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Current UAS News Releases
UAS Reaches Record for Number of GraduatesA record number of degrees were presented at Southeast Alaska’s regional university the weekend of May 3, 2008. The University of Alaska Southeast awarded 348 degrees for the 2007-08 academic year, up from 276 degrees last year. The tally includes 125 graduate, 136 undergraduate and 87 Associate degrees. An additional 80+ occupational endorsements and undergraduate and graduate certificates were conferred, up from 22 in 2007.
“This is the largest and most diverse class in UAS history in terms of ethnicity and types of degrees being awarded,” said Chancellor John Pugh. The Juneau campus 37th Commencement Ceremony took place on Sunday, May 4th, 2 p.m. in the UAS Student Recreation Center Gamble-Sperl Joint Use facility.
Father Stephen Sundborg presented the commencement address. A native of Alaska, Father Sundborg has served as president of Seattle University since 1997. Father Sundborg’s Juneau roots go back to his early education in Juneau at St. Anne’s school and Juneau-Douglas High School. He moved to Fairbanks when his father, George Sundborg, became editor of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. George Sundborg, now 95 and living in Seattle, was an at-large elected delegate to the Alaska State Constitutional Convention. Father Sundborg is strongly committed to promoting social justice, a core value of the Jesuit Catholic education.
BBA Marketing recipient Elizabeth Stickel and BS Mathematics recipient Josh Galbraith served as student speakers.
Artist, naturalist and author Ray Troll received an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts for his unique ability to combine art and science.
Theatre in the Rough founders, performers and designers Katie Jensen and Aaron Elmore were honored in Juneau with a Meritorious Service Award for distinguished contributions to the performing arts.
Alaska Native students also attended Wooch.een’s Annual Native Graduation Celebration on Saturday, May 3, at 1 p.m. in the UAS Egan Library.
Contact:
Katie Bausler
University of Alaska Southeast
Phone:
(907) 796-6530
Email:
katie.bausler@uas.alaska.edu
Board Approves Four New UAS Degrees, CertificatesAt its meeting in Ketchikan, the University of Alaska Board of Regents approved four new degree and certificate programs for the University of Alaska Southeast, including Masters degrees in Math Education and Educational Leadership, an Associate of Business degree and a certificate in Pre-Engineering.
The programs will allow UAS to serve a broader spectrum of students and put more Alaskans to work in high demand, well-paying jobs in Alaska.
The M.Ed. in Mathematics Education is the only program of its kind in the state. “The new M.Ed. will provide the opportunity for more teachers to become highly qualified as mathematics teachers in the public schools,” said UAS Dean of Education Larry Harris. Records from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development show nearly 30 percent of Alaska students below proficiency in mathematics. The new UAS degree will “respond to state workforce needs for highly qualified math teachers to meet federal No Child Left Behind guidelines,” said UAS Chancellor John Pugh. The program will be delivered live, asynchronously (which allows for student-teacher interaction) through the internet. “This distance delivered program will better meet the needs of teachers in the rural and remote schools of Alaska,” said Harris.
The addition of a second Masters of Education, with an emphasis in Educational Leadership (MEd) will prepare more educators to fill leadership positions in Alaska schools. “This one year program is modeled after our highly successful Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) programs. It will allow a teacher to complete all of the requirements for becoming a principal in one calendar year,” said Dean Harris.
A cohort of 20 teachers will be selected for participation annually. The cohort will spend five weeks on the Juneau campus for two consecutive summers. During the school year they will return to their schools to complete 640 hours of practicum experience in educational leadership and participate in weekly audio and web based conferences. The program is geared to ameliorate a dearth of Alaskan principals and other leaders in rural and remote schools. “We have support for this from superintendents in Southeast and from all over the state,” said Chancellor Pugh.
The Associate of Business (AB) is a transfer degree program to the UAS’ Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree program. The program will allow for on-site courses to attract more residential students to Juneau. All UAS business courses at this point are distance delivered. Three new courses will be added to the business administration curriculum for the AB. “The goal is to re-energize the program in Juneau and have lots of face to face time and more successful candidates for the BBA,” said UAS Provost Robbie Stell. According the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, management and accounting are among the state’s top 25 fields for job-openings and higher than average wages.
A certificate in Pre-Engineering (CPE) will better prepare students for transfer to Bachelor of Science in Engineering programs. “We see our role to prepare students to enter a bachelor’s program at a higher level,” said Stell. Regent Carl Marrs believes the program will help retain students who might otherwise drop out at the beginning stages of challenging engineering programs. The new pre-engineering courses will be on-site Juneau campus. “We are very pleased to begin offering this new option for students to begin a degree program in Engineering by taking their first year of classes at UAS. After the first year, students will transfer to UAA or UAF to continue their engineering degree. This program was created to meet a shortage of engineers in Alaska and we believe that this program will help Alaska educate the engineers it will need in the future," said UAS Dean of Arts and Sciences Patrick Brown.
Contact:
Katie Bausler
University of Alaska Southeast
Phone:
(907) 796-6530
Email:
katie.bausler@uas.alaska.edu
 For a listing of archived news releases by date and headline, please select an archive year.
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