.
This story samples five unexpected cases
of this vibrant cross-fertilization. In every one,
the payoff works both ways – the University is
enriched by opportunities beyond the campus, and
the community is enriched by the kind of skill and
expertise the university brings.
‘It’s the economy, Alaska!’
As the world recession continues to rock
the Lower 48, shuttering public services and
squeezing private pocketbooks, Alaskans have
held their collective breath, fingers carefully
crossed. With its federal government- and
resource-heavy economy, Alaska has experienced
more financial stability than many of its
neighbors to the south.
But complacency could be foolish,
thought some local bankers. Seeing a few
unsettling trends in local business, they
contacted Scott Goldsmith, an economist
at UAA’s Institute of Social and Economic
Research (ISER), to get a crisper picture
of Alaska’s economic future. With a controversial new oil
tax regime in place and a potential natural gas pipeline in the wings,
how solid is the state’s footing, they asked him.
Goldsmith is accustomed to briefing policy makers and
industry leaders on the state of Alaska’s economy. But with this
emerging concern, ISER launched a fresh initiative, called “Investing
in Alaska’s Future,” funded by a grant from Northrim Bank and a
partnership with UA Foundation.
Northrim made a three-year, $300,000 pledge to ISER for the
work because “[ISER] is a respected organization that has earned a
reputation for comprehensive and credible research and analysis,”
said chairman and CEO Marc Langland.
“It’s important for our managers and employees to understand
how Alaska’s economy works – and we believe it’s also important
for Alaska’s citizens to learn about the economy.”
Goldsmith’s first report, “What Drives Alaska’s Economy?”
demonstrated that the federal government and the oil industry together
sustain two-thirds of all economic activity in the state. If both
of these economic engines shut down, so would 235,000 jobs.
By taking a 30,000-foot view of the state’s financial engines,
Goldsmith showed that the oil industry not only generates 52,000
jobs in production, transportation, oil field support and construction,
but it sustains 30,000 state and local government jobs. Another
20,000 workers stay busy in the commercial
sector, thanks to oil.
If Goldsmith’s December 2008
report had a simple message, it was
this: ‘Dance with the one who brung ya.’
In Alaska’s case, that’s oil. This industry
has been good to Alaska in the past,
and it has another 50 years of generosity
to offer, Goldsmith said. Nothing else on
the state’s economic horizon is ready to
replace it. As the State Legislature settles
into its 2010 policy-making session, reconsidering
its oil tax regime is a likely agenda
item. Goldsmith’s analysis could prove
informative and pivotal.
Meanwhile, in the summer of 2009, First
National Bank of Alaska (FNBA) officials say
they observed a “lack of alignment” between
the state and the oil industry. According to
COO Mort Plumb, “We
were concerned that
One-third of all jobs
and 80 percent of
state revenues come
from oil–There’s a
good chance your
job depends on
petroleum.
oil companies weren’t
drilling here. Conoco-
Phillips wasn’t drilling.
BP was outsourcing.
Jobs were changing
from production jobs to
maintenance jobs.”
He and his bank
board worried the state
could be lulled into a false sense of security.
He felt Alaskans needed to distinguish
between oil tax money rolling into the
state’s bank account, and the less-secure,
private sector jobs the industry supports.
FNBA contacted Goldsmith to
produce a series of accessible brochures
“to educate Alaskans on the fundamentals of the economy.” These
newsletters liken the state’s economy to “a three-legged stool.”
Lose just one leg, and the stool topples.
Mort Plumb,
COO, First National Bank
of Alaska
t UAA Honors College student Alex West learned about community
organizing through a project for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
accolades 9

“One-third of all jobs and 80 percent of state revenues come
from oil,” Plumb said. “There’s a good chance your job depends on
petroleum.“
FNBA printed and distributed 82,000 of these brochures,
mailing them to their 70,000 account holders, state leaders and legislators
and posting them on the bank’s Web site. With a recalibration
of the oil tax structure under consideration, Plumb hopes the
economic analysis will be useful.
“I feel clearly that ISER and the bank are part of the reason
that this got some traction,” he said. “We want an informed public
engaged and asking hard questions.”
Plumb is careful to say the bank strives to remain apolitical.
“We didn’t hire ISER to get an opinion we wanted,” he said. “We
hired their services to give us the facts.”
UAA economics professor helps Covenant
House mine its data to tell its story
Covenant House, first opened in Anchorage in 1988, is the only shelter
for teens in the state. This social service agency has dutifully
gathered and digitized 20 years of intake data on its clients. But it
lacked the resources and expertise to dive into those numbers and
get a clear picture of whom it served, and what new trends were
emerging.
Nationwide, Covenant House has decided to create strategic
collaborations between its local branches and universities in their
towns. The goal is to more effectively tell the Covenant House story
The goal is to more effectively
tell the Covenant House story so
Americans truly understand the
picture of teen homelessness in
their communities.
Deirdre Cronin,
Executive Director,
Anchorage Covenant House
Dierdre Cronin, executive director for Covenant House, was so impressed with the
information revealed after UAA professors analyzed two-decades of the agency’s data
that she held a press conference to share the information with the community.
so Americans truly understand the picture of teen homelessness in
their communities.
Deirdre Cronin, executive director of Anchorage’s Covenant
House, came knocking at UAA’s door for help. ISER research analyst
Stephanie Martin heard that knock. She and fellow researcher
Alejandro Villalobos Melendez started crunching Covenant House’s
two-decades worth of numbers.
The project took several months, but there were significant
surprises buried in those columns. The agency’s own data revealed
that teens are staying longer and longer in the shelter. The number
of girls needing shelter is increasing. Half the girls have suffered
from abuse; many already have children of their own. More teens
are coming from rural areas, and even from outside Alaska, to use
the services.
The picture the numbers paint, Martin says, is dire.
“The drivers of this situation include the global economy,
migration trends. There’s nothing outside the system to stop it.
These folks, at the bottom, are going to get squeezed the hardest,”
she says.
The agency thought the information was so new and valuable
that it hosted a February press conference downtown to present its
latest trends to the public and members of the news media.
Covenant House plans to use the information to adjust its
programming, better tell its story and seek further funding. The two
UAA researchers are advising some modifications to the intake
form to facilitate better information-gathering in the future. Martin is
looking for additional funding to keep the collaboration going.
“It’s a good partnership,” she says with a
smile in her voice. “They needed our nerdiness!”
Industry: ‘We need workers, fast.’
University: ‘We can help with that.’
Daniel J. Popp can hardly believe his good fortune.
At age 20, and with just two college semesters
under his belt, Popp is working as a nondestructive
testing (NDT) technician at the Kuparuk oil field on
the North Slope – and earning upwards of $50,000
a year.
His dad heard about the NDT boot camp at
UAA and told him about it. It’s a new curriculum
designed to meet an immediate, unmet need for
corrosion detection workers, not only for Alaska’s
aging oil pipeline, but for any city plumbing or
piping system.
Popp signed up, and after 15 weeks of
learning pipe welding, relevant math and various
techniques for testing pipelines without causing
damage (including x-rays, ultrasonics. liquid
penetrants and radiographics), he graduated in
July 2009, stepping right into a fulltime job with
Kakivik Asset Management.
10 accolades

