Search committee formed for UA vice president

October 2, 2014

University Relations

University of Alaska President Patrick Gamble has announced that the university will begin a national search for the next vice president for academic affairs and research.

Dana Thomas, the current vice president, will retire at the end of the year after more than three decades of service to the university.

Ashok K. Roy, vice president for finance and administration, leads the search committee as a non-voting member. The committee includes faculty representatives from the institution's three universities: the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Southeast.

Other members of the search committee include:

• Perry Barboza, professor, UAF Institute of Arctic Biology


• Talis Colberg, director, UAA Matanuska-Susitna College


• Abhijit Dandekar, chairman, UAF Department of Petroleum Engineering


• Mark Fitch, associate professor, UAF Department of Mathematics and Statistics


• Mark Herrmann, dean, UAF School of Management


• Larry Hinzman, director, UAF International Arctic Research Center


• Diane Hirshberg, director, UAA Center for Alaska Education Policy Research


• Eric Holmberg, chairman, UAA Chemistry Department


• Rashmi Prasad, dean, UAA College of Business and Public Policy


• Fred Rainey, associate dean and director, UAA Department of Biological Science


• Karen R. Schmitt, dean, UAS School of Arts and Sciences and Vice Provost for Research & Sponsored Programs


• Walter Skya, associate professor and Asian studies director, UAF Department of History


• Lance (X'unei) A. Twitchell, assistant professor of Alaska Native languages, UAS Department of Humanities


• Helena S. Wisniewski, UAA vice provost for research and graduate studies and dean of graduate studies


• Eran Hood, professor of environmental science, UAS Department of Natural Science