Status of Task Forces and Exploratory Groups

by Cathy Sandeen, UAA Chancellor  |   

Dear UAA Community,

I am writing today to provide a status report on the task forces and exploratory groups I formed last academic year. General information about these groups can be found on the Office of the Chancellor website.

I want to thank the large number of faculty and staff for the significant amount of time, expertise and commitment devoted to these initiatives. The work completed to date is impressive, responsive to my charge and would no doubt serve UAA well. Thank you for standing behind me as I launched exploration on a wide variety of topics and functions during my first year as your chancellor.

That said, there is little doubt that our environment has changed significantly since the beginning of spring 2019. Early in 2019, I invited co-chairs to pause their groups, if desired.

The list below provides a brief update on our various task forces, exploratory groups and search committees with links to relevant reports and current status. Until we know more about the statewide UA structure, UAA's place in that, and our ability to proceed, some of these initiatives will be put on hold for additional review in spring 2020.

Thank you again for your work on these groups. Please know we will be going forward with some of the group recommendations right away. Others will be phased in a bit later. All of this work is enormously valuable and will be used in a number of ways as we move forward.

Task Forces

Alaska Native Student Success

Continuing and Professional Education

  • Co-chairs: Christi Bell and Bonnie Nygard
  • Report posted
  • On hold, pending UA structure

Research Administration

  • Co-chairs: Aaron Dotson and Cheryl Wilga
  • Report posted
  • Feedback received
  • Changes implemented
  • Aaron Dotson appointed Interim Vice Provost for Research
  • Further changes will be announced, due to structural questions

Staff and Faculty Recognition

  • Co-chairs: Christine Lidren and Greg Myford
  • Report posted
  • Need to secure feedback
  • Will begin to implement some recommendations in fall 2019

Training and Professional Development

  • Co-chairs: Jennifer Brock and Shawnalee Whitney
  • Report pending
  • Will post report once received

Exploratory Groups

Strategic Planning Process

  • Co-chairs: Sharon Chamard and Susan Kalina
  • Report posted
  • On hold, pending UA structure

Cross-Campus Coordination

  • Co-chairs: Kathy Craft and Steve Rollins
  • Group paused in spring 2019

Serving Working Degree-Seeking Students

  • Co-chairs: Denise Runge and Bruce Schultz
  • Group paused in spring 2019

Service Workload and Committees

  • No co-chairs assigned
  • Group paused in spring 2019

Search Committees

Kodiak College Director

  • Candidate selected and appointed but she withdrew due to uncertainty at UA

Chief Diversity Officer

  • Search extended, using a search consulting firm
  • Consultant being selected
  • Committee will be formed

Potential New Groups - TBD

  • Women and Gender Studies/Domestic Violence Working Group
  • Climate Change Working Group

Sincerely,
Cathy Sandeen
UAA Chancellor

Creative Commons License "Status of Task Forces and Exploratory Groups" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
September Archive