technicians.” Together, UAA and
Kakivik designed the boot camp curriculum
to produce graduates with a
leg-up on the job.
“The hope is that the boot
camp graduates will go to Level 2
(technician) very soon, and then run
their own crews,” explained Rhonda
Lamp, human resources manager at
Kakivik. “We can hire trainees all
day long, but it’s the more experienced
workers that we need.”
Lamp said Popp’s classmates
varied in age and experience. One
already had a master’s degree but
was switching careers; another had
an associate’s degree; several were
high school graduates. The second
boot camp is underway on the UAA
campus right now, with a class of 15.
For his part, Daniel Popp says
he couldn’t be happier, working his
two weeks-on, two weeks-off schedule.
He says the position’s high salary
was a main draw, plus he finds
the work “cool.” It involves vigorous
outdoor work, just his speed.
“I’m the kind of guy,” Popp
says, “who’d go crazy in an
office job.”
NDT boot camp students spend 15 weeks learning pipe welding, math and various non-destructive techniques
to test pipelines for corrosion without damaging them.
Kakivik (ka-KEE-vik), a Yupik word that means ‘tool pouch’ or
‘man purse,’ is a 10-year-old subsidiary of the Bristol Bay Native
Corporation with almost 200 employees. Kakivik manages the
ConocoPhillips pipelines at the Kuparuk and Alpine fields. Former
CEO Myrna Gardner anticipated a huge unmet need for NDT workers.
She championed partnering with UAA on a fast-track
boot camp.
“Our industry gets enthusiastic, qualified employees, our state
improves its capacity to hire from within … and the graduates are
on their way in a well-paid, skilled profession that they can pursue
both here in Alaska and around the world,” Gardner said.
Kelly Smith, director of UAA’s Welding & Nondestructive
Testing Technology division, quickly became a strategic partner
at UAA.
“Industry reached out to us,” Smith said. “We held industry
forums, and what they wanted was a different source for entry-level
Community service: Learning the lesson of
persistence
Not all university-community partnerships are as financially rewarding
as the one David Popp tapped in to. In her case, junior Alex
West, a civil engineering major and a track athlete, the lesson was
less tangible, but maybe even more valuable.
As an Honors College student, West needed to take a mandatory
community service class in the fall of 2009. Dennis McMillian,
president and CEO of the Foraker Group and a longtime community
developer, taught the class. West and her classmates had to identify
a project that called to them and make their own arrangements
to serve.
West hoped to use her engineering skills; she owed 24 hours
of service over the course of the semester. She found her task at
the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, where Joel Neimeyer
accolades 11

wanted someone to jump-start a project to prepare Native
villages for energy audits.
The project required phone work and paper work. The
job: Reach out by telephone to village leaders, find out the
names and contact information for owners and managers of
local community buildings. Get that person to prepare initial
paperwork that could help launch a future building energy
audit, then fax the material back to Anchorage.
West signed on, but the going was tough. While she
grew up in rural Soldotna, West had never been to any of the
villages she was calling. Often she had little or no information
to start her search. (“I Googled a lot to get names and
phone numbers,” she remembered.)
For all her hours of
work, West was only able
The longer term lesson
we teach is how to
assess an organization
that you want to give
your time to, how to
know and understand
its culture. Ultimately,
the outcome is leadership
development,
persevering in light of
the challenges.
to secure the complete paperwork
package from two
villages: Shaktoolik and
Nulato, though she worked
with people in a total of
six villages. For an honors
student accustomed to
maintaining high grades
and balancing a competitive
athletic schedule, this
didn’t feel like success.
She felt frustrated and
disappointed.
West drew from her
athletics background to
cope with the challenge.
She likened it to all the
training she puts in on
cross-country and track.
“You train and you train, you put
in the hours, but when race day
comes, you never know how
you’re going to do.”
For Dennis McMillian,
West’s analysis was right on the money. To him, Lesson One in community
service is: Manage expectations. Lesson two is: Persist.
West admits she learned a lot. She never considered giving
up, no matter how frustrating the circumstances. And she polished
her communication skills. “I learned to listen a whole lot more,”
she said.
McMillian says the class is really intended as a long-term
investment in the student so they can make a later community contribution;
a home run on a single service project isn’t the
ultimate goal.
“The longer term lesson we teach is how to assess an organization
that you want to give your time to, how to know and understand
its culture. Ultimately, the outcome is leadership development,
persevering in light of the challenges.
“I really focus not on changing the world,” McMillian said,
“but on changing (the students).”
Dennis McMillian,
President and CEO,
The Foraker Group
12 accolades
UAA Transitions is a pilot program that matches UAA students with local high school
students. The program orients the high school students to college and boosts the
confidence of the UAA students.
UAA students ease high schoolers into
college life with pilot program
A university is all about academics, discovery and empowerment.
Building self-confidence in students can be a key component to that
success story, and a brand new pilot program called UAA Transitions
– a collaboration among UAA, the Anchorage School District
and a federally-funded Educational Talent Search program known
as TRiO, aims to familiarize secondary students with college life
while simultaneously encouraging leadership and peer mentorship
skills in UAA students.
Think of it as a win-win for both sides. The high school
students meet college kids just one life step ahead of them, and the
college students develop leadership as they realize they actually
have knowledge and life experience to impart.
The pilot program first operated in the fall semester of 2009.
Fifteen UAA students mentored 30 area high school students. The
college kids oriented the high schoolers – not through leading building
tours, but through explaining the activities necessary to
succeed in college – registration, add/drop, buying books. They
played hands-on games that built trust and encouraged teamwork.

Marie Lowe, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Larisa Mironova, left, and Terri Coker, right, demonstrate a team-building
exercise for the UAA Transitions program.
The program continues in spring semester with most of the
same UAA student mentors, but a new set of high school students –
eight each from West, East and Bartlett.
Megan Tompkins is an Education Talent Search advisor working
out of West High four days a week. She hand-picked her eight
spring semester students based on their academic potential despite
no expressed interest in college. They come from low-income
environments and in many cases would be the first in their family to
go to college.
“These students have barriers to college; it’s not the reality in
their family,” she said. Learning the higher-ed ropes from near-peer
mentors has helped her students feel more connected, and start
examining the college landscape as a real possibility.
Tennessee Judkins, 20, is one of the returning UAA mentors.
When she saw the mentoring job advertised on campus – helping
high school students transition to college – she thought to herself, “
I can do this. I can really do this.”
Judkins grew up in Barrow. When she came to UAA as a
freshman, she left behind a town of 4,000 with not a single unfamiliar
face. Anchorage seemed enormous; UAA seemed unfathomable.
“I had to learn everything by myself. Applying, registering for
classes. I wandered the entire campus with a 3-foot by 2-foot map
in front of my face. I was scared to ask anybody for help.”
First semester finals were so intimidating, she imagined running
home. Instead, she had her mom send her some of her favorite
food, and she stuck it out. Now she’s doing very well in her chemistry
major, with ambitions to focus on chemical engineering.
Judkins says she’s been impressed by the high school students
she’s helped so far. “The first group was so curious and asked
a lot of questions. I was surprised at just how much they wanted to
know, really wanted to know.”
Marie Lowe is an anthropology professor on the research
team for the pilot program; she aims to identify more funding for
UAA Transitions so it can grow. She hopes it’s one answer to
Alaska’s lack of strategies to create a “statewide college-going
culture.”
“There are plenty of ways to acquire the hard skills for college,”
Lowe says. “What this class does is focus on the soft skills of
trust, leadership, self-confidence and teamwork that are often the
underpinnings of success.”
accolades 13

