About Us

Steering Committee

Rick Nerland - Co-Chair, Save the Seawolf Steering Committee

Tim Gravel - Co-Chair, Save the Seawolf Steering Committee; UAA alumnus

Katie Bender - Member, UAA Alumni Association Board of Directors

Lea Bouton - President, UAA Alumni Association Board of Directors

Jerry Dewhurst - UAA Parent; past President of Blueliners; past member of UAA Athletics Hall of Fame committee

Rick Goodfellow - Former CAS Advisory Board member; recipient of 2017 UAA Meritorious Service Award

David Hoffman - Former UAF adjunct faculty; Business owner

Lora Jorgensen - UAA parent; UAA alumnus; former UAA faculty & staff member

Mara Kimmel - Former UAA faculty member; UAF alumnus

Stacey Lucason - Member, UAA Alumni Association Board of Directors; former member of Board of Regents; former UAA Student Body President

Boyd Morgenthaler, P.E. - Member, UAA College of Engineering Advisory Board

Bobbi Olson - 41-year supporter of UAA Athletics; Seawolf Hall of Fame Inductee

Jonathon Taylor - Member, UAA Alumni Association Board of Directors; UAA Alumnus

Can I join?

If you care about UAA, you're already a part of our movement! Look below for suggestions of how you can contribute.

What Can I Do?

Students

Your voices are certainly the most important! When you speak to Legislators or members of the Board of Regents they know their actions have direct effects on you. Let them know your story. What does being a UAA Seawolf mean to you? What is at risk if the Seawolf becomes extinct?

Faculty

It's tough because while you are often the most knowledgeable about what the proposed changes mean, your expertise is frequently ignored or dismissed. But you have a right to a role in these proceedings. Insist that the Regents and Administration honor their obligations to shared governance.

Help educate the public and the local lawmakers on the value of UAA and what is at risk.

Staff

You are the people who actually make UAA work! Years of cuts have been especially devastating for you. Let people know just how thin the line is. It's only by the narrowest of margins that you are able to do what you need to do to keep this institution going. Let them know that lives and livelihoods are on the line in this discussion.

I Want to Help, Too!

Business Leaders

Let members of the legislature and the Board of Regents understand that you realize the importance of UAA as an economic driver for Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska. Tell them about the partnerships, the internships, and the graduates whom you hire which you depend on to get your work done!

Anchorage and Southcentral Residents

Let people know that Anchorage is a university town! You can write, you can e-mail, you can turn out for community events. Even just showing off a little green and gold gives a big boost to the morale of everyone on campus.

University Chancellors

HANG IN THERE!

We know that UA president Johnsen's gag order makes it impossible for you to defend your institutions when they need you most.

We've got your back! Let us do the talking.

Saving the Seawolf Saves the Nanook and Spike the Whale!

The threat is real

By now you know that the University of Alaska is under a tremendous pressure as Governor Dunleavy seeks to diminish the funding provided by the State of Alaska. While the size of the cut initially sought by the Governor has been reduced, we still face a significant reduction in the funds available to higher education in Alaska.

In response to this threat, President Johnsen and the Board of Regents are pursuing a plan that would consolidate Alaska's three universities into one entity, eliminating UAA, UAS and UAF. The result would be a university managed far away from the students it serves.

We believe that three universities give Alaskans options for their higher education goals and, even more importantly, make those universities responsive to the needs of their local communities. Our three accredited universities each have an identity and character shaped by their locale. Three universites offer resiliency and diversity that benefits all Alaskans. To sacrifice one or all would be to ignore the multiplicity of peoples, places and priorities in Alaska.

While we're focused on Saving the Seawolf, we also support the distinctive missions and characters of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Alaska Southeast. We know that there are options--like decentralization--that would both save money and preserve the uniqueness of our three universities.

Want to get inovlved? Check out the resources on this site for tips on how you can help!