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UAA receives $3M to boost ESL endorsements
UAA’s School of Education was awarded a $3 million Project LEAF (Literacy Equity for Alaskan Families) grant. Provided by the Office of English Language Acquisition, the federal professional development grant aims to improve the effectiveness of teachers to meet the needs of students who are English language learners. Project LEAF provides tuition support to teachers currently working throughout Alaska who are looking to earn an ESL (English as a second language) endorsement on their teaching certificate. Typically, ESL endorsements are obtained by teachers who take 18 graduate-level credits beyond their initial certification and can cost upward of $10,000. Through the grant, Project LEAF will be able to offer tuition support to 125 teachers working toward their ESL endorsements, as well as provide 220 teachers with professional development opportunities that increase their knowledge, confidence and skills in language, literacy and content instruction for English learners.
Rasmuson Foundation awards six alumni artists
The Rasmuson Foundation announced this year’s recipients of the annual Individual Artist Awards. Twenty-five artists, including five UAA alumni, will receive project awards of $7,500. Ten artists, including one alumna, will receive $18,000 fellowships. One artist, photographer James Barker, will receive the $40,000 Distinguished Artist award, recognizing creative excellence and artistic achievements in a career spanning several decades. Now in its 19th year, the Individual Artist Awards program supports arts and culture by putting money directly into the hands of artists. It is one of several grant programs and initiatives managed by the Rasmuson Foundation to promote a better life for Alaskans. Congratulations to all the award recipients, including the following members of the UAA family: Adriana Latonio, B.M. ’20, A.A. ’19; Beth Blankenship, B.F.A. ’98; Michael Conti, B.F.A. ’01; Michele Kawahine Danner, A.A. ’19; Andrea Hackbarth, M.F.A. ’16; Janissa Johnson, B.B.A. ’07.
Mark your calendars: Giving Day 2022 is Feb. 22-23
In November 2021, UAA alumni turned their communities green and gold with shared pride from almost every state and outside the country. Part of a larger UA Giving Day initiative that raised over $262,000 for UAA and over $1 million across the University of Alaska System, nearly 300 alumni donated more than $80,000 to UAA’s campuses, colleges and programs — 70 more alumni and $31,000 more donated compared to Giving Day 2020. Originally scheduled to take place November 2022, the next Giving Day is slated for Feb. 22-23, 2023. We hope you, your company or your professional organization will get creative with us to make #49HoursForAlaska an even bigger success. Contact Samantha Sink, UA Foundation director of annual giving, at sksink@alaska.edu to get involved with Giving Day.
Seawolf Hockey returns after 2 ½ years
Seawolf Hockey returned to the ice in a movie-script moment on Sep. 23, with a packed house of green-and-gold-wearing fans on the edge of their seats. The team made Simon Fraser University work hard for the only point of the preseason game, which came in the last two minutes. The Anchorage community and Seawolf 5th Line collectively donated $3 million to save their hometown team after the University of Alaska Board of Regents voted in September 2020 to discontinue hockey, gymnastics and Alpine skiing unless the teams could raise two years of funding to cover operating expenses.
First National Bank Alaska supports UAA finance education
In August 2022, UAA announced that First National Bank Alaska will be a lead philanthropic partner to develop a finance lab at the College of Business and Public Policy (CBPP) to open fall 2023 and will be known as the First National Bank Alaska Finance Lab. First National also contributed to installing a digital stock ticker in Rasmuson Hall. Together, the major philanthropic investments totaling nearly $500,000 provide tangible milestones toward creating a leading finance education hub for the University of Alaska System. In addition to establishing UAA as a finance education hub, First National’s gifts support broader strategic goals of the university system’s “For Alaska” fundraising campaign: enhancing workforce development, fostering educational access and diversifying Alaska’s economy. The contributions are the most recent example of First National’s long-standing commitment to supporting the University of Alaska and build on a decades-long legacy of partnership.
