Hopkins, Knapp honored with UAF alumni awards
December 16, 2020
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Alumni Association has named its 2021 award recipients. Journalist Kyle Hopkins is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Russ Knapp, a longtime supporter of the Alaska Nanooks, is the recipient of the William R. Cashen Service Award. UAF will honor Hopkins and Knapp at the upcoming Blue and Gold Celebration on Feb. 27 in a virtual event.
Winners of the Distinguished Alumnus Award are selected based on meritorious service on behalf of UAF, distinguished accomplishments in business and professional life, or distinguished human service in community affairs. Hopkins is an investigative reporter and special projects editor for the Anchorage Daily News. He recently worked with the news nonprofit ProPublica on a two-year investigation into sexual violence and the Alaska criminal justice system, a project that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Winners of the William R. Cashen Service Award are selected for outstanding service to the university and its alumni association. When Knapp graduated from the University of Alaska in 1969 with a wildlife management degree, his best memories were of playing hockey on the outdoor ice rink with the campus club team. He was reintroduced to UAF after traveling to Fairbanks in 2005 for a hockey reunion from his home in Nassau, New York, and has been instrumental in preserving the history of Nanook hockey.
For more information, visit the 2021 Blue and Gold Celebration website.