Carol Comeau
Advisory
boards abound
with a wealth of
wisdom at UAA
by Ann Marie Wawersik
Gloria O’Neill
Arliss Sturgulewski.
One of the things that helps keep UAA ticking is its
multitude of advisory boards, ranging from the
Culinary Arts Council to the Electronics Technology
Advisory Committee and from the Aviation Technology Advisory
Committee to the Seawolf Athletic Association Advisory Board.
There are approximately 700 community members on 50 different
advisory boards offering their professional expertise and
wisdom to the many schools and programs at UAA.
At the center of the board structure is the Chancellor’s
Board of Advisors; this group is comprised of a diverse body of
community leaders who act to advance the overall mission of
UAA, advise the Chancellor on strategic matters, advocate on
behalf of the University of Alaska and UAA and represent the
overall interests of the communities UAA serves. The advisory
board members also serve as supportive spokespeople for the
University; this year several members are starring in the television
campaign dubbed, “Community Talks Up UAA.” Anchorage
School District Superintendant Carol Comeau is one of those
stars, as are Gloria O’Neill and Arliss Sturgulewski.
An alumna with her master’s degree in public school
administration, Carol Comeau also has her superintendent endorsement
from UAA and was presented an Honorary Doctor
of Laws degree from UAA in May 2007. “I loved my classes in
Public School Administration. The faculty really challenged me;
they prepared me for my current career,” said Comeau. She
enjoys returning frequently to campus for presentations in the
Consortium Library and attending some of the lectures by outstanding
speakers brought in for a variety of events at UAA. “I
sincerely believe in the mission of UAA and the role it plays in
our community. I am so pleased with Chancellor Ulmer’s leadership
and her vision and passion for educating Alaska’s next
generation. I value UAA because our K-12 students have real
opportunities with our partnerships with UAA,” said Comeau.
14 accolades

Comeau believes it is essential to be an active participant in
community organizations, and is involved with the Anti-Gang and
Youth Violence Policy Team, Board of Directors for Anchorage
Economic Development Council, the Juvenile Justice Working
Group, the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Anchorage Chamber of
Commerce, and also UAA’s Institute for Social and Economic Research
Policy Council. Comeau has received recognition from many
community groups for her service to the Anchorage community.
Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC) President and CEO Gloria
O’Neill is also a UAA alumna and serves on the Chancellor’s Advisory
Board. “The mission at CITC is to assist individuals and families
achieve their endless potential. UAA builds community by connecting
people to their potential. This sort of enterprise is near and dear
to my heart,” says O’Neill. O’Neill’s many contributions to the Alaska
Native community and to the broader Alaska community include
past or present membership on the boards of the Alaska Federation
of Natives, CIRI Foundation, and Cook Inlet Housing Authority;
the community advisory board for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.; the
Anchorage Museum Building Committee; and the Alaska Mental
Health Board. In 2003, BP and the YWCA of Anchorage named her a
“Woman of Achievement.”
Under O’Neill’s guidance, CITC’s annual budget grew from $8.8
million to nearly $40 million, reflecting the expansion of innovative
services to assist people in Anchorage and the Cook Inlet Region to
achieve self-sufficiency. O’Neill’s contribution to UAA as a successful
businesswoman and alum of the University is immeasurable.
Another woman contributing her plethora of experience and
insight as a Chancellor’s Advisory Board member is former Alaska
State Senator, Arliss Sturgulewski. Sturgulewski received a B.A.
in economics and business from the University of Washington
and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree
from UAA in 1993. “My love for education was a gift from
my mother. As a ‘depression era farm girl,’ getting a college
degree was a struggle but oh so worthwhile. How fortunate
for me I can play a small role in bringing our community closer
to the richness that is UAA,” says Sturgulewski. In addition
to serving on the Chancellor’s Advisory Board at UAA,
Sturgulewski has served on many municipal boards. She was
elected to the Anchorage Charter Commission, the Anchorage
Assembly and to the Alaska State Senate from 1978 through
1992, when she chose not to stand for re-election. Sturgulewski
is a trustee for the UA Foundation and she serves on
the Advisory Council for the UA School of Fisheries and Ocean
Sciences in addition to numerous other statewide boards and
commissions.
UAA’s advisory boards are an important connection
to the community that we serve. “We were recently visited
by an accreditation team from the Northwest Commission
on Colleges and Universities,” says Chancellor Fran Ulmer.
“After speaking with advisory board members, the accreditation
team remarked how they had never experienced such
wide community support for a college or university before.
We are indebted to the many community members who give
their time, expertise and support of UAA through service on
advisory boards. The depth and diversity of leaders guiding
UAA with their advice is vital to keeping us responsive to the
needs of Anchorage and Alaska.“
UAA’s Advisory Boards:
Alaska Geriatric Education Center Statewide
Advisory Board
Alaska Area Health Education Center Steering Committee
Alaska Small Business Development Center
Alaska WWAMI Community Advisory Council
Alaska Performance Excellence Board of Trustees
Architectural and Engineering Technology
Automotive Technology Advisory Committee
Aviation Technology Advisory Committee
Bachelor of Science Technology Advisory Board
Career & Tech Ed Prof Develop Advisory Board
College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Committee
College of Business and Public Policy Advisory Council
Center Human Development (Consumer) Advisory Board
Chancellor’s Board of Advisors
Computer Information and Office Systems
Advisory Comittee
Computer Network Technology Advisory Committee
College of Education Advisory Council
College Preparatory & Developmental Studies
Construction Management & Design Technology
Culinary Arts Council
Dental Programs Advisory Committee
Electronics Technology Advisory Committee
Fire & Emergency Services Advisory Committee
Geology Community Advisory Board
Geomatics Council
Health, Physical Education & Recreation Committee
Heavy Duty and Diesel Tech Committee
Intercollegiate Athletic Board
Institute of Social and Economic Research
Advisory Board
Kachemak Bay Council
Kenai Peninsula College Council
Kodiak College Council
Library Advisory Committee
Mat-Su College Council
Med Imaging Advisory Committee
Med Lab Tech Advisory Committee
Medical Assisting Advisory Committee
Master of Public Health Program Advisory Committee
Nursing Education Advisory Council
Pharmacy Technology Advisory Committee
Project Management Advisory Council
Prince William Sound Community College Council
School of Nursing Community Consultant Board
Seawolf Athletic Association Advisory Board
School of Engineering Advisory Board
SWK Advisory Council Executive Committee
UAA Paralegal Studies Program Advisory Committee
University Honors College Advisory Board
Welding Technology Advisory Committee
To get involved in one of UAA’s many advisory boards,
please contact the program area of interest. Information
on UAA’s departments and programs can be found at
www.uaa.alaska.edu.
accolades 15

If you lived here, you
wouldn’t be a commuter:
UAA’s NON-RESIDENTIAL student population
by Jeff Oliver
It’s 7:15 on a Monday morning. The children of a student-mom
are dressed and sitting at the table eating breakfast while she
prepares lunches for the family. She later collects backpacks
and lunches, fastens zippers, makes sure all four hands have
gloves, and then heads out the door to catch the Anchorage
PeopleMover bus that takes all of them to school. About an hour
before class, she’ll arrive on the UAA Anchorage campus. Until the
middle of the fall 2009 semester, she would buy coffee and a roll at
the Starbucks in the Social Sciences Building. But now, thanks to
the vision of the staff in the Student Affairs Office, she heads over to
the Student Union Den to finish her homework and get free coffee,
bagel and some fruit before class. The program is called “The Daily
Den” and is part of a new department at UAA—Commuter Student
Services.
The Anchorage campus of UAA serves over 15,000 students
each semester and only about 1,000 of those students live on-campus
in residence halls or the Main Apartment Complex apartments.
Resident-students enjoy the benefits of walking to class and seeing
bulletin boards for events and activities around campus. They are
more aware of the services available to them such as the Student
Union gear rentals, the computer labs on campus, use of the Wells
Fargo Sports Complex and the Student Health Center. But these
services are available to all UAA students. And the majority of UAA
students are residents of the community at-large.
“Nothing is only residential at UAA,” says David Murdoch,
who wants to change the perception that campus services are
focused toward students who live on-campus. David was hired in
fall 2009 as the first Coordinator of Commuter Student Services at
UAA. His primary goals are to improve communication with commuter
students about student services and events, to create more
spaces for students to comfortably gather, and to make transportation
on-campus and to campus more accessible.
“Yeah, there’s a guy who lives down in Homer and flies into
Anchorage for a few days each week, takes classes, and then flies
home,” says David. “I met him in the Student Union one day—he
just needed a fax machine.” This meeting helped David to see that
even something as simple as providing a fax machine for students
in the Student Union makes their student experience more positive.
“It’s just one more thing they don’t have to think about,” he says.
Now, every morning from 8-10 a.m. and afternoon from 2-4
p.m., thanks to an idea as simple as providing coffee, bagels and
fruit in what would be an otherwise dark room on campus, students
who need a comfortable place to land for a couple of hours can get
something to drink, finish homework or meet and talk with other
students.
Gina Pasquale works for the Student Union and Commuter
Student Services and she makes sure there’s plenty of coffee when
“The Daily Den” is open. “People come in and you get to see what’s
16 accolades

