Writing guidelines

All communication materials written for or about the University of Alaska Fairbanks should have consistent style, tone and editorial standards

The following section equips campus communicators and brand champions with points of pride, facts about the university that illustrate our brand.

Alaska significance

  • UAF is America's northernmost Land, Sea and Space Grant institution and one of only a handful of universities in the nation with this triple-crown distinction.

  • UAF played an essential role in Alaska's statehood. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1955–1956 wrote the state's constitution in the student union building, now known as Constitution Hall. The constitution was signed in what was then the university gym and is now Signers' Hall.

  • UAF got its start with about $100 dollars for a cornerstone that was laid in 1915, two years before the university even officially existed. Today, UAF has the largest presence, impact and geographic scope of any university in Alaska. In addition to its seven campuses, UAF maintains research stations, learning centers, Cooperative Extension Service offices and Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program offices across the state.

  • UAF is home to the UA Museum of the North, which holds the world's largest collection of Arctic dinosaurs, among other notable holdings.

  • UAF is home to the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, the largest library in Alaska.

Academics

  • U.S. News and World Report named UAF the only national university in Alaska, putting us in a category with the best universities in the country.

  • Times Higher Education ranked UAF among the top 25 of the world’s best small universities in 2020. 

  • UAF is the leading Ph.D.-granting university in Alaska.

  • UAF has had 20 faculty Fulbright Scholars since 2010.

  • The College of Engineering and Mines consistently fields one of the nation’s best steel bridge-building student teams. In April 2019, UAF claimed the top spot in the Pacific Northwest regional competition for the fourth time in five years.

  • College of Business and Security Management students, on average, have scored better than 91 percent of other students on the Educational Testing Service's business field exam since 2005, when UAF students first started taking the test. Undergraduates in over 700 U.S. universities take the exam each year.

Research

  • UAF has the highest number of publications and citations in Arctic research of any university in the world. 

  • UAF operates the Research Vessel Sikuliaq (pronounced see-KOO-lee-ack], one of the most advanced university research vessels in the world.

  • UAF is home to the Poker Flat Research Range, the largest land-based rocket research range in the world, the only high-latitude rocket range in the country and the only such range operated by a university.

  • UAF brings in almost 90 percent of the research dollars for the entire University of Alaska system.

  • UAF ranks in the top 150 of the nearly 700 U.S. institutions that conduct research.

  • UAF is a founding member of the University of the Arctic, a consortium of colleges, universities and research organizations in the eight Arctic nations that work together to build strong education and research networks to address the needs of the circumpolar North. 

  • UAF researchers are helping to reshape our understanding of the first Americans, using DNA analysis of the oldest human remains ever found in northern North America. Remains from two infants buried in Alaska 11,500 years ago, as well as a 9,000-year-old tooth from a toddler, have revealed a distinct group of people dubbed the Ancient Beringians.

Federal law requires the following statement to appear on any bulletins, announcements, publications, catalogs, application forms, websites or other recruitment materials that are made available to participants, students, applicants, or employees:

Affirmative action/equal opportunity and nondiscrimination notice (required)

Approved short version:

The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, educational institution and provider. UAF does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, age, sex, physical or mental disability, status as a protected veteran, marital status, changes in marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, parenthood, sexual orientation, gender identity, political affiliation or belief, genetic information, or other legally protected status. The University's commitment to nondiscrimination, including against sex discrimination, applies to students, employees, and applicants for admission and employment. Contact information, applicable laws, and complaint procedures are included on UA's statement of nondiscrimination available at www.alaska.edu/nondiscrimination/.

OR micro version (if space allows please use the above approved short version):

UAF is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, educational institution and provider  and prohibits illegal discrimination against any individual: www.alaska.edu/nondiscrimination/.

Accreditation statement (optional)

The University of Alaska Fairbanks is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Accessibility statements

Events (suggested):

For more information, or to make an accommodation request at least five days in advance of this event, please contact [office or agent] at [phone number and email] for assistance. 

Website accessibility notice (suggested):

If you have difficulty accessing the information on this website due to a disability, please contact the web administrator at [contact email and phone number].

UA notice of web accessibility (required):

UA is committed to providing accessible websites. Learn more about UA’s notice of web accessibility.

See examples of positioning statements, how to organize messaging, and our brand personality in our writing strategy guide.