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May 2021

UAFAA annual meeting and strategic planning

UAFAA board members past and present appear above on a Zoom call in April to welcome newly elected directors and thank outgoing members we know aren't saying goodbye.

UAF Alumni Association directors met via Zoom for their spring meeting last month. The board seated new members and worked on finalizing the strategic planning process to guide the organization through 2025.

The board approved new members chosen during the election in March. Meredith Cameron ’09 will represent Southcentral Alaska for Seat 4-B; Meadow Bailey ’00 will serve on Seat 5-B, representing the Fairbanks North Star Borough; Darryl Lewis ’88 has been elected to serve at large on Seat 6-B; and Tom Brice ’90 will serve a second term on Seat 7-B, representing Southeast.

The UAF Alumni Association is starting to update its strategic plan. The board of directors is committed to creating a document that will guide UAFAA's day-to-day decisions to serve the UAF community. Our new vision statement, Nanook Nation: Leaders Connected, supports our mission to magnify UAF's impact globally by celebrating and investing in Nanook Nation.

Our long-term strategic outcomes include establishing the UAFAA brand, growing “gold standard” governance and the influence of UAFAA, creating an active global network of alumni, and connecting more with association members. If you have any feedback for the board, please contact the UAF alumni office at 474-7081 or email uaf-alumni@alaska.edu. More information about the alumni association board and our operations can be found on our website.

Community shows support for UAF at Blue and Gold

Emil Usibelli Distinguished Teaching Award recipient Denise Thorsen, at right, donates her award’s $10,000 prize to the UAF Alaska Space Grant Program. Thorsen directs the program. At left is Lisa Herbert, Usibelli Coal Mine vice president of public relations. UAF photo by Leif Van Cise

Thank you to all who attended the virtual 2021 Blue and Gold Celebration on Saturday, Feb. 27. Because of the generosity of our guests and sponsors, we raised more than $130,000 to support UAF students and the Nanook Commitment, a four-year, need-based scholarship program. Chancellor Dan White and alumna Marisa Sharrah hosted the unique online event as a way to bring our community together and honor traditions.

The event also recognized this year's Usibelli Faculty Award winners: Eduard Zilberkant for service, Donald “Skip” Walker for research and Denise Thorsen for teaching. Thorsen followed in the footsteps of several other past award recipients by donating her $10,000 award. She gave it to the Alaska Space Grant Program, which she directs.

The UAF Alumni Association made a $10,000 donation to the Nanook Commitment. The organization also presented its annual awards to two inspiring alumni. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Kyle Hopkins received the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Russ Knapp, a longtime supporter of the Alaska Nanooks, received the William R. Cashen Service Award. Their stories were a reminder of how far UAF has come and how alumni are the best example of the achievements of our world-class institution.

If you were not able to attend, you can still see a recording of the event at bit.ly/2021blueandgold. And you can still support students by making a gift to the Nanook Commitment Scholarship at bit.ly/UAFgift.

Launching Alaska’s commercial space boom

SpaceX’s floating landing platform, called Just Read the Instructions, gets a visit from Ben Kellie (second from left). Photo courtesy of Ben Kellie

From the winter 2021 Aurora magazine

Ben Kellie '10 launched his career in the commercial space industry after graduating from UAF with an engineering degree. Kellie rose rapidly at SpaceX, the American aerospace company founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk. SpaceX was the first private company to successfully launch and return a spacecraft from Earth’s orbit.

“Working there required fast decisions, creative solutions and the confidence to try to make things work that had never been made before," Kellie said. "It was like flying as a bush pilot or hiking and hunting in Alaska when the weather is coming in fast and you have to decide whether to go home or keep going.”

Kellie supervised the launch of a new generation of rocket from a pad that he helped build. He also led the field team creating the barge where the company landed its first rocket for reuse. And he said he has UAF to thank.

“There are a lot of smart young people coming out of universities every year,” Kellie said. “When it comes to engineering, we all learn the same math and science. What SpaceX needed was people who could apply that knowledge and then go build it.”

That attitude put him on the front lines of at least a dozen rocket launches at a time when the pace of change in the industry is exponential. Rockets previously launched once every couple years, but Kellie said SpaceX has helped accelerate that rate.

Kellie started The Launch Co. two years ago in Anchorage with a plan to get new space commercial companies’ hardware into orbit faster by helping them design launch sites and by building parts for their rockets.

