Bill Stroecker Foundation

Image of Bill Stroecker snowshoeing with dogImage of Bill Stroecker standing in front of cabinImage of Headshot of Bill Stroecker in gray suit with maroon tie

Bill Stroecker

Bill Stroecker (1920 - 2010) earned a Business Administration degree from UAF in 1942. After serving in the US Army, Bill worked his way from bookkeeper to president of First National Bank and made Fairbanks his home for life. Bill had many interests: playing his trumpet in a local band, baseball, sheep hunting, snowshoeing, and visiting his recreational cabins. He devoted his life to civic service.

Bill's civic service includes:

  • President of the Alaska Goldpanners Baseball Team Board for 46 years
  • Founding member of the Greater Fairbanks Hospital Foundation
  • Life member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board
  • Fairbanks Rotary Club member
  • UA Museum of the North Advisory Committee

Bill left an incredible legacy through the Bill Stroecker Foundation.

Bill Stroecker Foundation


Bill Stroecker Foundation logoThe Bill Stroecker Foundation carries on Bill’s desire to “shine a light on Fairbanks.” The Foundation supports a predetermined list of organizations identified by Bill as well as additional education and civic activities. The Foundation partners with over 60 local organizations to strengthen Interior Alaska and continue Bill’s legacy.

Gift of the Bowhead Whale Exhibit

Image of bowhead whale museum exhibit

In the spring of 2018, the Bill Stroecker Foundation pledged its resources to share a bowhead whale skeleton from the research collections downstairs at the museum with Fairbanks and visitors from around the world. The 42-foot bowhead whale skeleton is the first display of its kind in a North American museum. Suspended high above the museum’s lobby, it captivates and inspires visitors. This is an opportunity to share the cultural, scientific, and ecological significance of the bowhead whale, which lives its entire life in the Arctic and subarctic.

The Bill Stroecker Foundation provided all of the funding for the project, a gift that totals nearly $1 million. This project would not have been possible without the Foundation’s support.

Explore more about the articulation and installation process that involved cleaning bones, 3-D printing missing bones, reassembling the skeleton, and modifying the museum’s ceiling here: UAMN Bowhead Whale Articulation.

We celebrate the life and legacy of Bill Stroecker and we thank the Bill Stroecker Foundation for this transformative gift shared with tens of thousands of guests each year.