Elisa Mattison elected to serve key role on regional graduate school association

Elisa Mattison, director of UAA's Office of Research and Graduate School, was elected a member-at-large to the Executive Committee of the Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS) at its 54th annual conference in Fort Collins, Colo. in March.

The organization is an effective networking web for graduate program officers in colleges and universities. There are 89 member institutions from 13 states and three Canadian provinces. Members swap relevant concerns, strategies and new ideas. WAGS serves as a regional voice on the national U.S. Council of Graduate Schools.

"It's a very good way for UAA to get out there and take a lead in promotion of graduate education among our peers," she said.

Mattison's rise to the two-year position will mean a higher profile for UAA, and could even result in an annual meeting coming to Anchorage in the future, she said. UAA has had membership in the association since 2005. Both UAA and UAF belong.

Mattison's role means influencing future conference agendas. She and other UAA members will attend the WAGS Summer Institute where new discussion ideas for the annual conference are often first raised.

Graduate students at WAGS member institutions can compete for two awards made annually by the association. One is a Distinguished Thesis Award and the other is an Innovation in Technology Award. Mid-September is the submittal date, with the announcement of winners made at the annual March conference. UAA had a winning entry in 2006, Mattison recalled.