RURAL DIRECTORS NAMED AT KUSKOKWIM AND CHUKCHI CAMPUSES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 12, 2001
Fairbanks, Alaska - Two rural directors have been appointed to head campuses in the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Rural Alaska. Bob Medinger has been named director of UAF's Kuskokwim Campus in Bethel and Lincoln Saito the director of the Chukchi Campus in Kotzebue.
Medinger began his career with the Lower Kuskokwim School District where he worked for 22 years. He was a teacher and coach in Atmautluak and Quinhagak and served as site administrator in Mekoryuk and Kwethluk. He came to Bethel in 1990 as Director of Information and Technology for the school district. In that capacity, he established the district's technology program and was involved in long-range planning and development of satellite telecommunications.
"Bob's experience as the co-founder and the first director of the Distance Delivery Consortium is a big plus for the Kuskokwim campus," said Executive Dean Ralph Gabrielli, College of Rural Alaska. "He's a visionary leader, who hasn't lost his love for students."
Currently Medinger is the site administrator for the Bethel Alternative Boarding School serving regional at-risk youth. He has master's degrees in school administration and educational technology from the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau.
Saito is currently the Village Access Coordinator for the Chukchi Campus. He has served as a guidance counselor at the Wrangell Institute, Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka and UAF's Rural Student Services. He has held positions as the Human Resource Specialist with the Maniilaq Association in Kotzebue and the Director of Secondary Education for the Northwest Arctic Borough School District in Kotzebue.
"Lincoln has lived in Kotzebue for three years and already he's brought favorable and productive benefits to the University of Alaska," said Gabrielli. "His commitment to education and students is unquestioned."
Saito has also served as the site administrator for the Kwethluk Community School in the Lower Kuskokwim School District in Bethel, the Bilingual Coordinator for the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the Principal for Homer Junior High School in the Kenai Penisula School District. He holds a Master's of Education degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The Chukchi Campus is located 26 miles north of the Arctic Circle, on the shores of the Chukchi Sea. The campus serves Kotzebue and 10 villages in a region of more than 36,000 square miles. Chukchi offers the Associate of Arts and Associate of Applied Science degrees, as well as courses leading to baccalaureate degrees in education, rural development and social work. Courses are offered by local instructors and through the College of Rural Alaska audio conferencing system.
The Kuskokwim Campus is located in what can most accurately be described as a regional center serving an extended community. Bethel, located 80 miles inland on the Kuskokwim River, is a community of approximately 5,600 and serves as the transportation and service center of the region as well as the hub community for 56 Yukon Kuskokwim delta villages serving more than 25,000 people. Housing is available on campus in Sackett Hall, which provides full-service apartments with space for four students in each.
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CONTACT: Executive Dean Ralph Gabrielli at (907) 474-7143 or e-mail: g.abrielli@uaf.edu or Carla Browning, UAF Public Information Officer at (907) 474-7778 or e-mail: carla.browning@uaf.edu.
CJB/07-12-01/02-003