Editing University of Alaska System

{{Short description|Public university system in Alaska, United States}}
{{Infobox university
|name = University of Alaska System
|image_name = 
|image_size =200px 
|motto = ''Ad Summum''
|motto_lang = la
|mottoeng= "To the top"
|established = {{start date and age|1917}}
|type = [[Public university|Public]] [[State university system|university system]]
|endowment = $375 million (system-wide) (2021)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alaska.edu/foundation/about/|title=UA Foundation - About US}}</ref>
|city = [[Anchorage]], [[Fairbanks]], and [[Juneau]]
|state = [[Alaska]]
|country = United States
|president = [[Pat Pitney]]
|students = 26,341 (2019)
|nickname = 
|affiliations = 
|website = {{URL|www.alaska.edu}}
|logo = University_of_Alaska_Logo.png
}}{{Location map+|Alaska|places={{Location map~ | Alaska
    | marksize = 8
    | label_size = 80
    | label = [[University of Alaska Fairbanks|Fairbanks]]
    | position = top
    | lat_deg = 64.858889
    | lon_deg = -147.835556 }}
{{Location map~ | Alaska
    | marksize = 8
    | label_size = 80
    | label = [[University of Alaska Anchorage|Anchorage]]
    | position = left
    | lat_deg = 61.189886
    | lon_deg = -149.827014 }}
{{Location map~ | Alaska
    | marksize = 8
    | label_size = 80
    | label = [[University of Alaska Southeast|Southeast]]
    | position = left
    | lat_deg = 58.385
    | lon_deg = -134.638611 }}|caption=University of Alaska locations|float=right}}

The '''University of Alaska System''' is a [[State university system|system]] of [[Public university|public universities]] in the U.S. state of [[Alaska]]. It was created in 1917 and comprises three separately accredited universities on 19 campuses. The system serves nearly 30,000 full- and part-time students and offers 400 unique degree programs.<ref>{{Cite web|title = About UA {{!}} University of Alaska System|url = https://www.alaska.edu/alaska/about-ua/|website = www.alaska.edu|access-date = 2015-11-09}}</ref>

Each of the three main universities has several satellite campuses in smaller communities.<ref>{{Cite web|title = About UA {{!}} University of Alaska System|url = https://www.alaska.edu/alaska/about-ua/|website = www.alaska.edu|access-date = 2015-09-16}}</ref> [[University of Alaska Anchorage|UAA]] also operates three large satellite community colleges. The three major institutions in the University of Alaska system are:

* [[University of Alaska Anchorage]], the largest university by enrollment in the system;
* [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]], the first university and flagship;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uaf.edu/vision2017/final/VTF_finalreport.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-01-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224234714/http://www.uaf.edu/vision2017/final/VTF_finalreport.pdf |archive-date=2015-12-24 }}</ref>
* [[University of Alaska Southeast]], located in the [[capital city]] of [[Juneau]], with campuses in Sitka and Ketchikan and the smallest by enrollment.

Since the population of Alaska is smaller than that of most [[U.S. state]]s, the University of Alaska System is also relatively small. However, it does have several notable academic departments. At UAF, these are the [[geology]] department, the [[atmospheric sciences]] department, and the [[wildlife]] [[biology]] department. Reflecting the state's small population, the amount of federal land granted to the University of Alaska under the [[Morrill Act]] was the second-smallest grant in the country.<ref>{{cite web| last = Johnsen| first = James| title = Reengaging the University: A Case Study of the University of Alaska, 1998-2002| publisher = University of California-Berkeley| date = 2002-05-03| url = http://www.commonwealthnorth.org/uastudy/reengaging.html| access-date = 2007-01-31 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061027205738/http://www.commonwealthnorth.org/uastudy/reengaging.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date = 2006-10-27}}.</ref>

