UA Newswire November 5, 2024

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November 5, 2024

Research, workforce development and economic growth news stories and other feature articles from the University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Southeast, University of Alaska System Office and the UA Foundation. Compiled by the University of Alaska System Office of Public Affairs.

University of Alaska Anchorage

‘By Alaskans, for Alaskans’: UAA launches the state’s first graduate program in school psychology

Alaska is facing a youth mental health crisis — a situation exacerbated by the lack of services available. In response to this urgent need, UAA will launch the state’s first Master of Science in School Psychology program in fall 2025, with applications opening Nov. 1, 2024.

Contact: Austin Osborne

The Rasmuson Hall building seen through some sunflowers in summer The program aims to address the crisis by tackling the pressing demand for school psychologists in Alaska.

Strengthening Alaska’s health care response to violence

While Alaska has the highest rates of interpersonal violence in the country, including domestic violence, sexual assault, child and elder abuse, many health care personnel and first responders do not ever receive training to correctly document and collect medical evidence to report these crimes.

That’s why the University of Alaska Anchorage College of Health created the Alaska Comprehensive Forensic Training Academy (ACFTA), a program with the mission of equipping our health care professionals with the tools they need to ensure every victim who seeks help is met with compassionate, competent care.

Contact: Dr. Angelia Trujillo

No physical law school in Alaska? No problem

The University of Alaska Anchorage and Seattle University School of Law are moving forward with a partnership in what they’re calling the Alaska Hybrid Hub. Once established, the hub will give students the opportunity to attend law school without being required to relocate out of the state while getting their education.

Alumni from both universities offered their support of the program, some planning to eventually make themselves available for networking events and eventually take on directing roles at UAA.

Contact: Austin Osborne

University of Alaska Fairbanks

University of Alaska Board of Regents to consider merger of two Interior campuses

COVID-19 pandemic-era digital shifts in postsecondary education are contributing to a new proposal to consolidate two University of Alaska campuses.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) submitted the idea, which would see its Interior Alaska Campus (IAC) fall under the umbrella of the Community Technical College (CTC).

Contact: Marmian Grimes

The Fairbanks TCC CTC building in downtown Fairbanks The CTC has over 50 certificate and degree programs, with studies ranging from aviation maintenance to nursing, and its main building sits near the outer edge of downtown Fairbanks, along Barnette Street.

Method rapidly determines surface air quality during Alaska wildfires

A method of quickly determining surface air quality during Alaska’s sometimes intense wildfire season will benefit urban and rural communities, especially those in Interior Alaska where boreal forest fires often rage.

The development of such a method by Tianlang Zhao, a graduate student in associate professor Jingqiu Mao’s research group at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, fills a major gap in Alaska’s air quality monitoring system.

Contact: Rod Boyce

UAF hosts hydrogen workshop: Is it the future of energy?

More than 100 energy experts, researchers, state and federal policymakers, and representatives from Alaska Native corporations converged on the University of Alaska Fairbanks Wood Center Tuesday for a three-day workshop on geologic hydrogen.

The UAF Geophysical Institute, the U.S. Arctic Research Commission and the Office of the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs, Mike Sfraga, co-sponsored the event with the intent for attendees to exchange knowledge and expand how geologic hydrogen can be harnessed.

Contact: Marmian Grimes

University of Alaska Southeast

Two Lingít Juneau residents recognized for contributions to arts in Alaska

X̱ʼunei Lance Twitchell, a professor of Alaska Native Languages at the University of Alaska Southeast, received the Alaska Native Arts Award. The distinction recognizes his commitment to preserving Indigenous languages.

Twitchell is vice-chair of the Alaska Native Language Preservation & Advisory Council and has spent years recording, documenting and teaching Lingít.

Contact: Elizabeth Cornejo

Lance Twitchell recieves his award, shakes hands X̱ʼunei Lance Twitchell (center) receives the Alaska Native Arts Award from Benjamin Brown (left) and Renee Wardlaw (right) during the Governor’s Arts and Humanities Awards on Oct. 29, 2024. (Screenshot from YouTube)

Talk on the Rock: University of Alaska Southeast’s Rosh Rayback on Tidal Echoes – a SE Alaska literary and art journal

Episode 33: The Irene Ingle Public Library library sent out a post encouraging people to submit their art and writing to University of Alaska Southeast’s Tidal Echoes, a literary and art journal that highlights Southeast Alaskans. UAS’s Fall Intern Rosh Rayback, who is helping publish this year’s Tidal Echoes, chatted with KSTK’s Colette Czarnecki on everything Tidal Echoes.

Contact: Elizabeth Cornejo

University of Alaska Southeast Librarians Awarded $150,000 Planning Grant

Four faculty librarians from University of Alaska Southeast are partnering with the Alaska Library Association on a $150,000 two-year planning grant for Expanding Education Options for Alaska’s Library Workforce.

Awarded by the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the funding allows project team members to assess the training needs of library paraprofessionals in underserved communities throughout Alaska and explore the feasibility, curricular content, and delivery modes needed to develop an online professional development microcredential.

Contact: Elizabeth Cornejo

UA System Office

Revitalized project will offer Alaskans energy data access

A University of Alaska project will update a public energy data resource in Alaska.

With the support of the Alaska Legislature, the university will begin a three-year effort to revitalize the Alaska Energy Data Gateway, a project to create equitable access to Alaska energy data and data analytics.

UA Fairbanks’ Alaska Center for Energy and Power and UA Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research will collaborate with agency partners on the project.

Contact: Amanda Byrd

A power line snakes up a hill in Fairbanks autumn A transmission line runs between autumn-colored trees in Fairbanks, evoking an image of a broader view of the energy landscape. (Photo by Liz Dobbins/ACEP)

Museum's frozen biological samples provide a wealth of information for scientists around the world

Beneath the public galleries of the University of Alaska Museum of the North (UAMN) lies a unique library of life.

This library doesn’t lend books or manuscripts; instead, it loans frozen biological samples from a collection of over 240,000 tissues collected from specimens archived in the mammal, bird, fish and insect collections in the museum. Each sample is a time capsule of irreplaceable information about the specimen and its environment at the time that it was collected.

Contact: Mallory Gulbranson

Did you know Kenai Peninsula College (KPC) was founded 60 years ago in a high school closet and has grown into a thriving institution serving thousands of Alaskans?

KPC has grown from offering a handful of courses in 1964 to becoming a key player in workforce development and higher education in Alaska. This fall, the college is serving more than 2,500 students -- an 11.2% increase from last year.

During the 60th-anniversary open house, KPC welcomed more than 400 guests to campus for the event. The event featured tours, a visual timeline of KPC’s history, and remarks from Director Cheryl Siemers, who emphasized the college’s commitment to “excellence in education, training, and lifelong learning.” The celebration also included a legislative citation honoring KPC’s decades of service to the region.

Contact: Ruby Glaser

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The University of Alaska is an equal opportunity/equal access employer and educational institution. The university is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination against individuals on the basis of any legally protected status.