UAA College of Arts & Sciences - Dean's Dispatch, Issue 2

February 2022, Issue 2

Dear Alumni and Friends,

The College of Arts and Sciences community of faculty and staff continue their commitment to incredible scholarship, while providing high quality education and supporting our students who continue to do amazing things. Despite challenges, the College remains committed to excellence, to aiding CAS student achievement and success.

Our CAS faculty have created dynamic in-person, online and hybrid classroom environments where students can continue to pursue their academic goals. Our outstanding staff continues to support faculty and students, and has learned new skills to support those on-campus and working remotely. Our students continue to pursue their academics outside of the classroom, including research, lab work, artistic endeavors, conference participation, performances and so much more.

We are planning for the future by making changes to our curriculum to keep it relevant, and to offer new pathways to a degree. We are exploring avenues to offer more internships and related opportunities for our students to better engage them in their education and better prepare them for a career.

We are excited that we are beginning to be able to host more in-person events and as such, we are planning the inaugural CAS Celebration of Students on April 22 at 3:00 pm. At this event, we will award an excellence scholarship (thanks to our generous donors) to an outstanding student in every department. Read on to learn more about two of our generous donors and their efforts to support student success.

In this second issue of the CAS Dean’s Dispatch, we highlight a faculty member whose ongoing research on culture and well-being of migrant populations is making impacts in the Alaska community. We also share two incredible stories on our remarkable CAS students who are pursuing their dreams and achieving their goals.

I want to hear from you too, so please take a moment to respond to this open-ended survey.

Best,

Dr. Jenny McNulty, Dean

Student Spotlight:

Benji Wrede

Music

UAA Senior and Music Major Benji Wrede recently placed first in the Upper College Music Theater Division in the NATS Competition. This semester, Benji is serving as the musical director and president of the Glee Club.

Faculty Spotlight:

Sara Buckingham

Psychology

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Dr. Sara Buckingham reflects on her ongoing research on culture and well-being of migrant populations, her increased community involvement, and her role with the Clinical-Community Psychology Ph.D. Program.

Donor Spotlight: John and Marcy Stalvey

John and Marcy Stalvey believe in supporting CAS students in ways that will allow them to succeed. Through their philanthropic efforts, the Stalveys started the Crossing the Finish Line Scholarship, support the Peer Learning Assistants Program, and donate to different College Excellence Funds.

CAS Students in the Classroom and on the field

Our CAS students find success in the classroom, on the field, and in the workforce. Current Seawolf and Natural Sciences student, JC Schoonmaker, joined CAS alumni Zuzana Rogers and Mat Robinson, at the 2022 Winter Olympics.