Bristol Bay Campus Director Candidates
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Bristol Bay Campus invited the public to watch and give feedback on presentations by the finalists for the position of the campus academic director. [Candidates are listed below in the order they presented.]
Each finalist gave a 30 minute public presentation via Zoom as part of the selection process. Individual presentations by Kimberly Williams, Susan Thames and Valerie Burgess focused on the candidate’s vision for the campus and what experience and abilities they would bring to lead the campus in that direction. Presentations demonstrated the candidate’s ability to organize their time, present material clearly, and engage effectively with an audience. Faculty, staff, students and community members were strongly encouraged to attend these presentations. Those that could not were encouraged to view the recordings and then give feedback.
A feedback form is online for anyone who watched a presentation (either live or recorded).
Please complete a separate feedback form for each candidate.
The Vice Chancellor will take into consideration public feedback received through
this process when making her hiring decision.
The feedback form will be available through April 1, 2021.
Kimberly Williams recorded presentation online.
A UAF and UAA alumna, Kimberly Williams is Yup’ik from Curyung (Dillingham), Alaska. She is the daughter of William and the late Mary Ann Johnson both of Dillingham. She serves on the Curyung Tribal Council and is on the board of directors for Bristol Bay Native Corporation. She has a long history with the university in various support and faculty roles since 2000. Williams holds a Master of Public Administration degree from UAA and a baccalaureate degree in biological sciences from UAF.
Susan Thames recorded presentation online.
Susan Thames, a Dillingham resident since 1999, has worked for or with the UAF, BBC from 1999 - 2018. She has touched the lives of many in the Dillingham community through education, and has taken pride in the many accomplishments of those that she has worked with. She holds a Master’s Degree in Cross Cultural Studies, spending seven years studying the Local Culture and the Native Ways of Knowing and Learning to receive this honor. She started her career in Education in 1987, and looks forward to many more years of working to bring educational opportunities to the community.
Valerie Burgess recorded presentation online.
Valerie Burgess is an experienced educator and communicator with a goal of seeing others like herself become first generation college students. Having graduated with a bachelor’s in communication, her career as a published author and editor spanned three states, including local newspapers, international religious magazines, and nationally published curriculum. Among other positions she worked as an assistant editor and designer for Alaska Rural Newspapers, including the Bristol Bay Times. After receiving a Master of Arts in Teaching, she spent 16 years in the field of education teaching in Anchorage and Dillingham. She currently holds an Administrative Certificate having completed principal internships at three schools, including Alaska Native Cultural Charter School (ANCCS) and the distance education program Family Partnership Charter School (FPCS). At FPCS as an intern and teacher, she held leadership roles including the Site Based Evaluation Specialist and Building Test Coordinator for multiple years. She has written online core curriculum for middle and high school students using Moodle, a learning management system like Blackboard. In addition, as an ordained minister, she directed We Care Ministries--an outreach program into prisons and long-term care facilities, as well as dealing with addictions intervention. She particularly enjoys reviving and making efficient fledgling programs. We Care grew from 80 in attendance to an average of 650 people during her five years of leadership. Currently she and her husband lead the Bristol Bay Church in Dillingham, AK. Her latest endeavor is a Certificate in Law and Higher Education from Regent University. She presently works as a Legislative Information Officer encouraging constituents in Dillingham, the Aleutians, the Priblof, and the Upper Kuskokwim to use their voice in matters that concern their communities.