“If every airline had to build its own airport, that would be a nightmare,” he said. “It would mean plenty of reinventing the wheel, which would come out square a lot of times. We make the wheels round. We help these launches run more like airport takeoffs, which is the ultimate goal.”

Kellie said learning how to try — and fail — was the best lesson from his experiences at UAF and in the space industry. “Steve Jobs and Elon Musk were usually wrong, but the difference is they take the failure as a data point and they pivot. No matter what happens, that data point is very useful.

“The way I’ve been thinking, we are going to use math and science to make our best attempt,” he said. “Whether that’s a business, launch site or a hike across the mountain, reality is going to have its say.”

Read more here. Or download a copy of the Aurora magazine feature.

Nanook Rendezvous planning in progress

Join your UAF Alumni Association for the 2021 Nanook Rendezvous Alumni Reunion!

This year’s celebration will offer both in-person and virtual events. No matter where you are, connect with UAF and your fellow alumni. Admission to all events is free. Invite your family and friends! We would love to see you in person if you are in Fairbanks. Social distancing and COVID-19 precautions will be in place for in-person events.

It all kicks off Thursday, July 22, with a virtual campus tour led by our student ambassadors.

Directory project update

Your UAF alumni team has been working with the publishing company PCI to include as many members of Nanook Nation as possible in our new directory. Thank you to all who participated. If you ordered a directory, please expect to receive it by June 2021. If you ordered a package, some of the UAFAA-branded items may arrive sooner.

More than 5,000 alumni contacted the company to verify their information. PCI representatives also offered folks the option of renewing their UAFAA membership. About 200 alumni joined the association, including several new lifetime members. Thank you for your support!

The directory offers alumni the ability to reconnect with other graduates.

After the tour, experience the impact of UAF’s newest facility — the Alaska Esports Center — with an alumni gaming event hosted by Michael Juell, UAF’s esports coordinator.

On Friday, visit one of our alumni-owned businesses to grab a bite on your way to Nanook Night at the Alaska Goldpanners baseball game. Up to five people will get free admission to the game, which starts at 7 p.m. Admission is free to alumni and friends. The UAF bookstore will be selling UAF gear and goodies and our alumni will be there rooting for the home team, with UAFAA t-shirts, swag and other giveaways.

Tell us about your plans for reunion!

Read more here.

Some of the goodies available through the UAFAA directory project.

It has been about a decade since UAFAA produced an up-to-date alumni directory. Of course, this project is about more than just a list of names and phone numbers. The content created by our team includes historical information, alumni stories and more.

Feel free to contact us at uaf-alumni@alaska.edu or by phone at 907-474-7081 of you have any questions. Learn more about the directory project on our website.

Find your UAF mentor

Looking for advice on how to reach the next phase of your career? Getting ready to graduate and wondering what companies are the best to work for?

Membership benefits

Now that you've joined Nanook Network, be sure to take advantage of our mentor opportunities. You can sign up to be a mentor. And you can find one for yourself, too!

Just head over to the mentoring tab on the left of the network page and select “Find a Mentor” from the menu. From there, you can look for mentors by job function, industry or company.

Feel free to contact the alumni office at uaf-alumni@alaska.edu with any questions.

Membership in your UAF Alumni Association helps support student scholarships, alumni outreach, programs like Nanook Network, events such as the Blue and Gold Celebration and Grad Bash, and many other projects.

UAF alumni membership rates:

One-year membership = $50

Three-year membership = $140

Lifetime membership = $1,000

Friends of UAF = $60

Go to our website to learn more about UAFAA membership, including the discount on admission to the UAF Student Recreation Center. Check out the rates for members at the SRC's website. With your membership card, you have access to campus libraries, career services and more.

Support UAFAA with Amazon Smile

Want to help make a difference while you shop on Amazon? Follow these instructions to select "University of Alaska Fairbanks Alumni Association" and activate AmazonSmile for donations of a portion of your eligible purchases.

As a UAFAA member, you are eligible for discounts on your Geico insurance policy. You get savings, and the alumni association earns rewards. Visit geico.com/alum/uafaa/ to find out how much you can save.

UAF students, staff and faculty are eligible for discounts on Dell products! Just visit www.dell.com/dellu/uaf to see how much you can save. They also offer students $100 off laptops. Visit our webpage to find out more about benefits for alumni and members.