UAF launches new leadership academy

May 1, 2019

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has created a new leadership academy aimed at building students’ ability to create positive change in their local, national and global communities.

The Virgie Dunlap-King Academy for Social Change is named for longtime local educator, community leader and volunteer Virgie Dunlap-King, who passed away in May 2018. The academy is recruiting for its first cohort of students now.

“Virgie King’s lifetime of service illustrates that one person can make a difference in the lives of thousands and shape the fabric of a community,” said Keith Champagne, vice chancellor for student affairs at UAF. “I envision the Virgie Dunlap-King Academy inspiring many generations of UAF students to become agents of social change in Fairbanks and and communities around the country and the globe.”

The cohort will consist of 15 students who will begin meeting in the fall. The academy will run throughout the academic year and include a mix of workshops and group service opportunities designed to help students plan and execute individual projects that contribute to social change, known as Nanook Legacy Projects. Throughout the year, members of the cohort will also work with community organizations and local schools and will serve as mentors as part of the local African American Student Leadership Conference, a program for local youths that Dunlap-King founded more than three decades ago.

"My mother's life was marked by service,” said Dunlap-King’s daughter, Jessica King. “I truly appreciate the University of Alaska Fairbanks for recognizing her efforts in the community and honoring her memory. Our family looks forward to the development of tomorrow's leaders and know this program will help cultivate those individuals. "

Completion of the academy will make students eligible to apply for graduation with leadership honors.

The Virgie Dunlap-King Academy will be the third in a three-year student leadership development series at UAF. Other programs are the First Year Leadership Academy and the Nanook Alliance.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Cody Rogers, 907-474-6026, cbrogers@alaska.edu.