UAF School of Education (SOE) Dean Candidates

Olga Skinner

Biography

Dr. Olga Paniik Skinner serves as an Assistant Professor at the UAF School of Education, leading initiatives through the Alaska Indigenous Teacher Corps to recruit and support Alaska Native students working to become certified teachers and the Alaska Indigenous Teacher Network to support and retain Alaska Native alumni in the teaching workforce. Dr. Skinner's work continues to advocate for culturally responsive education and the integration of Indigenous knowledge in academic settings.

She is a dedicated scholar and educator with a Ph.D. in Indigenous Studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). A Mellon Fellow and spring 2022 graduate, her research focuses on the educational journeys of Alaska Native students in STEM fields, highlighted in her dissertation, The STEM Trail: Alaska Native Undergraduates Find the Right Path in Higher Education. Dr. Skinner has extensive experience supporting Indigenous students as an academic advisor and as a former advisor for the UAF Chapter of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society.

Douglas Cost

Biography

Dr. Douglas Cost is currently an Associate Professor and Chair of the Secondary Education Program in the School of Education (SOE) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). For nearly two decades he has lived and traveled widely in Alaska, earning a M.F.A. in Poetry and completing his Ph.D. in Cross-Cultural Education, Community Resilience, and Futures Studies. His research has demonstrated the powerful roles of schools in rural communities and the resilience of young people, elementary through high school, to shape positive futures in Alaska. He first taught English/Language Arts at Whaley Middle School in Compton, California, later teaching high school in El Segundo. While earning his MA in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Dr. Cost worked as a Literacy and Leadership Coach, across all academic disciplines, for three years in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Additionally, Dr. Cost has worked and studied in Turkey (Fulbright), Thailand (Certified Yoga Instructor), and Tromsø, Norway (TUNDRA Fellowship). At the moment he teaches Methods & Assessment and the Multicultural Education course to student teacher candidates in the SOE and is a lead researcher on a National Science Foundation: Noyce Research Grant, researching STEM teacher retention and mobility across the state of Alaska.