Peter steps down; Stern to serve as interim VC

December 3, 2020

Tori Tragis

— by Dan White, chancellor

Evon Peter, vice chancellor for rural, community and Native education, informed me that he will resign, effective Jan. 2, 2021, to continue working on a larger research effort here at UAF with the Center for Alaska Native Health Research and to pursue his passions for the Gwich’in language and issues of importance to Alaska Native communities. Evon has served in his current capacity for over six years and has been an effective leader, advocate and collaborator on the Chancellor’s Core Cabinet. I have appreciated his steadfast leadership at UAF, helping to transform and grow our focus on Indigenous studies, research and student success, and in uplifting the community college mission.

Please help me in thanking Evon for his work as vice chancellor and his contributions to UAF more broadly. I will miss his leadership as a vice chancellor but look forward to the research he plans to conduct here at UAF and within Alaska.

I am happy to inform you that Charlene Stern has agreed to serve as interim VCRCNE while we search for a permanent replacement. Charlene was born and raised in Interior Alaska and is originally from Arctic Village. She has taught in the Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development since 2014. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American cultural studies from Western Washington University, a master’s degree in community and regional planning from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in Indigenous studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I look forward to working with her. I expect to launch a national search in the coming months with a permanent replacement as soon as practical.