ISER welcomes new director, Heather Hudson

Dr. Heather Hudson is the new director for the UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER). The UAA College of Business and Public Policy (CBPP) has also appointed Hudson as professor of public policy.

Dr. Hudson comes to UAA following her fellowship as Fulbright Visiting Policy Research Chair at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada last fall, and previously, as professor and director of the Communications Technology Management and Policy Program at the University of San Francisco.

"We were fortunate to find someone with Heather's breadth of experience and international reputation," said CBPP Dean Elisha "Bear" Baker, IV who oversees ISER. "Her knowledge of Alaska, combined with extensive telecommunications policy background, makes her an excellent fit for ISER and the University of Alaska."

Hudson has conducted research in Alaska, northern Canada, and more than 50 developing countries.  In Alaska, she evaluated satellite telemedicine projects, studied the rural telecommunications industry, and assessed universal service policies that support extension of Internet and broadband services to Alaska villages.

She has also been a Sloan Industry Fellow at Columbia University, and was recently designated an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Communications Society Distinguished Lecturer. She holds a Ph.D. in communication research from Stanford University and J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Her professional experience includes research on applications and effects of new communications technologies and policies to extend access to communications, particularly in remote and developing regions. She has also developed and taught graduate courses in communications policy, international communications, communications project planning and evaluation and trends in new technologies.

Now part of CBPP at UAA, ISER was established by the Alaska Legislature in 1961.  ISER maintains the state's largest economic database and forecasts population and employment trends. In recent years, ISER has increasingly drawn Alaska Native organizations, communities, school districts and universities into its research projects and initiatives.

Roughly three-quarters of ISER's budget is from grants and contracts, with the remaining quarter provided through university funds. ISER's researchers also teach undergraduate and graduate courses at UAA.

ISER's research findings are published and available through ISER's offices at UAA. Many are also available on its Web site at www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu.