Friday Focus: Inclusion at UAF
Chancellor Dan White
Jan. 26, 2024
— By Dan White, chancellor
For my first Friday Focus of 2024, I am inspired to reflect on how far UAF has come in the past few years and everything we have to look forward to. We have six strategic goals for the university that were developed in an inclusive way by faculty, staff, and students back in 2019. We are halfway to our ambitious deadline of 2027 to achieve these goals. All six of these goals are important and there is a place in our journey for everyone at UAF.
Integral to the success of each of our goals is the strategic goal to promote a culture of respect, diversity, inclusion and caring. When considering what it will take to achieve our ambitious visions, I know we won’t be able to make these things a reality without being a university where everyone can prosper. I also know that engagement in helping to create our future is a key to belonging. We need to feel that we belong and know we have a place in the big picture. That is where the strategic goals come in.
In 2024 will be the year we take steps towards our goal of achieving R1. We will strengthen our position as leaders in Alaska Native and Indigenous Studies and hope to break ground on the Troth Yeddha’ Indigenous Studies Center. We will invest in updated facilities and modern academic processes that will modernize the student experience and revitalize key academic programs. I can’t wait!
We have been talking about Carnegie Research 1 status a lot lately. Yesterday we had a forum on R1 with many in attendance and online. The UA Board of Regents has made UAF R1 a priority for the UA System with their $20M request to the Governor to support the effort. There are ten members (faculty, staff, and students) of the R1 steering committee. Each of these members also chairs a committee working on elements of how we get to R1 and how we sustain it. So there are a lot of people working on this goal already!
The push to R1 will also involve the hiring of key staff and student positions. It will involve faculty mentors, advisors, thesis reviewers and funding for graduate students. There will be many across UAF who are now or will soon be engaged in this process.
But, what if R1 is not your thing? There are five other strategic goals. Find the one that speaks to you and get involved. Modernizing the student experience is a big goal and has a connection to nearly every person on campus. So do revitalizing key academic programs, and solidifying our position as global leaders in Alaska Native and Indigenous Studies. As we learned in the R1 forum, each of the strategic goals builds on the others. So if your passion is modernizing the student experience, focus there, and you are already helping R1 and probably other strategic goals along the way.
It is important to me that our process to get here and to go forward are as inclusive as we want the outcome to be. A rising tide lifts all boats, and I want all of our employees, departments, colleges, and community partners to be on a boat when the tide goes up. Ask yourself what your passion is and where you are well positioned in the institution to effect change on a certain issue. Not everyone needs to be working on every goal, but if everyone finds a role, we will get there faster together.
Friday Focus is written by a different member of UAF’s leadership team every week.