”In life, we have to have a common bond, we want to belong,
– it’s the difference between ‘I attend UAA’ and ‘I’m a student at UAA’.”
David Murdoch, Coordinator of Commuter Student Services at UAA
up in their lives,” she says. “I like working the Student Union Info
Desk because I can point people to resources they need. But working
the Den is a little different, you have more time to get to know
people.”
“Conversation creates culture,” Gina says. Part of David’s goal
is to cross-introduce communities of students. “When we started
‘The Den,’ there were these four guys who were coming regularly,
they all lived in The Valley, and one afternoon I introduced them to
one another. Now they commute together.” David is excited to see
how these connections are making a difference in students lives–
even financially. “Riding together saves them gas money and frees
up parking spaces. So really, we’re also helping with the sustainability
efforts at UAA, too.”
David’s ideas come from a simple core value–belonging. He
uses the word “belonging” to describe how he sees that the culture
can be shaped and grown at UAA. “These students are connecting
around points of affinity,” he says, “I just want to create spaces
where this can happen. Basically, students need food, shelter and
transportation—then belonging.” David is still working out the details,
but plans to have a Web site for UAA students that will allow
them to post for a place to live, or that they have room in their car to
share rides into campus.
Creativity plays a big part in any non-profit job, even at a
university, and David is proving to not let any opportunity pass him
by to get students together. “Last fall I walked past the Den and
nothing was going on. Then, I saw the grills outside and it hit me.”
Last fall Student Commuter Serivces opened the Student Union
Den on Monday evenings, set up a TV, and fired up the grill for
Monday Night Football. “The first night I didn’t know how many
students would show up but we cooked over 80 hamburgers and
80 hotdogs,” David says, “We got the students who were getting to
campus early for their night classes mixing with the students who
were getting out of late-afternoon classes. They never would have
met otherwise.” The number of students was consistent throughout
the season.
The Monday Night Football idea worked so well that students
had almost continuous viewing opportunities of the 2010 Winter
Olympics this spring.
David is aware that not all students come through the Student
Union—there are students who come to class and then go back
home or to work, there are also students at University Center and
the UAA Aviation Center. This program is just beginning, and UAA is
looking forward to expanding Commuter Student Services over time.
The goal right now is to let students know there’s a lot going
on at UAA and that there are a lot of services available to them.
Students need to know they are part of a community, even as commuters.
“Someone else at UAA needs a place to live, needs a ride to
campus,” David says. “In life, we have to have a common bond, we
want to belong,” he says, “it’s the difference between ‘I attend UAA’
and ‘I’m a student at UAA’.”
For more information, visit www.uaa.alaska.edu/studentunionandcommuterstudentservices.com
or call (907) 786-1204.
accolades 17

Beyond
the
campus
borders:
UAA’s citizens offer
a hand through
community service
and fundraising
by Kristin DeSmith and Jessica Hamlin
U
AA’s Anchorage campus has more than 15,000 students
and over 2,500 employees. Though the campus is like a citywithin-a-city,
all of UAA’s citizens are part of a larger community:
Anchorage, Alaska, United States, North America, Earth. It’s
the connection to something bigger that motivates many Seawolves
to raise funds, provide assistance, donate time and talents to
those who need extra help. This article highlights just a few of the
efforts that UAA’s students, faculty and staff have been involved in
recently.
Sometimes throwing things does help
Every December Steve Godfrey, assistant professor of ceramics
at UAA, spends hours at his wheel throwing stoneware bowls for
the Empty Bowl Project. This annual fundraiser benefits the Bean’s
Café, a local organization that feeds and shelters homeless people
in Anchorage. By early January, Godfrey’s already fired more
than 100 of his handmade bowls, and is kick-starting his ceramics
students on their own “bowls for Bean’s” contributions. Committed
to helping the community in which he lives, Godfrey includes the
Empty Bowl Project in his spring class curriculum; the first assignment
of the semester: 20 bowls, minimum, for Bean’s Café. “I think
it is important to incorporate community service into the education
of my students. We all have busy lives which leads us to forget
that there people who are less fortunate who need our help,” says
Godfrey. “My students have always taken this project seriously,
creating bowls that are thoughtfully designed and imaginative.”
UAA students have been involved in this effort—like Godfrey—for
years, and many of them throw more than their assigned share for
the benefit.
The Empty Bowl Project is presented by the Anchorage Clay
Arts Guild, and UAA works closely with this organization to hold
a pre-event “throw-a-thon” in the campus pottery studio. Both
students and community members spend an afternoon throwing as
many bowls as they can manage; Bean’s Café provides potters with
chili and cornbread as a thank you for the day’s work.
This year alone, UAA expects to contribute more than 500
bowls for the event. In the past five years, the ceramics program
has donated more than 2,500 bowls and helped to raise more than
$40,000 for this important Anchorage organization.
18 accolades

We are all part of a community
The UAA Community Campaign is an annual fundraising drive that
helps support the non-profit organizations that provide important
social, environmental and cultural services to our community. Each
year UAA and its departments participate in raising money for the
greater community by hosting soup feeds, selling appreciation
certificates and baked goods, hosting online auctions, among other
events. In 2009, UAA employees raised nearly $70,000 during the
campaign.
Another component of this effort is to raise funds to help an
area school purchase necessary supplies and tools for its classrooms.
With the success of the 2009 campaign, UAA raised $1,380
to help support the students at Nunaka Valley Elementary School.
These funds will go toward purchasing a SmartBoard for their
teachers and students to use, to prepare them to be 21st century
learners.
Taking a cold plunge for a possible cure
A team of psychology students felt so strongly about cancer
research that jumping into an ocean harbor in the middle of winter
to raise funds for this
cause became an acceptable
activity. In fact, UAA’s
psych team dressed up
in green and gold for the
occasion, and even smiled
widely for pictures at the
2010 Polar Bear Jump Off
in Seward, AK. This team of
warm-blooded Seawolves
raised $3,300, and even had
a good time doing it!
A warm welcome for refugees
Eight nursing students in their senior year of study decided to
help out a group of newly-arrived-in-Anchorage Bhutanese and
Sudanese refugees. Having come from a warm climate, this group
of new Alaskans had never experienced winter. The students set
out to teach the refugees about how to fight the flu and how to stay
warm through the long winter. Students also organized a clothes
drive and collected jackets, parkas, boots, mittens, hats and other
cold-weather gear to outfit the refugees for an Alaska winter.
•
q The Architecture and Engineering Club hosted “The Home Run”
50-meter, 2K and 5K races around the UAA campus in October. The
event was a fundraiser for the club’s annual Habitat for Humanity
building project. This year, the club will help build homes in New
Orleans.
• Sororities Sigma Sigma Sigma and Alpha Sigma Alpha worked
together on a month-long Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. To
help support the fight against this disease, pink donation boxes for
bras were placed around campus. The sorority sisters collected
over 350 bras and raised $5,000 toward breast cancer research.
• Several student clubs have hosted donation tables and bake sales
to raise money for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. Funds raised are
going to the American Red Cross to provide immediate relief, such
as medical supplies, food, water and shelter; and Heifer International,
whose projects work for long-term recovery. Over the span
of just three days, student clubs raised nearly $2,500.
•
q The Human Services Club sponsored its annual “Ton in Ten”
food drive to collect peanut butter and jelly for the Food Bank of
Alaska. UAA’s community campuses also participated in this effort,
collecting over 2,300 pounds of food. Parking Services won the
competition by collected 649 pounds. They offered to get students
out of a “jam” and “peanut butter” them up by forgiving parking
violations with a donation.
Socializing isn’t the only priority
UAA is the home for more than 75 registered student clubs, sororities
and fraternities. This involved group of college students often
gives of their time and resources to serve both the University and
Alaska communities. Here are just a few examples of the good work
they’ve done for others during the past several months:
• Club Council and the Office of Student Clubs and Greek Life
hosted an annual Haunted Halloween Fun Night for children in the
Anchorage community, giving them a safe place to participate in
Halloween carnival-style activities. Thirty-three student clubs participated
in the event; over 2,500 children and their parents attended
the program.
accolades 19

