From the chancellor

Friends of UAF,

On May 4, 2024, the Carlson Center was filled with almost 4,000 people celebrating UAF Commencement. Students, faculty, staff, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles and aunties filled the seats of the Carlson to watch the 2024 graduates walk across the stage and receive their diplomas. Though the students walk across the stage alone, we all know that the achievement of a degree is not an individual endeavor. The faculty, staff, friends, family and supporters at commencement and watching the livestream are all part of what it takes for a student to be successful and achieve their degree. And, so are you! The UAF community of alumni and donors makes the student experience at UAF possible. I hope that many of you were able to attend commencement and witness the culmination of your contributions come together in a day of celebration. 

On the topic of celebration, I am proud to share that UAF celebrated another amazing 49 hours of giving this year. In my last message, I asked our alumni to get involved, and you showed up. This year, 449 alumni gave during the 2024 Giving Day. Overall there was a 25% increase in donors. My personal Giving Day challenge went to the fund that received the highest number of individual alumni donations. Thank you to the 58 alumni who gave to Troth Yeddha’ Indigenous Studies Center. And thank you to all of the alumni who demonstrated their connection to UAF and commitment to our university’s future. 

Though there are fewer students on campus over the summer, UAF will be just as busy as ever in the coming months. Students from across the state will come to Fairbanks to participate in summer camps, community members will gather for events like Music in the Garden, and research will carry on in Fairbanks and field sites across the state. I hope to see many of you at the UAF Nanook Rendezvous later this summer or at other events in the community. 

Thanks for choosing UAF.

Dan White
Chancellor