I AM UAA: Mike Driscoll

Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Hometown: Montague, Mich.
Fun Fact: Is addicted to crossword puzzles and naval history

You can tell a lot about a person by how they decorate their office space. The first thing you'll notice on Mike Driscoll's walls are a number of long Chinese wall hangings, beige with red drawings of traditional houses and landscapes.

"These are a gift I received from one of our best partners and a good friend in China, Dr. Lu De-Ping," says the provost. "He was instrumental in connecting us with China, including helping us get the Confucius Institute started here."

Mike has many colleagues whom he values.

Turning around, there is a portion of his back wall dedicated to historic photos of submarines. On one of the pillars between the windows, in its own place of distinction, is a framed photo of the USS Seawolf, part of a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines originally built in the midst of the Cold War.

"The current USS Seawolf is one of the more advanced attack submarines that the U.S. has," he explains, revealing his interest in naval history, and submarines in particular. He smiles as he adds, "And it has a very honorable submarine name."

Mike is proud to be a Seawolf.

"The best thing about being a Seawolf is being a part of this forward-looking, progressive place," he says. "It's incredibly exciting to help build so many things that are important to the future of Alaska."

Among the things that he has helped shepherd over the last six years in his role as provost and executive vice chancellor are UAA's designation as the state's health university, doubling engineering graduates statewide, emphasizing the university's international citizenship, achieving accreditation and welcoming corporate and community gifts in support of a number of new facilities on campus, including the ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building, the Health Sciences Building and the future Sports Arena and engineering buildings.

Mike received his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering over a 10-year span at Michigan State University. He moved from Michigan to Oregon in 1988 with his wife and daughter to start his academic and administrative career at Portland State University (PSU). He then came to UAA in 2006 when, at the whim of a colleague at PSU, he was recommended for the provost position at UAA-much to his surprise. Even though he hadn't been looking to leave PSU, he decided to take a chance on Alaska and has never regretted it.

"Turns out one of the deans at PSU thought it'd be a good opportunity for me," Mike laughs. "I definitely thanked him after I found out who it was. My family and I really fell in love with Alaska, with the community and the people here. And in my time in this position UAA has added academic programs and facilities and faculty that are really well aligned with Alaska's needs for an educated workforce and a strong economy. To help produce the next generation of leaders and citizens for Alaska, that's very gratifying."

As academic year 2011-2012 comes to a close this week, we bid Mike farewell as he steps down from his position here to take the reins as president at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) next fall. He leaves big shoes to fill and is described by his colleagues as "a wonderfully collaborative spirit. He is funny, calm and clear-sighted-characteristics that brought out the best in everyone around him."

And as we remember him, he'll remember us.

"The remarkable strength of the faculty and staff at UAA has taught me that all that a leader need do is help people recognize their future vision and cheer them on and give them support," he says. "That's an important leadership lesson I've learned at UAA and intend to bring with me to IUP."

To this year's graduates he says, "Stay connected with UAA. Be a part of the Alumni Association, which is a key group of your peers and an important network for going forward in your future careers. And remember that learning doesn't stop when you walk across the stage at Commencement. UAA is always going to be here to support your continuing education, so come on back and see us!"

The best return on investment from his time at UAA, each and every year, he says, has been seeing students walking across the stage at graduation. He can happily say that as outgoing provost, but more importantly, he can say it as a parent and spouse of fellow Seawolves as well. His wife, Becky, is finishing up her master's degree in English this semester, and as the two move to Pennsylvania this summer, they are leaving behind a daughter and son who are current students at UAA. Katie is majoring in anthropology and Greg is following in his dad's footsteps by focusing on electrical and computer systems engineering. At the very least, we'll see Mike back when his own kids walk that stage at Commencement in the next few years.

"I think that personally my own family has found UAA to be a great investment of our time and our financial resources in public higher education," Mike says. "And I don't think there's any better return on investment than giving back to UAA; we've certainly tried to do that with the resources we have."

For those of us staying where we're at? "Take full advantage of the remarkable time you have here at UAA," he says. "Know that you're going to grow as a person from all the opportunities in and out of the classroom."