Friday Focus: A tradition of collaboration
January 31, 2019
— by Larry Hinzman, vice chancellor for research
I was living in Anchorage in March 1982 when I saw an advertisement for a research technician at the UAF Agricultural Experiment Station. I was a recent graduate from Purdue University, where I had managed the field crews for the Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing. It seemed like a perfect position for me and I eagerly applied. I was hired in April 1982.
I have been with UAF since then and served in a broad range of positions, but one thing that struck me from the beginning and has always stuck with me is the inherent collaborative nature of our university. I was initially surprised to see how willing UAF people were in sharing ideas, resources and facilities. That is not the norm across most universities in our nation. I was initially very grateful at the care people openly expressed and acted upon for their colleagues.
Over the years, that has grown to be a point of pride in our university. To this day, I’ve never experienced a more collaborative place where the all employees, faculty, staff and students genuinely want to see each other thrive and succeed. We care about our students. We want to help them develop the knowledge and credentials they need to achieve a productive career. We care about our staff. We want them to continue to grow in their skills and satisfaction. We care about our faculty. We want to give them the tools, resources and opportunities they need to be great teachers and researchers.
I believe it is that attitude that has made UAF such a strong research institution. People here want you to succeed. They want you to succeed not because it brings them status or benefits. They want you to succeed because it makes you better, it makes you stronger, and in doing so, helps our university, our state and our nation. I have always been appreciative of the attitude that we will get it done, effectively, efficiently and before the deadline. We will work within the rules and regulations, but we will find a path forward and a way to reach yes. I’ve always been very proud when I see a proposal coordinator or a procurement officer, or any of the dozens of people who make our university function, dig in to help complete a project or task. They are not doing it for their own enrichment. They are doing it to help you be successful.
In good times, when we have more work than we can possibly do, we are here to help each other. In bad times, when we have more work than we can possibly do, we are still here to help each other.
Friday Focus is a column written by a different member of UAF’s leadership team every Friday.