UAF CELEBRATES 80TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 1997
Fairbanks, Alaska - The bill to accept a federal land grant to create a university in Alaska was introduced in the Territorial Legislature 80 years ago in March. Two months later, after rigorous debate, the bill passed.
On May 3, 1917, with a stroke of his pen, Alaska Territorial Gov. John Strong signed the bill to create the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, known today as the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Throughout this year, UAF will celebrate 80 years of progress in higher education. In the eight decades since its founding, UAF has played a major role in the economic development, growth and diversification of Alaska, from territorial days to statehood and now into the 21st century.
Today UAF serves 113 communities statewide through its education, public service and research activities, and is the only university in Alaska offering degrees at the Ph.D. level.
Back in 1915, the U.S. Congress provided a land grant of approximately 250,000 acres to the Territory of Alaska for a college in Fairbanks. An additional 100,000 acres was granted by Congress in 1929, but under the Statehood Act all rights to the additional land were extinguished, as were the rights to receive 150,000 acres of unsurveyed sections of the Tanana Valley.
UAF is Alaska's only land-grant college, but today its acreage is one the smallest of any land-grant universities in the nation. Of the nearly 350,000 acres originally earmarked by Congress for America's Farthest North College, only 100,000 acres remain.
Alaskans lobbied for a college in the territory believing that the scientific methods developed at the institution would help stabilize the frontier's gold-based, boom-bust economy.
On a hill overlooking Fairbanks, volunteers cleared a roadway to the area where spectators witnessed the laying of the cornerstone for the college on July 4, 1915.
Meeting in 1919, the Territorial Legislature failed to make an appropriation for the college, so the AACSM didn't receive any money until the next session, in 1921.
That year, Charles Bunnell was selected as the university's first president and campus construction began. When it finally opened its doors in 1922, the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines had six students, six faculty and one administrator. At the end of that school year, 14 regular students were attending. Only five courses were offered - agriculture, general science, engineering, home economics and mining engineering.
In 1935 the name of the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines was changed to the University of Alaska to reflect the institution's growing statewide population and influence on statewide affairs.
By 1940 a record enrollment of 310 fulltime students was almost too much for the campus to handle. The campus consisted of three residence halls, a library/gymnasium, a new power plant and the Eielson Building.
Although wartime enrollment plummeted to 50 students, Congress in 1946, established the Geophysical Institute at UAF. The GI has since earned
an international reputation, and is the only research and academic center for geophysics in the U.S. focusing on high-latitude geophysical phenomena.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the university began offering its programs to all regions of Alaska and established itself as a community partner.
When the Chena River flooded downtown Fairbanks in August 1967, residents sought refuge at UAF, which was soon dubbed "evacuation city." Shelter, food and medical attention were provided at residence halls, the gymnasium and in classrooms. The campus community of 700 swelled into a small city of 7,000 people.
The 1970s were a time of expansion. In 1975, the statewide system of the University of Alaska was established, but rock-bottom oil prices in the mid-1980s led to the restructuring of the system. Administration was streamlined and the state's four-year institutions in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau were given responsibility for former community college missions. UAF's branch campuses are located in Bethel, Dillingham, Kotzebue, Nome and the Interior.
Throughout the 1990s, UAF developed a number of initiatives to address continued deficits to its budget, including downsizing of administration and elimination of programs.
In 1992, the university began closing its doors over winter break and asked its employees to take leave without pay during that time to help defray budget shortfalls. A successful $13 million private fund-raising effort that year was the first-ever launched by the university.
As UAF prepares for the 21st century, the institution is building
on 80 years of traditions to maintain its national stature as
a top research and teaching university. With an emphasis on high
latitudes, UAF continues to provide information on issues of national
and international concern.
CONTACT:
UAF Public Information Officer Debra Damron, (907) 474-7122.
UAF News releases available electronically at:
http://www.uaf.edu/univrel/media/index.html
DPD/3-27-97/97-069