Excellence in scholarship and high quality service are two values the University of Alaska Anchorage holds most dear. All of our work together as Alaskans, for Alaska is driven by our ambition and commitment to continually raise the bar of quality and excellence, to respond to the needs of our state and its communities, to provide all Alaskans access to our programs, and to be accountable for good stewardship of our resources.
Our commitment to these values has served Alaska well. The University of Alaska Anchorage boasts many remarkable achievements during this, its fiftieth anniversary year. Among them are beautiful university campuses, many new buildings, numerous new and expanded academic programs, and increasing numbers of students who are making UAA their university of first choice. UAA’s first students attended the Anchorage Community College in 1954 when the first classes were held at West Anchorage High School. Faculty scavenged for office and classroom equipment but willingly faced each new challenge with resolute commitment to greater possibilities. From these humble beginnings, UAA has become a University of First Choice for the majority of Alaska’s best and brightest students. While it is tempting to sit back and enjoy the warm glow of our past achievements, it has never been more important that we plan the future of our university. UAA holds in its keeping the promises of tomorrow for our community, our state, and our children. The attached Master Plan is a culmination of our efforts to ensure that UAA continues to provide Alaska a University of First Choice, one of quality and excellence that will serve its citizens well into the 21st Century. Our planning strategy embraced five basic goals: 1) Make UAA a model for other northern university campuses; 2) Accommodate and integrate substantial growth; 3) Build quality facilities appropriate to the university that meets exacting demands and relevant state needs; 4) Celebrate the natural setting of each campus; and 5) Build a community of neighbors. I am pleased to relate that the comprehensive and inclusive planning process that produced the following plan has met these goals and provides a valuable blueprint for UAA’s continued growth and development. It is now up to all of us who support the university to work toward populating the plan with the various programs and facilities that will bring Alaska prosperity in the first quarter of this new and exciting century.