It’s all in the
community
Kenai Peninsula College (KPC) has embraced service learning as
a method of teaching that expands the classroom experience by
incorporating community service into the course curriculum. The
intent is to increase students’ awareness of civic responsibilities
while simultaneously assisting the communities where they live.
KPC’s Kenai River Campus has teamed up with community organizations
on a project that blends art and science together and created
“The Art and Science of Climate Change.” The exhibition, on display
at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center, is the result of a collaboration
between the KPC Career and Community Engagement Center,
Sustainability Club, along with art and English faculty and students,
to provide a wide range of local perspectives regarding climate
change. The Roundtable Center for Mediation and Community Dialogue
will also collaborate on the project by hosting a community
dialogue encouraging local citizens to discuss the question of how
to build resilient communities that can cope with changing climate,
rising energy costs and economic instability.
by Cassidy White
UAA is a key player in the betterment of Alaska. At the same
time, Alaska and its communities also play large roles in
building strong and successful post-secondary institutions.
It shows through UAA’s four community campuses—Kenai
Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska-Susitna College and
Prince William Sound Community College. Located in areas around
the state, each campus connects with its community and builds an
important bond that makes an essential promise to the future. As
a team, UAA’s community campuses and their communities have
found the key to providing high-quality and high-demand programs
in order to craft an improved Alaska.
Spectators enjoy art from”The Art and Science of Climate Change”
exhibit at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center.
Kodiak College students get hands-on experience in boat building in
the welding lab.
Kodiak College (KoC) sits on one of the last remaining fragments
of the rainforest that once covered the second largest island in the
U.S. Its unique coastal environment and culturally diverse community
offer a variety of opportunities in and out of the classroom.
Community partnerships are critical to success of the Associate
of Arts in Technology degree and certificate programs offered at
Kodiak College. The nature of the technology program fosters
excellent partnerships with local businesses. Local employers
continuously request a variety of industry-related certifications that
allow employees to maintain or enhance skills, and often volunteer
their time and expertise with instruction on specific industry topics
in the classroom. The result is enriched student internship opportunities.
For example, the owner and employees of a local aluminum
boat building business often volunteer in the welding lab during
the aluminum boat building unit to provide hands-on assistance
and instruction regarding the technical aspects of boat building.
Since 2008, a total of four students have gained local employment
immediately following an internship with this boat builder and other
welding businesses in Kodiak. Additional students have advanced
in their current employment as a direct result of course completion
and industry-related certifications obtained through the technology
programs offered at KoC.
20 accolades

COMMUNITY CAMPUSES
In addition to local business and industry partnerships, in
2007 Kodiak College partnered with Kodiak Island Borough School
District (KIBSD) to develop additional dual credit offerings to
establish articulated Tech Prep Agreements to support the career
and technical training needs of students served in the local school
district, including village students. As a result, high school students
work towards the completion of a college degree or certificate
while simultaneously pursuing a high school diploma.
Matanuska-Susitna College (MSC) has recently launched two new
programs to enhance the future of its community. In the Renewable
Energy Occupational Certificate Program, students learn the fundamental
concepts and skills necessary to pursue employment or
gain further training as a renewable energy technician. The Valley
Community for Recycling Solutions’ (VCRS) is a non-profit organization
devoted to establishing recycling as a part of daily life in the
Mat-Su Valley. Its building a new ‘green building’ that’s main focus
will be collecting and processing recyclable material, but it will also
serve a brokerage for recovered resources, and a clearinghouse for
information. VCRS will continue to provide educational outreach for
schools, residents and businesses, promote wise waste management
and promote the benefits of the three R’s (reduce, reuse and
recycle). The new facility, located in Palmer, will house an area for
education, where MSC is looking into holding Renewable Energy
classes at the VCRS once it is finished.
Mat-Su student enrolled in the Renewable Energy
Occupational Certificate Program.
The Veterinary Assisting Occupational Endorsement Certificate
Program was recently introduced to help students learn how
to assist and support the veterinarian and the veterinary technician
in their daily tasks. Students study the fundamentals required for the
care, treatment and management of both the animals as patients
and people as clients. Students learn good customer service, communication
skills and the essentials of clerical responsibilities. They
also learn proper handling, nutrition and nursing care for both large
and small animals. This program allows students to gain experience
through companionships with businesses in the local communities.
Prince William Sound Community College (PWSCC) has multiple
partnerships with its community. One of them, the two-year associate’s
nursing degree program, was made possible because the
University of Alaska Anchorage – in response to the current nursing
shortage – developed partnerships with health facilities across the
state of Alaska. The community of Valdez has been very supportive
of the program. In addition to the nursing students working at
Providence Valdez Medical Center, they have also spent time
Kent Briske of the Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center shows a live
owl and educates elementary and junior high school students.
working with the local public health nurse, with the WIC program,
at the local elementary school and high school, the local day care,
infant learning center and at one of the community support groups.
The local physicians have welcomed the nursing students into their
clinic for part of their clinical experiences.
The Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum at PWSCC is making
partnerships in order to bring exciting and educational programming
to the Valdez community. This past October, Kent Briske from
the Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center brought live owls to the
Museum, and educated an audience of 130 people about the Great
Horned Owl and the Sawwhet Owl and their unique adaptations and
ecosystems. Briske also brought the owls to the elementary and
junior high school to reach a larger audience of school children.
More programs with the Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center are
planned for April and July, and other upcoming programs include
presenters from the PWS Science Center of Cordova, the National
Parks Service, and Wrangell Institute for Science and the
Environment.
Each of these community campuses have taken leaps over
time, in many forms, in enhancing UAA’s broad reach to all of the
communities of Southcentral Alaska.
accolades 21

