I AM UAA: Jim Hemsath

M.S. Engineering Management '01
Vice President, UAA Alumni Association

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Fun Fact: Chair of UAA's Green & Gold Gala

With over 30 years in the oil and gas industry, UAA alum Jim Hemsath is no stranger to what makes the state of Alaska tick. And with an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, a master's degree in industrial engineering from Cleveland State University and a second master's in engineering management from UAA, Jim is also no stranger to lifelong learning. He has taught classes at UAA, worked at the Kennedy Space Center under a NASA Faculty Fellowship and managed research projects at the University of Alaska Fairbanks with the U.S. Department of Energy's Arctic Energy Office. And that's just scratching the surface of his impressive resume.

Going a little further back, Jim spent his teenage years in a small town in Ontario, Canada-known at the time as the home of the telephone; now known as the home of Wayne Gretzky. Living with his family in Canada since junior high due to his dad's job, Jim was born in Ohio and returned to the States to attend college at the University of Michigan after high school. He jokes about "dropping out" of high school after Grade 12, when the Ontario school system at the time went to Grade 13.

After his undergrad, he worked for five years for Standard Oil of Ohio (later BP) before attending night school at Cleveland State for his first master's degree, and the job with BP brought him up to Alaska in 1994. It was an interesting transition, he says, waiting to hear if he was going to Alaska or to Saudi Arabia. Alaska it was, and Eagle River has been home ever since. Jim, a charitable giver and a member of the University College of Fellows, is an unabashed supporter of UAA and has Alaska and UAA at the top of his priority list.

"Alaska is on a cusp. We've turned 50 and one could use the expression 'we're almost out of gas'-pun intended. For me, a strong university is absolutely paramount for what can happen in Alaska for the next 50 years. I believe that UAA is absolutely in the right place, in the right city, at the right time, to truly make a significant and long-lasting difference."

Such is Jim's motivation to give his time and energy back to his alma mater through the UAA Alumni Association as vice president. He explains it first and foremost as a way to rally all the friends and colleagues he made during his time here to support the university, grow its programs and take a leadership role in its success.

"I think the university has tremendous potential," he says. "We, the alumni, need to lead it into the position of recognition inside the state."

To say the least, it is Jim's drive for learning and his passion for the state of Alaska that fuels (pun intended) his support of UAA. Working by day as the deputy director of Project Development and Asset Management at Alaska Industrial Development & Export Authority (AIDEA), Jim is also chair of the UAA Alumni Association's annual Green & Gold Gala and spends much of his volunteer time working on the logistics of the annual celebration. In its first year, the 2010 event raised an impressive $30,000 in scholarship funds and Jim aims to increase that number this year.

"Strategically, we're working on a marketing plan to rally a larger base of engaged alumni," he says. "How can we change what we do and how can we do it to better serve the university? What are the concrete steps forward to grow the Alumni Association as a viable, recognizable brand with truly committed members." He encourages all UAA alumni to come to the 2011 Green & Gold Gala on Oct. 1 and join the Alumni Association in celebrating their connection to the university and to discover ways in which they can help bolster support for the next generation of students.

When he's not putting UAA first, Jim enjoys the opportunities he gets to travel. A lot of it is work-related, but occasionally he is able to travel for personal interests. Most recently he visited France for the first time with his wife Nancy (the Arctic Advocacy Officer for the Canadian Consulate here in Anchorage), describing the trip as being "the best time of my life. Every day was a great day. Nancy had gone to school in France and it was just an absolute pleasure to be able to travel with her-it helps when someone speaks the language." With his two sons out of the house (Matthew, a Loads Analysis Engineer for Boeing in Everett, Wash., and Joshua, an Education Outreach Coordinator for Planned Parenthood in Billings, Mont.), Jim finds he works a lot, squeezes in time for reading, an occasional workout and walking the dogs and always enjoys a good party with a Green and Gold theme.

Join Jim at this year's Green and Gold Gala! Details here.