Soon after she came to UAF in 2001 as director of equal opportunity, Earlina Bowden began offering training on campus. The program focuses on the laws and language of equal opportunity and how they apply to UAF. The goal is to create work and learning environments free of harassment and where people can deal effectively with difficult situations. Participants tell her this approach makes sense.

“We spend a lot of time and money recruiting talented employees; we also need to work to keep them,” Bowden says. She describes a new faculty member’s administrative assistant taking the time to help her adjust to living in such a different place. The admin created such a welcoming environment it eliminated a lot of the faculty member’s anxiety, Bowden says. And it didn’t cost the university a cent.

“Being an equal opportunity institution means working toward a point where every person has chances to succeed,” she says. “There is no deadline. We continue to work towards it.”

An avid outdoorswoman, Bowden says she believes in giving her best to her job. “But also giving my best to the other parts of my life -- my family, hunting and fishing, my home -- that keeps me refreshed for my job.

“We make a difference one person at a time, but the impact creates a ripple effect that reaches others.”