==Governance==
The University of Alaska is formally established under Article VII of the [[Constitution of Alaska#Article VII: Health.2C Education.2C and Welfare|Alaska State Constitution]]. Article VII also establishes a board of regents, appointed by the [[Governor of Alaska|state's governor]] and confirmed by the [[Alaska State Legislature|state's legislature]], that is tasked with governing the university. All regents serve eight-year terms, except for the student regent, who is nominated by the three main campuses for a two-year term.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Members {{!}} Board of Regents|url = https://www.alaska.edu/bor/members/|website = www.alaska.edu|access-date = 2015-11-10}}</ref> The board selects a university president who oversees the statewide administration. Under the president, responsibility for the three main universities is assigned to their respective chancellors. There is also the Coalition of Student Leaders, a group of representatives from the UA student governments that advocates for student issues.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Coalition of Student Leaders {{!}} System Governance|url = https://www.alaska.edu/governance/student-coalition/|website = www.alaska.edu|access-date = 2015-11-10}}</ref>

==University of Alaska Anchorage==
The [[University of Alaska Anchorage]] (UAA) is the largest university in the state, with approximately 15,000 full- and part-time students across all of its campuses. Roughly two thirds of University of Alaska students attend UAA. There are twelve Colleges within UAA, four of which are community campuses in [[Valdez, Alaska|Valdez]], [[Kenai Peninsula College|Kenai Peninsula]] ([[Soldotna, Alaska|Soldotna]] and [[Kachemak Bay Campus|Homer]]), [[Kodiak College|Kodiak]], and the [[Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska|Mat-Su]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = About UAA|url = https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/aboutuaa/index.cfm|website = www.uaa.alaska.edu|access-date = 2015-11-10}}</ref> UAA has thirteen different sports through the [[NCAA]], and competes nationally as the Seawolves.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Athletics|url = https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/athletics/index.cfm|website = www.uaa.alaska.edu|access-date = 2015-11-10}}</ref> [[Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching|The Carnegie Foundation]] has classified the institution as a community-engaged campus with high enrollments in undergraduate programs, and a balance among arts, sciences, and professional preparation. Alaska's only medical school or [[WWAMI Regional Medical Education Program|WWAMI]] program is also administered through the Anchorage campus. The campus is also home to the only FAA-approved collegiate flight training program in the state.

==University of Alaska Fairbanks==
The [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]] (UAF) was known officially as the University of Alaska from 1925 to 1975. UAF is home to the noted [[Geophysical Institute]], which operates the [[Poker Flat Research Range]], a collegiate rocket test range. Until 2015, there was also the [[Arctic Region Supercomputing Center]], the location of the only [[Cray]] supercomputer in the Arctic region. There is also the [[School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences]], which has facilities and research projects all over Alaska and the Arctic Ocean. It is the first university founded in Alaska and is the [[flagship institution]] of the University of Alaska system.<ref>Cole, Terrence (1994). ''The Cornerstone on College Hill: an Illustrated History of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.'' Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska Press.</ref>

The University of Alaska Fairbanks also has five satellite campuses in Fairbanks: the [[UAF Bristol Bay Campus|Bristol Bay Campus]] in [[Dillingham, Alaska|Dillingham]], the Chukchi Campus in [[Kotzebue, Alaska|Kotzebue]], the Interior Alaska Campus (based in Fairbanks but serving rural communities across [[Interior Alaska]]), the Kuskokwim Campus in [[Bethel, Alaska|Bethel]], and the Northwest Campus in [[Nome, Alaska|Nome]]. The Kuskokwim Campus also operates a remote learning center in [[Hooper Bay, Alaska|Hooper Bay]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Campuses |url=https://www.uaf.edu/rural/campuses/ |website=College of Rural & Community Development |publisher=University of Alaska Fairbanks |access-date=February 4, 2024}}</ref>

==University of Alaska Southeast==
The [[University of Alaska Southeast]] (UAS) is located in the state's capital, Juneau, and is the smallest system. Although it has campuses in [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]], [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]], and [[Ketchikan, Alaska|Ketchikan]], the Juneau Campus is the largest of the three. UAS focuses on a strong liberal arts education and experiential learning. There are four academic schools at UAS: the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Management, the School of Career Education, and the School of Education. As of 2017, the Board of Regents of Alaska has appointed UAS as the University of Alaska's center for the College of Education.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.alaska.edu Official website]

{{University of Alaska System}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:University of Alaska System| ]]
[[Category:Public universities and colleges in Alaska| ]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1917]]
[[Category:Public university systems in the United States|A]]
[[Category:1917 establishments in Alaska]]