FACULTY&STAFFAcColades
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council
for Advancement and Support of Education have named Dr. Ping-Tung
Chang, a math professor at Mat-Su College (MSC), as the 2009 Alaska
Professor of the Year. Dr. Chang, who’s been a professor at MSC for 23 years,
is one of 38 state-level winners in the nation honored for their influence on
teaching and their commitment to undergraduate students. He was selected
from more than 300 top professors in the United States.
t Kaela Parks, Director of Disability
Support Services, co-authored a chapter
in the newest publication from NASPA -
Student Affairs Administrators in Higher
Education, More Than Listening: A
Casebook for Using Counseling Skills in
Student Affairs Work. Kaela’s chapter
is entitled, “Returning Veteran with an
Acquired Disability: Laurie,” and she coauthored
it with Nona L. Wilson and Ruth
Harper. The chapter is a well-written
and insightful look into the challenges
many disabled veterans face transiting to
college after life in Iraq.
t Dure Chang, UAA Community &
Technical College’s Tae Kwon Do
instructor, won a silver medal at
the World Taekwondo Foundation
Poomsae Championships in Cairo,
Egypt. This is the third straight
time she has claimed a medal at
this meet.
The Alaska Center for the Book
(ACB) announced that Carol
Swartz, director of the Kenai
Peninsula College Kachemak Bay
Campus, is the recipient of a 2009
Contributions to Literacy in Alaska
award for her work in establishing the Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference.
This nationally recognized writing conference features workshops, readings
and panel presentations in fiction, poetry, nonfiction and the business of
writing. Swartz is one of four winners selected to receive the 2009 award.
Dr. Alan Boraas, KPC anthropology professor, received one of the top four
national awards in December 2009 from the Washington Association of
Professional Anthropologists’ 2009 Competition for the Praxis Award for
Excellence in Professional Anthropology. Boraas was awarded for his work
on preserving an Alaska Native language (Dena’ina Athabascan) via the
creation of a complex Web site that allows self-learning of this language
entitled “Kahtnuht’ana Qenaga: Perserving and Renewing an Alaska Native
Language—Dena’ina Athabascan.” He also received this year’s University
of Alaska Foundation’s Edith R. Bullock Prize for Excellence for his 35 years
of research and publication on the history and culture of the Dena’ina people
on the Kenai Peninsula and Russian culture.
Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya, UAA associate professor, was the recipient of
the University of Alaska Foundation’s Harold T. Caven Professorship. The
two-year professorship includes a $20,000 award. This award is intended
to enable Bhattacharyya to perform activities and projects designed to
enhance the field of business and finance at UA beyond those associated
with his faculty assignments. Bhattacharyya’s proposed activities include
developing teaching material on personal finance tailored toward high
school students as well as developing a primer for students of business on
mathematics and statistics.
Top row (l-r): Jake Anders, Diane Hanson, Paul White.
Bottom row (l-r): Roberta Gordaoff, Margan Grover, Erica Malo.
p Diane Hanson UAA assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology,
was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation for $430,063
to fund an archaeological survey for upland sites on Adak Island in the
Aleutian Islands and excavations to determine their function. The grant
supports Erika Malo’s graduate thesis work that will include the production
of an educational film on archaeology in the Aleutian Islands, Jake Anders’
graduate thesis research to develop a predictive model of upland site locations
using GIS, and Roberta Gordaoff’s undergraduate research. Assistant
professor Dr. Paul White and Margan Grover (M.A., UAA alumnus) will be
participating in the project and investigating a historical site on western
Adak that may be early Russian. The grant funds three years of research on
the Adak survey project.
22 accolades

STUDENTAccoladEs
u Mark Ferrell, (Natural Sciences major)
was recently awarded an Experimental
Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
(EPSCoR) Undergraduate Student
Research Award for his work testing
water quality and its social impacts.
Ferrell received a stipend for the spring
and summer semesters. He is expected
to graduate May 2011.
q Tyhesia White (B.S., Nursing) wrote a grant as her senior project to help
facilitate access to health care with a mobile vaccine clinic for the rural
communities of Sutton, Chickaloon, Long Rifle and Eureka. The“Up the Highway!”
Project, created by White, is a partnership between MASCOT (transportation
system in Mat-Su), Mat-Su Public Health Nursing Center and UAA
School of Nursing. Prior to
the “Up the Highway!” mobile
vaccine clinic, residents
in this area did not have
easy access to the H1N1 flu
vaccine, immunizations and
health education information
about tobacco cessation,
diabetes, hypertension, and
heart disease. The MASCOT
mobile clinic accommodates
four dispensing tables, two
patient information stations,
a reception area and a
check-out station. Through White’s efforts these rural Alaska communities
have improved access to health care. She graduated December 2009.
A team of two students in UAA’s College of Business and Public Policy finished
first place in the world-wide Fall 2009 Capstone Business Competition,
a business simulation challenge in which universities and colleges compete
to see who can run the most profitable and productive company. To earn the
top position in the Cumulative Profit and Stock Prices categories of the competition,
undergraduates Elena Reierson and Chelsey Homan beat out 788
other teams from colleges and universities in the U.S. and across the globe.
The UAA Dance Scholarship Selection Committee selected Heather
Richardson as the recipient of the Spring 2010 Chandler Braley Memorial
Scholarship. Richardson, a Dance minor, has stayed consistently involved in
the UAA Dance Club. She has been a notable member of UAA Dance Ensemble
for two years and will again be representing the UAA Dance Program
at the American College Dance Festival Northwest Regional Conference in
Utah this spring.
p The Northern Light, UAA’s campus newspaper, won an Associated
College Press Pacemaker award for excellence in American student journalism.
Given annually since 1927, the Pacemaker is one of college journalism’s
oldest and most prestigious awards for general excellence. The paper was
awarded in the overall four-year university, non-daily newspaper category
at the 88th Annual ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Austin,
Texas in October
2009. It was one of 13
winners, out of 200
papers across the
nation.
t Kato Ha’unga
(UAA economics
major) created The
Northern Lights
Library project and
has collected more
than 3,000 books with
hopes of building a
library in Tonga after
the deadly tsunami last year. On Sept. 29, 2009 a magnitude 8.0 earthquake
beneath the South Pacific triggered a series of tsunamis that hit the Samoan
and Tongan islands. The monster waves killed more than 200 people and left
thousands homeless. One book at a time, Ha’unga is building the library on
the Tongan island of Ha’apai, in her ancestral homeland.
t UAA’s Seawolf
Debate Team has,
for the first time,
been ranked in the
top 20 programs
in the world for
university debating
programs and is
tied for second
place in the U.S by
the World Debating
Web site. The
team’s strong showing puts them in excellent company, as the top 20 is populated
by such major institutions as Oxford, Cambridge, Yale and Harvard.
The rankings, based on the performance of a university’s debating program
over the past five years at the World University Debating Championships,
are the most comprehensive rating system in intercollegiate debating.
accolades 23

S P O T LIGHT O N
ALUMNI
Entrepreneurs at heart
Tim & Jennifer Schrage
Former Nordic skiing superstars and
successful entrepreneurs Tim ‘92
and Jennifer ‘93 Schrage are taking
Anchorage by storm. The couple
met while competing together on the
Dimond High School ski team, but
briefly parted ways when Jennifer
decided to ski for the University of
Utah and Tim opted to stay home and
ski on scholarship for UAA. The pair
reconnected when Jennifer moved
back to Alaska to join the UAA ski
team.
Both Schrage’s have deep
Alaska roots. Jennifer is the
daughter of acclaimed Alaska
artist Marianne Wieland and is the
granddaughter of Buell A. Nesbett,
Alaska’s first Supreme Court Justice.
Tim, also a lifelong Alaskan, spends
his free time flying Alaska’s skies as
a private pilot and serves as president
of the Anchorage Downtown
Rotary. The Schrage’s are raising
their two young sons in Anchorage
while staying active in the outdoor
activities that brought them together.
Tim graduated in ’92 with a
B.B.A. in Management and Jennifer
earned a B.A. in Journalism and Public Communications the year
after. The high school sweethearts got engaged in ’93 and tied the
knot in ’94.
Entrepreneurs at heart, the young couple hit the ground running
and purchased a liquor store soon after their wedding. Over
the course of 10 years, the Schrage’s built three more liquor stores
before selling the chain and moving onto their next venture. “We’ve
always had an entrepreneurial spirit,” said Jennifer. The duo now
owns Anchorage’s four Xpress Lube locations, and established a
contracting company, Signature Land Services, in 2008. They’re also
very involved in the acquisition and development of commercial and
residential real estate properties.
24 accolades
“Alaska is one of the last places, it seems, that you can make
your way as an entrepreneur,” said Jennifer. “You can self-start,
make your contacts and grow your connections. Anchorage is a
small town community with a big town advantage.”
As former UAA skiers, the Schrage’s take great pride in Seawolf
athletics. “Having the community rally around UAA is exciting,”
Jennifer said.
The Schrage’s are active in many charitable community
organizations and are regular contributors to UAA. “Both Tim and I
got a great education at UAA and giving back to the place we have
so much pride in is essential.” After hearing about UAA’s exploding
number of alumni, nearing 40,000 now, Jennifer said, “Can you
imagine if we all gave back? We all play a part in moving UAA
forward.”

