THE POWER OF COMMUNITY

Whether working with the health care industry and the business community or seeking out new partnerships, we continue to cultivate alliances within our community network to provide the best educational experience for our students. Partnerships and collaboration with our community strengthen our university, ultimately leading to student internships or direct job placements in our state. As we continue to educate the next generation of Alaska’s business leaders and workforce, our community partnerships help advance the mission of UAA.

Some ways we worked toward accomplishing our community engagement goal this year are more traditional, like our annual university events, such as the Homecoming Luncheon in the fall, celebrating our Alumni of Distinction in the spring and UAA Giving Day. However, what changed this year was collaborating with our community through local organizations, businesses and individuals. We sought out local partnerships to help further our university’s reach and, more broadly, serve the community. Whether working directly with alumni and organizations like the Anchorage School District or participating in a beloved community event like Fur Rendezvous, we looked for innovative ways to expand our community collaborations.

Through our willingness to invest our time and resources in our community, others were inspired to invest in our financial future. Throughout the year, donors, whether individuals or organizations, have increased their contributions to UAA, and we’re even seeing new 10-year giving commitments and some exciting major gifts. One of these donations is the recent generous gift from Catherine Stevens and the Ted Stevens Foundation of the Ted Stevens Collection to the UAA/APU Consortium Library. The collection contains over 4,000 boxes of the senator’s memorabilia, 8 million pages of records and thousands of photos and audio-visual pieces representing Stevens’ more than 40 years of public service to Alaska. This donation will allow us to share an important part of Alaska’s history with our community and beyond.

As another academic year comes to a close, I am equally proud of our university community’s accomplishments and excited for our continued work of being an active, engaged and trusted community partner. As always, I encourage you to remain engaged in your university community, whether you graduated from UAA decades ago or recently walked across the stage at the Alaska Airlines Center. I hope to see you at a UAA event on campus, engaging with us out in the community or collaborating with us in your professional life. Your relationship with us is invaluable and is key in helping us serve our community’s needs.

With Green and Gold Spirit,