alumni

Subject: UAF: Chancellor's Office: Chancellor's Musings (read an excerpt from 8/24/06 Chancellor's Musings)

Celebrate UAF

RAHI Graduation--We celebrated graduation of our 24th consecutive Rural Alaska Honors Institute class July 12. Forty-six rural Alaskans from across the state completed the intensive six-week program, which fully engages high school students in a resident university experience. Initiated in 1983, RAHI has now graduated 332 students. Their track record is admirable: 37 certificates, 84 associate degrees, 182 bachelor’s degrees, 23 master’s degrees, five law degrees and one medical degree! RAHI imposes rigor, and it yields results. RAHI graduates are twice as likely to earn a college degree as are their similarly defined peers who did not participate in the program. This year’s class showed remarkable progress, earning a total of 374 college credit hours. Sixteen students completed the program with a GPA of 3.5 or higher; five with a GPA of 4.0. The average RAHI student’s reading level rose 0.74 of a grade level in the six short weeks of this summer’s program; the average RAHI student reads 1.6 grade levels above his or her peers.

I spent an hour with the class a week or so before graduation. These young people are charged and they are ready to complete high school, then go on to college. They really impressed me--they are intelligent, mature, curious, ambitious, of good humor and eager for what awaits them. Our university should take great pride in this incredible story of success. My compliments to Denise Wartes, Greg Owens and the entire RAHI faculty and staff. Let’s see if we can attract a bunch of this year’s RAHI class to UAF--we and they will be better off for it! Again, I offer my sincere appreciation and compliments for everyone involved with RAHI, even as I offer my congratulations to 46 of tomorrow’s leaders!

We have other programs of note and considerable merit directed at future university students. We are committed to attracting students to UAF by engaging high school students (and younger) in innovative and enticing, hands-on programs offered on-campus. AHEAD, Alaska 4-H, Alaska Summer Research Academy, Business and Finance Academy, Fairbanks Piano Festival, Fairbanks Suzuki Institute, Museum of the North youth and family programs, Nanook basketball and volleyball summer camps, Project RAVE, Recreation camps, Summer Music Academy, TECH PREP, TRIO, Upward Bound, Visual Arts Academy--all expose our wonderful university to future students and their families. Our enthusiasm, passion for research and education, unparalleled staff and faculty, and great campus, facilities and location sell UAF so convincingly. If we can introduce them to us and let them know how important students are at UAF, many of them will select us for their postsecondary education.

Challenge Yourself!

Contact RAHI at: fyrahi@uaf.edu Contact web manager at: ffhem@uaf.edu

This page was last modified: August 29, 2006