UAA Alumni Spirit

FEATURES

1. Nursing alumni take on Alaska’s health care needs
   COVID-19 illuminated the critical role nurses play in our communities and the importance of having a local, accessible nursing education program in the state. Since early 2020, UAA’s School of Nursing has graduated more than 500 nurses into Alaska’s health care system.
2. No place like home
   In October 2021, engineering alumna Michele Yatchmeneff accepted the role of executive director of Alaska Native education and outreach at UAA, tasked with ensuring Alaska Native students, faculty and staff have equal opportunity to succeed on campus.
3. Player to coach, teammate to teacher
   Last year, UAA hockey was in a precarious place. But now, the team has a brand new head coach — one who may be familiar to followers of Anchorage hockey: history alumnus Matt Shasby, who played as a Seawolf from 1999 to 2003 before going pro with the Alaska Aces.
4. Counting salmon to save whales
   Understanding the health of salmon populations is critical to conserving other species. Over the past few summers, natural sciences alumnus Samuel Franklin and the Applied Environmental Research Center have devised new ways to monitor salmon on military bases near Anchorage.
5. Just warming up
   Engineering alumnus Jan van den Top has generously endowed the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Lab that now bears his name. His latest investment in UAA is an example of a philosophy that has been one of his guiding principles.
6. Honors program rebuilt for flexibility and immersion
   UAA debuted its reimagined and refocused honors program in spring 2022, and the new program already has a bright future. Sixty-five students have been admitted into the first year with greater numbers anticipated in the years to come.
7. Alumni of Distinction
   Meet this year’s Alumni of Distinction recipients: Alumni of Achievement Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, Alumni Humanitarian Amanda Metivier and Alumni Emerging Leader Kira Apaachuaq Eckenweiler.

DEPARTMENTS

1. From the Editor
2. From an alumnus
3. From the chancellor
4. News Briefs
5. Class Notes
6. Lens on Campus

ON THE COVER

From the Editor

Meet engineering alumna Michele Yatchmeneff, UAA’s new executive director of Alaska Native education and outreach, whose previous roles as engineering associate professor and ANSEP assistant director make her the perfect person to facilitate success for students, faculty and staff on campus. And meet history alumnus Matt Shasby, UAA’s latest hockey head coach, whose own time as a student-athlete, pro hockey player and teacher combine to give him a unique approach to coaching.

From An Alumnus

As UAA enters a new chapter, I’m reminded that alumni are a critical part of charting that course. While our time at the university may have passed, our diverse experiences have shaped who we are today. We have the opportunity to invest in our university, its students and shape both for the better.

Whether students are pursuing a certificate, associate, baccalaureate, a master’s degree or beyond at UAA, one of our university’s core values is to offer affordable and accessible higher education.

We learned that scholarships make UAA and our community campuses accessible and affordable. From large grants and scholarships at the state level, like the Alaska Higher Education Investment Fund, valued at more than $400 million, which pays for the Alaska Performance Scholarship, needs-based Alaska Education Grants, and the medical program, WWAMI, to smaller UAA scholarships aimed at encouraging students to stick with their programs or return to school.

“Health care is never going away; we’re always going to need it,” said Jyll Green, M.S.N. ’04, Ph.D. ’16, medical and occupational health manager at Oil Search Alaska Limited and SON Community Advisory Board member. Green has lived and worked in Alaska for more than two decades, operating her all-nurse practitioner practice, MyHealth Clinic, before selling it in 2019. She emphasized the value of having a local university nursing program. “It is essential that we are producing our own health care staff from radiology to medical assistance — we need all of these professions to help move population health forward in Alaska.”

Most people would consider themselves fortunate to find one place where they feel truly at home. Michele Yatchmeneff, B.S. Civil Engineering ’05, M.S. Engineering Management ’09, has several of these places: her birthplace of Anchorage, her familial homes of King Cove and False Pass in the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) Building at UAA.

In October 2021, Yatchmeneff accepted the role of executive director of Alaska Native education and outreach at her alma mater. Her position sits on the Chancellor’s Cabinet and is focused on providing Alaska Native students, staff and faculty with opportunities to succeed on campus. The goal is outlined in the statewide University of Alaska System’s Alaska Native Success Initiative.

One year ago, hockey at UAA was in a much more precarious place. One of three athletic programs slated for discontinuation due to drastic cuts to the University of Alaska System’s state-funded budget, Seawolf hockey elicited support from Alaska to Washington, meeting its fundraising goal of $3 million to be reinstated in time for the 2022-23 season.

Back on track, the UAA hockey team has a brand new head coach, one who may be familiar to followers of the Green and Gold: former Seawolf hockey player Matt Shasby, B.A. History ’08.

At a small, masked ceremony on the third floor of the Engineering and Industry Building in December 2021, UAA’s chancellor, the College of Engineering’s (CoEng) dean and others gathered to rename the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Lab in honor of Jan van den Top, a 1973 Master of Science in engineering alumnus, whose generous endowment will enable UAA’s mechanical engineering program to remain on the cutting edge of teaching and research. In fact, this endowment is the latest in a long line of investments he has made in UAA, and is an example of a philosophy that has been one of van den Top’s guiding principles.

Originally from the Netherlands, van den Top joined the Netherlands Volunteer Organization after finishing his undergraduate degree. The organization brought him to Kenya, where he worked with local coffee farming cooperatives to upgrade infrastructure, improve processes and increase output. This opportunity allowed van den Top to see more of the world and to do work that he found meaningful — work that would maybe do some good. However, he is now unsure whether this work achieved its intended outcomes.

Beginning in the spring 2022 semester, UAA debuted its reimagined and refocused honors program, offering students more flexibility, customization and engagement as they pursue areas they are passionate about.

“We wanted to design a new honors program that was modern, accessible and helps our graduates stand out from peers when hitting the job market or graduate school applications,” said Honors College Dean and Vice Chancellor for Student Success Claudia Lampman, Ph.D. “Because experiential learning is embedded into their education, students are impacting their communities while preparing themselves for lives filled with service and intellectual curiosity.”

Returning to the traditional in-person event was possible through a partnership with UAA’s Culinary Arts program, providing students with real-world experience by allowing them to develop the event menu, prepare the meals and serve their delicious creations.