UAF selects recipients for honorary degrees, service awards

October 31, 2019

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has selected recipients of this year’s honorary doctoral degrees and Meritorious Service Awards.

Fisheries biologist Randy J. Brown, Arctic Slope Regional Corp. executive Richard Savik Glenn, Alaska Native leader Willie Kasayulie and Arctic researcher Patrick J. Webber will receive honorary doctorates. Mining industry leader Roger Burggraf, orthopedic surgeon Cary S. Keller, Kawerak executive Luisa Machuca, and Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Marisa Sharrah will each receive UAF's Meritorious Service Award. They will be recognized at UAF’s commencement ceremony in May.

Honorary degree recipients are chosen for their lasting contributions to the state and nation, and for significant achievements in their respective disciplines.

Brown will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

As a young man, Brown lived a remote subsistence lifestyle near Eagle, Alaska. After Brown and his wife, Karen Kallen-Brown, moved their family to Fairbanks, he studied at UAF and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in fisheries science. While working at the Fairbanks Fisheries Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, he established himself as a preeminent fisheries biologist in Alaska, documenting his work with 21 peer-reviewed journal publications and numerous agency reports. Throughout his career, he has served as a mentor to UAF students, a valuable contact for researchers and a facilitator of dozens of projects on federal lands. His projects have greatly increased information about many Alaska fish species, providing for both resource conservation and user harvest opportunities.

Glenn will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Glenn was raised in the San Francisco Bay area, but in his teenage years lived several summers with members of his mother's family in Barrow (now Utqiagvik), where he learned to hunt and developed an understanding of and respect for sea ice. After supervising energy programs for villages throughout the North Slope Borough, Glenn joined ASRC in 2001. As executive vice president of external affairs, he is responsible for all facets of government affairs and corporate communications, and has served as an invaluable presence at the interface between Inupiaq and Western science and engineering. A certified professional geologist in Alaska, he earned a master’s degree in geology from UAF and has been appointed twice to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.

Kasayulie will receive an honorary Doctor of Education degree.

Kasayulie grew up attending Bureau of Indian Affairs schools in Akiachak, Wrangell, and Chemawa, Oregon, before completing his high school education in Vermont. Since then, he has had a long and distinguished career promoting the health and welfare of indigenous people through service, activism, advocacy and reform. He is one of the founders of the Yupiit Nation and served as its chief. He has served with many other organizations and agencies at the community, state and national levels. A tireless advocate for Alaska’s public school students, he has served on the board of the Yupiit School District and was a plaintiff in a lawsuit to correct injustices he saw in Alaska education funding. His many honors include a Citizen of the Year Award from the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Champion of Equal Rights Award from the Alaska Civil Liberties Union.

Webber will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

Webber, a professor emeritus from Michigan State University, has spent his long research career focused on the Arctic and cold regions. Born in England, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1992 and has long considered Alaska as his “home base” for research. He is recognized as a pioneer in the study of Arctic vegetation, including studies to evaluate the impact of the Prudhoe Bay oil field on plant and animal ecosystems. During four years as a program director at the National Science Foundation, Webber fostered the growth of funding for Arctic research and advised investigators and institutions about proposal strategy and opportunity. This greatly benefited Arctic sciences, many UAF faculty and students, and the Toolik Field Station. His many leadership positions included the presidency of the International Arctic Science Committee from 2002-2006. In 2010, he received the first International Arctic Science Medal.

Burggraf, Keller, Machuca and Sharrah each will receive a Meritorious Service Award, which recognizes service to the local community or state.

Burggraf has been a strong supporter of the mining industry throughout his nearly 50-year career as a miner and mine operator. An Alaskan since 1953, he also served as an Army artillery officer and as commander of the Fairbanks National Guard armory. Burggraf holds leadership roles with many organizations, including the Alaska Miners Association and Friends of the University of Alaska Museum of the North, and is a former member of the UAF Board of Advisors. Burggraf is a longtime supporter of UAF’s mining and geological engineering programs. He was honored as the 2014 William Egan Outstanding Alaskan of the Year by the Alaska Chamber of Commerce.

Keller is the founder of Sportsmedicine Fairbanks and has served in numerous volunteer roles, including as member of the University of Alaska Foundation board of directors and team physician for Alaska Nanooks athletics teams since 1990. His many awards include the Friend of Education Life Service Award from the Fairbanks Education Association, the Circle of Giving Award from UAF, and the Golden Heart Award from the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame at both Lathrop High School and UAF.

Machuca, an Inupiaq from Council, Alaska, is the vice president of the Education, Employment and Supportive Services Division with Kawerak, a consortium of 20 federally recognized tribes in the Bering Strait region. Machuca has been the Kawerak representative to the UAF Northwest Campus Advisory Council since 2013 and was invited by UA President Jim Johnsen in 2016 to serve on the Strategic Pathways review team for community campuses. She also serves on several regional and statewide boards and councils.

Sharrah has been the president and CEO of the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce since 2016, and previously worked as the community relations manager for Flint Hills Resources’ North Pole refinery. In collaboration with the Fairbanks Economic Development Corp., she led the local “Save Our University” campaign in 2019. Sharrah holds a bachelor’s degree from UAF and has spent countless hours advocating on behalf of the university. Sharrah serves on the Chancellor's Advisory Board, helping chart the path forward for UAF.

Chancellor Dan White's video message about the 2020 honorees:https://youtu.be/H4AZUX7n3P8