Å®Óźϼ¯

Å®Óźϼ¯ President Search

In November 2025, Å®Óźϼ¯ President Pat Pitney announced her intention to retire at the end of May 2026. The Å®Óźϼ¯ Board of Regents has now announced the process which will guide the search for Å®Óźϼ¯'s next permanent president. 

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University of Alaska President Search Process

The University of Alaska seeks a visionary, strategic, and collaborative leader with experience managing large, complex organizations who will bring a modern understanding of higher education to serve as its next President. 

The University of Alaska (Å®Óźϼ¯), founded in 1917, is America’s Arctic University and the northernmost public higher-education system in the United States. The Å®Óźϼ¯ inspires learning, advances and disseminates knowledge through teaching, research, and public service, emphasizing the North and its peoples. As a land-, sea-, and space-grant system with three separately accredited universities and 11 community campuses across the state, Å®Óźϼ¯ plays an essential role in educating Alaska’s workforce, expanding the boundaries of Arctic research, and strengthening communities from Southeast Alaska to the North Slope.

Procedure for Candidacy

WittKieffer is assisting Å®Óźϼ¯ in this search. All applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited. Nominations and inquiries can be directed to: Å®Óźϼ¯laskaPresident@wittkieffer.com. 

Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the position profile.

For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by March 5, 2026. 

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Communications

• Update from Chair Jepsen on Presidential Search Process & Finalist Selection - Feb. 16, 2026
• Å®Óźϼ¯ Presidential Search Process Update: Recruitment Officially Opened - Jan. 6, 2026
• Å®Óźϼ¯ Presidential Search Process Update: Search Committee Roster, Timeline, & Listening Session Reminder - Dec. 4, 2025
• Å®Óźϼ¯ Presidential Search Process Update: Listening Sessions Scheduled the Week of Dec. 8 - Nov. 25, 2025

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Search Firm Listening Sessions

• Å®Óźϼ¯ students, staff, and faculty, and community members from around the state were invited to provide input and feedback on the characteristics and qualities they would like to see in Å®Óźϼ¯â€™s next permanent president during listening sessions the week of December 8 in Juneau, Fairbanks, and Anchorage by WittKieffer, the executive search firm contracted by the Board of Regents to assist in the presidential search.
• Students, staff, and faculty at Å®Óźϼ¯A, Å®Óźϼ¯F, and Å®Óźϼ¯S, as well as the System Office, were able to attend their listening sessions in-person or virtually. Members of the general public could attend the In-person listening sessions.

• An anonymous feedback survey was also available through December 19 for those unable to attend in person or via Zoom.

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Presidential Search Committee:

• BOR Chair Scott Jepsen (Search Committee Chair)
• Regent Joey Crum
• Regent Karen Perdue
• Bonnie Brennan - Å®Óźϼ¯F Student and incoming Chair of Å®Óźϼ¯ Coalition of Student Leaders (student governance)
• Austin Cranford - Å®Óźϼ¯S Staff and Chair of Å®Óźϼ¯ Staff Alliance (staff governance)
• Dr. Jackie Cason - Å®Óźϼ¯A Faculty and Chair of Å®Óźϼ¯ Faculty Alliance (faculty governance)
• Dr. Charlene Stern - Å®Óźϼ¯F Interim Provost
• Russell Dick - President & Chief Executive Officer of Huna Totem Corporation
• Erec Isaacson - President, ConocoPhillips Alaska
• Dave Karp - Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Saltchuk  
• Katie Koester - City Manager for the City and Borough of Juneau
• Meg Nordale - President of GHEMM Company and Å®Óźϼ¯ Foundation Board Chair
• Joe Usibelli, Jr.  - President, Usibelli Coal Mine
• Conrad Woodhead - CTE & Residential Director of the Kusilvak Career Academy for the Lower Yukon School District

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Anticipated Search Timeline

The Board, in consultation with WittKieffer, anticipates the search to follow the schedule below:

• Week of December 8 - Listening Sessions with WittKieffer at Å®Óźϼ¯A, Å®Óźϼ¯F, Å®Óźϼ¯S, and System Office
• Early January 2026 - Recruitment opens
• March 2026 - WittKieffer conducts due diligence; search committee reviews applications, conducts interviews
• April 2026 - Finalists selected, finalist on-site visits
• April - May 2026 - President hired
• Summer 2026 - New president arrives