Stories of impact
Fall 2024
From the chancellor
Friends of UAF,
Earlier this month, we hosted the UAF Blue and Gold Celebration, a can’t-miss evening celebrating what makes UAF unique. In addition to eating s'mores on the patio, enjoying live music from a band of alumni, and raising funds to provide vital scholarships for students, we also had the privilege of acknowledging the recipients of this year’s Emil Usibelli Distinguished Teaching, Research, and Service Awards. Thank you to everyone who attended this event in support of UAF. I appreciate traditions, new and old, that allow us to reflect on the long history of community engagement at UAF.
I am excited to share some new things on campus this fall. I invite you to come check them out! This summer, we reopened the newly renovated Moore and Bartlett residence halls. Students moved into dorms with new furniture, new bathrooms, and (invisible to them) new pipes. We also opened the doors at the new Student Success Center this semester. Located on the sixth floor of the Rasmuson Library, this one-stop-shop for student support is a modern, welcoming space for students to access all the services they need to succeed. Thank you to the GHEMM Company and Bettisworth North for their work on these two spaces.
In addition to the new, we are also proud to celebrate our traditions. This fall, students will celebrate one of UAF’s oldest traditions with Starvation Gulch. The bonfires have been a symbol of the passing of the torch of knowledge to our new students since 1923. Our Board of Regents celebrated 107 years since their first meeting, and I appreciate their consistent support of UAF. UAF has been around for a long time, in no small part due to the generosity of donors like you. You are part of a long tradition of community support for UAF. Your investment in our university will allow us to create new traditions for many years to come. Thank you for giving what you have and what you will as we celebrate the old and the new this year at UAF.
Thank you.
Dan White
Chancellor
Recent benefactor highlights
Businesses, corporations, individuals and foundations give generously to UAF. This report reflects gifts and donations totaling $25,000 or more to the University of Alaska Fairbanks between May 1 and Aug. 31, 2024.
BUSINESS AND CORPORATE
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company gave to the Alyeska Pipeline Alaska Native Scholarship and to the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company RAHI Support Fund.
GCI gave to the UAF eSports Program Support Fund.
Northern Star gave to the Mining and Petroleum Training Service Support Fund.
Northrim Bank gave to the Northwest Campus Support Fund and to the College of Business and Security Management Support Fund.
The Pollock Conservation Cooperative, composed of Trident Seafoods, Glacier Fish Company and American Seafoods Company, gave to the Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center Endowment.
Wiseman Metals gave to the GeoFORCE Alaska Support Fund.
Xtreme Habitats Institute gave to the UAF College of Engineering and Mines.
INDIVIDUAL
Carl S. and Ruth* G. Benson gave to Wrangell Mountains and Greenland Research Fund.
Robert* and Mary* Claus gave to the John Robert and Mary Claus Fund.
Mary F. Croxton* gave to the Croxton Family Fellowship.
Nancy Eliason gave to the UAMN Eliason Beringian Research Endowment Fund.
John Mancuso established the John and Rhoda Mancuso Basketball Endowed Scholarship.
Glenn Potts and Pamela Flory gave to the College Rotary Scholarship.
Alan Straub gave to the Alan Straub Civil Engineering Equipment Support Fund.
FOUNDATION AND ASSOCIATION
Crankstart Foundation gave to the Crankstart Reentry Scholarship.
Jay Pritzker Foundation gave to the Mammalogy Research and Training Support Fund.
Johnson Scholarship Foundation gave to the Johnson Scholarship Foundation Business Scholarship.
*indicates deceased
Stories of impact
Aug 15
Donor scholarships have transformative impacts on students across UAF’s wide array of academic programs.
Aug 14
A gift from Usibelli Coal Mine helped create a 2.5K route that meets official competition standards
May 23
Ryan Muspratt, recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Alumnus Award, reached beyond personal goals after a hockey injury and never looked back.
May 23
A medical doctor impressed with a UAF professor’s neuroscience work has created a student scholarship in the professor’s name
Feb 09
Graduate students and family celebrate Jerry Swartz and his birds, mammals and devotion to proper English.
Feb 08
Dedicated board members work to sustain and improve the beloved Georgeson Botanical Garden.
Nov 08
Donors raise more than $14,000 for the Student Support Fund, which provides aid when things go sideways.
Nov 08
An upgraded internet connection and a new team center give UAF a competitive edge
Nov 08
Don and Annette Clark left millions to UAF and other institutions.
Oct 09
A unique program at UAF’s Honors College draws hundreds of undergraduates to study climate change — and do something about it.