Learning to give back
Ian Wheeles
Big things are in store for Ian Wheeles ‘04. A catalyst for the Anchorage
community, this young leader is an eager professional and
an active volunteer and philanthropist.
After a stint at a college Outside, Wheeles came home to
pursue a career in law and enrolled in UAA’s political science program.
“Anchorage is my hometown; I’ve had Seawolf spirit since I
was a kid,” said Wheeles.
After earning his B.A., Wheeles attended law school in Idaho.
He returned home to work as an associate attorney and started his
own practice in ‘09. “I’ve always loved the idea of building my own
business.”
Ultimately, Wheeles went to school to help people. He believes
in giving as much as possible and makes it a priority to share
his expertise with others. He established a scholarship at UAA
to help students facing social or economic barriers achieve their
dreams of a college education and, in turn, help others.
Wheeles has done a lot for a 27-year-old, and he doesn’t plan
to stop anytime soon. “I’ve always been interested in politics and
plan to run for governor of Alaska someday,” he said. He also plans
to try his hand in real estate investing and recently purchased his
first four-plex.
Education is life
Kristina Bellamy
You have to be a go-getter to be an elementary school principal at
the age of 32. As principal of Tudor Elementary School, Kristina Bellamy
‘08 is the youngest leader in the Anchorage School District’s
elementary division.
After earning two degrees Outside, the lifelong Alaskan came
home to attend UAA for her second course of graduate studies. Bellamy
earned her M.Ed. in Educational Leadership in 2008.
“I use the skills I learned at UAA every day,” she said. “To
have a quality institution of higher learning is essential to the
growth of our city and state. UAA is the pulse and lifeline of
Anchorage.”
Bellamy is deeply rooted in the community as a volunteer and
business owner. She owns Simply Stunning LLC, which specializes
in modeling, pageantry and event planning. She’s also vice
president of the Anchorage Urban League Young Professionals and
president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Xi Psi Omega Chapter.
This go-getter attributes her successes to the many people
who have helped her get to where she is today. “Someone invested
time and energy in me, and I want do the same for someone else,”
she said. “It’s my responsibility to pay that forward for the betterment
of our community.”
accolades 25

spotlight on ALUMNI
www.uaaalumni.org
Lifelong learner
Doug Lottridge
Doug Lottridge ‘84 has more degrees than you can shake a stick at.
With a B.S. in mathematical statistics from Stanford and an M.B.A.
from George Washington University, he worked in “the early days of
computers” doing programming for IBM.
Lottridge then earned his J.D. from UC Berkeley and came
to Alaska for a job. After many years of practicing law, he became
“burnt out” and decided to enroll at UAA for a change of pace.
“My situation coming into UAA was a little different,” said
Lottridge. “I already had undergraduate and graduate degrees and
an established career.” Lottridge earned a B.A. in mathematics and
a teaching credential in ’84. He served term as president of the UAA
Alumni Association and returned to practicing law in Anchorage.
Lottridge now resides in Bellville, Texas, where he remains
active in his community. A die-hard UAA athletics fan, Lottridge returns
to Anchorage every year to attend the Great Alaska Shootout
basketball tournament.
“I have a fond place for UAA in my heart,” Lottridge said.
“Having a fine educational institution is very important to the community,
not only for the academic programs it offers, but for the
opportunities it provides its community.”
Perseverance pays off
Ginny Carney
Born into an impoverished Cherokee/Appalachian family in the
mountains of eastern Tennessee, Ginny Carney ‘90 grew up without
electricity, indoor plumbing or transportation, and had little to
occupy her childhood years. “I often absorbed myself in a set of
children’s encyclopedias that my parents had somehow managed to
purchase,” she said. By the age of four, she had learned to read and
quickly developed an insatiable desire to learn more about other
countries and cultures. “I decided early in life that I would devote
my life to working with children.”
Although her family never had enough money for necessities,
Ginny’s parents made sure that she and her siblings stayed in
school. “They always encouraged us to do our best academically.”
In ‘59, Ginny, the oldest of five children, became the first in her
family to graduate high school. She worked two jobs to put herself
through two years of college before getting married at age 22.
Three babies and several years later, Ginny earned a B.A. in
English, but her dream of working with children led to fostering 16
additional children, putting her education on hold.
Her husband’s job with the U.S. Air Force brought the Carneys
to Anchorage in ’75. Ginny enrolled in the nursing program at the
Anchorage Community College, but had to move back to Tennessee
midway through the program. She continued her studies and earned
an A.A.S. in nursing from Cleveland State Community College; she
quickly began working as a pediatric nurse.
The family returned to Anchorage in ’80 where Ginny worked
as a registered nurse until they adopted four pre-school children
orphaned by a former foster daughter. In ’88, she enrolled in
graduate school at UAA and completed her M.A. in English in ’90.
She pushed on and completed a Ph.D. in English at the University of
Kentucky in ‘00.
She currently serves as president of Leech Lake Tribal College
in Cass Lake, Minnesota, which employs about 70 faculty, staff and
administrators, and is home to 250 full-time students.
“I am where I am today as a direct result of the support and
encouragement I received from my professors and fellow students
at UAA,” said Ginny. “UAA’s influence continues to reach far
beyond the borders of the Great Land as I, like hundreds of other
graduates, attempt to build intellectual capacity in my own community
and pass on the leadership skills I learned at UAA.”
26 accolades

“Everyone should have an
opportunity to continue their
education. Grants and scholarships
allow that to happen.”
Greetings Fellow Alumni!
Your Alumni Association Board of Directors has been focused on
making the Association a more significant part of our community,
and more relevant to its constituents. We feel the time has come
for the now nearly 40,000 strong alumni of this University to
join as an independent voice to help demonstrate the impact our
University has had on Alaska, and its importance to our future.
We are accomplishing this through our efforts in the areas of advocacy, scholarship and events.
I am very proud of our committees’ accomplishments in each of these areas. For example, we
recently held our first legislative reception at the home of Director Skye McRoberts, an event we
expect will develop into an important annual opportunity to interact with Anchorage area state
legislators ahead of the legislative session. And we are planning a fundraising gala during homecoming
this fall, which will celebrate successful UAA alumni and help raise money for important
student scholarships. This gala will be a signature annual event of the Alumni Association. Your
Association also maintains a Web site (UAAAlumni.org), has a monthly e-newsletter and contributes
to this publication to update our constituent alums.
Of course, it is difficult for a fully volunteer board to accomplish the aggressive goals we have set
forth without sustainable funding. For this reason, the Association Board voted to move back to
dues-based membership. Developing the membership campaign and a dues-based model requires
serious planning, and has been the most significant focus of the Association Board this past year.
We plan on rolling out the membership campaign over the next few months, and we’re looking
forward to this being the biggest Association effort since our inception.
Please join! Membership dues have purposely been kept low. Our goal is to grow and sustain
membership. Dues will provide important support for our Association, but we’ll still need a lot of
volunteer effort to accomplish our goals. Please also consider joining one of the Association
Committees; we will welcome your involvement. Please return the form on page 28 to receive
additional information. I look forward to seeing you soon!
Yours for UAA,
Jeff Roe
2009 -10 President
UAA Alumni Association
Calendar
UAA Master’s Degree Hooding Ceremony
Saturday, May 1, 2010, Wendy Williamson Auditorium, UAA
UAA Commencement and Alumni Association Welcome Breakfast to Graduates
Sunday, May 2, 2010, Sullivan Arena, Anchorage
UAA Summer 2010 Session
May 17-July 31, 2010
Freshman Convocation/Campus Kick-Off
Saturday, August 21, 2010, UAA Anchorage Campus, Cuddy Quad
Green and Gold Gala - A Celebration of UAA Alumni
October 9, 2010, Marriot Hotel, Anchorage
Homecoming 2010
October 11-17, 2010
“It is an important part of my life, and
I believe in the power of education.”
WORD ON THE STREET
Straight from the mouths of alumni
The UAA Office of Alumni Relations recently sent
out a survey to alumni asking why they make
UAA a priority in thier charitable giving plans.
Here’s what they had to say...
“Having a robust
university contributes to the
economic viability of Anchorage
and helps to maintain a
vibrant city.”
“UAA made a significant difference in the
quality of my life. My experiences as a
student at UAA improved my self-confidence
tremendously. The people and ideas I
encountered at UAA enriched my personal
and intellectual life beyond measure.”
“I want to
help others
have the same
opportunities
that I did.”
“My experience at
UAA, though it was
many years ago, was
positive and that
impression
has endured.”
“I had many wonderful experiences
that allowed me to flourish while
obtaining my education.”
Find out how you can give back to
UAA at www.uaa.alaska.edu/giving.
accolades 27

