Upcoming listening sessions for UA's 'Shaping Alaska's Future 2017: New Directions for Higher Education and Workforce Development'

University of Alaska President Patrick Gamble invites you to participate in one of the upcoming listening sessions being held on UAA's campus: Monday, Dec. 12, at 7:45 a.m. or Thursday, Jan. 12, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. or 5 - 6:30 p.m. These meetings will be held in the UAA/APU Consortium Library, Room 307, as part of a strategic directional shift that we intend to make at the University of Alaska called Shaping Alaska's Future 2017: New Directions for Higher Education and Workforce Development.

These meetings are part of a series being held across the state. We want to gather fresh information and input from citizens of Alaska who are interested in supporting a vibrant, relevant University of Alaska system that is staying responsive to the needs of students, businesses, employers and communities across the state. The sessions aim to address this question: We are Alaska's colleges and universities-how can we serve you better?

The goal of the listening sessions is to gather that input, collate the data into themes and analyze the results to identify ways and means with which the university can improve value and service to our students and to Alaskan communities. We are targeting our full effort over a five-year period, through the year 2017, the university's 100th Anniversary.

A website with more information explaining Shaping Alaska's Future 2017: New Directions for Higher Education and Workforce Development can be found at http://www.alaska.edu/shapingalaskasfuture. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with this effort, and then make plans to attend. We look forward to you joining us as part of this statewide dialogue.