2023 award recipients

Dr. Amy Cooper, teaching
Dr. Stefanie Ickert-Bond, research
Mr. John George, service

Dr. Amy Cooper

2023 Emil Usibelli Distinguished Teaching Award

WHEREAS Dr. Amy Cooper has served the University of Alaska Fairbanks with distinction since 2007; and, as a teacher of accounting, she receives tremendous reviews from students, who cite her creative, enthusiastic class presentations, her attention to individual students and her generous mentoring of student organizations and activities; and

WHEREAS Dr. Cooper, after earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, spent several years working at private firms; and she began teaching at UAF as an adjunct instructor before joining the faculty in 2009; and she completed her doctorate in business administration at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in May 2023; and

WHEREAS Dr. Cooper has advised both the student accounting organization and its volunteer income tax assistance program; and she helped create an annual student seminar to promote professional etiquette; and she has led the Alaska Society of CPAs’ effort to create a leadership academy that connects students to the profession;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the University of Alaska Fairbanks takes great pride in the achievements and contributions of its faculty, and extends its sincere appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Amy Cooper; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the university, in recognizing the extraordinary excellence in teaching demonstrated by Dr. Amy Cooper, bestows upon her the Emil Usibelli Distinguished Teaching Award on this eleventh day of May, 2023.

Dr. Stefanie Ickert-Bond

2023 Emil Usibelli Distinguished Research Award

WHEREAS Dr. Stefanie Ickert-Bond has served the University of Alaska Fairbanks with distinction since 2006; and her prolific research has earned her an international reputation; and, as curator of the University of Alaska Museum of the North’s herbarium, she has been a global leader in the digitization of botanical data and images; and

WHEREAS Dr. Ickert-Bond earned her doctorate from Arizona State University in 2003 and conducted research and taught before joining UAF’s faculty; and she has secured $2.7 million in grants to support her and her students’ research; and she has produced 89 journal papers; and

WHEREAS Dr. Ickert-Bond’s research, which integrates molecular approaches with field studies, morphology, anatomy and paleobotany, identifies evolutionary relationships and ancient migration patterns within plant groups, information that, among other benefits, is essential for the ecological studies needed for management of Alaska’s resources;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the university, in recognizing the extraordinary excellence in research demonstrated by Dr. Stefanie Ickert-Bond, bestows upon her the Emil Usibelli Distinguished Research Award on this eleventh day of May, 2023.

Mr. John George

2023 Emil Usibelli Distinguished Service Award

WHEREAS Mr. John George has served the University of Alaska Fairbanks with distinction since 2008; and he has greatly expanded and improved the quality of the UAF Community and Technical College’s fire science program, benefiting not only its students but also Fairbanks and other communities across Alaska and beyond; and

WHEREAS Mr. George has worked in fire services for 32 years; and he earned an associate degree in municipal fire protection and a bachelor’s in education from UAF; and he is pursuing a master’s in security and disaster management; and

WHEREAS Mr. George, as head of the fire science program, created a system to place student firefighters at volunteer departments and significantly enhanced student recruiting, all of which alleviated severe local station staffing shortages; and he embedded essential training on mental health care, suicide prevention and cancer prevention into the fire program’s curriculum; and, among many other volunteer activities, he serves as a battalion chief at Chena-Goldstream Fire & Rescue;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the university, in recognizing the extraordinary excellence in service demonstrated by Mr. John George, bestows upon him the Emil Usibelli Distinguished Service Award on this eleventh day of May, 2023.