Number of UAA
graduates in 1983
1,958
Number of UAA
graduates in 2009
254
Number of certificate and
degree programs offered
First class of UAA Honors
College graduates
2002
22:1
Total UAA alumni
1,780
Total number of individuals
who have made a charitable
gift to UAA
67
Students benefiting from
the UAA Alumni Association
scholarship
868 22,960
Student-to-faculty
ratio in Anchorage
37,857
UAA
BY THE NUMBERS
1983
Year the UAA Alumni
Association was established
OTHER
States with
the greatest
number of
UAA alumni
1,783
Texas
933
Washington
California
1,068
Total number of
UAA alumni living and
impacting their
communities in Alaska
Number of UAA faculty
593
Number of UA Scholars
who have achieved a degree
from UAA
810
Number of countries or
territories outside the U.S.
where UAA alumni live
10
$98,500
Amount of UAA Alumni
Association scholarships
awarded
Alumni Information Update Form Stay connected with UAA – Update your information!
Have you moved? Have you had a career of family
change? Please tell us what’s going on in your life. Share
your news and update your information by filling out this
short and easy form.
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Last Name:
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graduated, please enter your former name so that we can update
your information.
Share your news:
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Address:
City:
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o I’m interested in joining the Alumni
Association. Please contact me.
o I’d like to receive the alumni e-newsletter
The monthly alumni e-newsletter provides you
with UAA alumni-specific news and events. You
can subscribe or unsubscribe at any time.
o Please subscribe me to the Seawolf Weekly
The Seawolf Weekly is a weekly e-mail newsletter
sent from University Advancement featuring news
about UAA, research and upcoming events. You
can subscribe or unsubscribe at any time.
o Please send Accolades to me electronically
Accolades, UAA’s alumni magazine, is produced
twice annually. By selecting this box, you’ll receive
Accolades as an e-mail with a link to the PDF and/
or HTML version of the magazine. This saves UAA
money and helps reduce our carbon footprint.
We look forward to sharing your successes with
your fellow alumni and we may use the information
you share with us in an upcoming publication.
28 accolades

SEAWOLF SPORTS
When Hallidie Wilt first found out
she’d made the UAA cross
country team, she was thrilled
just to get the shirt. “I found making the
team to be very exciting and was happy,”
recalls Wilt. She didn’t have particularly
ambitious expectations for her future running
career.
Growing up on a tiny island in the
heart of the Aleutians, Wilt learned that
joining sports teams gave her a chance
to travel off Unalaska. She participated
in swimming, basketball, volleyball and
cross-country. She found she was a natural
at running, and could comfortably keep
up with her big sister on training runs for
high school track competitions.
So when she came to UAA she
thought she’d try out for the team. UAA
cross-country coach Michael Friess, who
was named women’s GNAC Coach of the
Year and the women’s West Region Coach
of the Year, has an eye for talent. He could
tell Wilt had natural skills, but found she
wasn’t fit enough when the team started
training. Wilt acknowledges that she was
out of shape for collegiate running. But
she embraced the exhaustively steady
schedule of attending class and training,
and after a month she was able to keep
up with the rest of the team.
Wilt is now a junior and she certainly isn’t slowing the
team down. The Seawolf women finished the regular 2009
season undefeated. Then they went to Yakima, Washington
and won the GNAC meet. It was the first conference championship
for Seawolves’ women’s cross-country team in school
history. Wilt finished the six-kilometer race in sixth place
with a time of 22 minutes, 16 seconds.
At the NCAA West Region Championships two weeks
later, Wilt finished third out of 161 runners, earning all-West
Region honors and shaved 30 seconds off her GNAC time.
All five Seawolf scorers finished within 35 seconds of each
other, winning the title and All-West Region honors. This sent
the Seawolves into nationals without a loss.
At the NCAA Championships, the Seawolves didn’t
finish as fast as they had hoped. Still, the team posted a
program-best fifth place finish and Wilt finished 45th overall.
At the end of the season, UAA recorded a program-best No.
3 ranking in Division II.
Home grown runner:
UAA’s Hallidie Wilt
by Ann Marie Wawersik
Today, Wilt gets excited about more than just the cool
team jersey. This promising young runner who came from a
small Alaska village has made herself into a champion. When
asked about her long-term plans for running, Wilt isn’t boastful
or aggressive. “I’m just going to see where it takes me,” she
said. When asked how her friends would describe her, the often
quiet and hesitant Wilt did not hold back, “Awesome!”
Assistant Coach T.J. Garlatz said, “Hallidie can be quiet,
but when she believes in something she can be very strong. If
she speaks up to say the team really needs to dig in that day,
the other girls definitely listen to her. If a certain pace needs to
be kept on a run, she’ll set it. She was probably our strongest
leader this last season, although all the others did take their
turn, too.”
From one of the most remote communities in Alaska, UAA
extracted a little nugget of gold by selecting Wilt for the cross
country team. It looks like her friends are right about her – she
is awesome!
accolades 29

Office of Advancement
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Drive . Anchorage, AK 99508
Non-Profit
Organization
US Postage
PAID
Permit No 107
Anchorage AK
Linda Roe's scholarship
was a “lifesaver”
This fall, Linda Roe was one of 50 students to receive a Seawolf
Opportunities Scholarship (SOS). UAA’s newest needs-based
scholarship, the SOS was created thanks to a 2009 $7M gift
from an anonymous donor. Roe is a nursing student at UAA, and a
woman who faces challenges head on. Although she’s been through
some trying times, her genuine, kind and strong demeanor shines
through. She lives for her family and is passionate about giving back
to her community. “I can survive anything as long as I’m doing
something purposeful,” Roe said. “Giving back is
really important to me and it brings joy to my life. It
takes so little to give back.”
Roe described the Seawolf Opportunity
Scholarship as a “lifesaver.” With two of her kids
still at home, Roe said that the scholarship has
allowed her to go to school without having to juggle
work and academics while still trying to be there for
her kids.
Inspired to pursue a career in nursing after
witnessing nurses in action on an Alaska Air Guard
rescue mission, Roe hopes to become a traveling
nurse. “Alaska will remain my base, but being a
traveling nurse will allow me the opportunity to visit
my children and parents who live Outside.”
When she’s not studying or spending time
with her children, Linda and her two-year-old therapy dog,
Coldstone, can be found volunteering with adolescent mental
health patients at Providence Alaska Medical Center. “There’s
a lot to learn from people in hopeless situations,” Roe said. “It
really makes you appreciate what you have.”
As illustrated by this story, each gift is important. Last
year, private support to scholarships impacted a total of 442
UAA students, representing over $539,000 in gifts. To make
your gift to the UAA Student Scholarship Fund, please contact
(907) 786-4847 or (877) 482-2238. You may give online anytime at
www.uaa.alaska.edu/giving.