University of Alaska Southeast Sitka

It was a beautiful sunrise from the UAS Sitka campus this morning. Our campus will be buzzing today with high school students participating in Ocean Bowl. Whale Fest is starting today as well and we will have a table at the event. Stop by and say hi!

Photo credit: Christine Galiza

Happy Halloween from the UAS Sitka campus!

UAS students, staff and faculty- do you love art?!? Join art club! We will have an informational meeting on Saturday, November 2nd at 4:30pm in the art room.

Yesterday we celebrated the unveiling of two wonderful outdoor mosaic projects made by UAS students Lenise Henderson and Auriella Hughes, through the UAS (URECA) Undergraduate REsearch and Creative Activity Award. These mosaics are located on the ball field/south and art/northeast entrances to UAS Sitka. Stop by our campus to check out these amazing pieces of art!

Introducing our 2024-2025 Sitka Student Government Association (SSGA) officers! Swipe to see their smiling faces!

Jillian Burchfield (she/her), President. Jillian is completing her degree in Applied Fisheries. Her fun fact is that she originally planned to stay in Sitka just for the Aquaculture intensive semester last fall, but “I became so passionate about fisheries that I’ve decided to stay indefinitely!” This is Jillian’s second year as our Sitka Student Government President!

Phoebe Pepper (she/her), Vice President. Phoebe is pursuing an Associate of Arts (English) and Secondary Education. When asked for a fun fact, she said “My first words when setting foot in Sitka were ‘Look how fat that raven is!’ and they have been my favorite bird ever since.”

Alex Smith (he/him), Secretary. Alex is completing a degree in environmental science and is participating in UAS Sitka’s intensive Aquaculture semester. His fun fact is he enjoys playing bass and fishing in his free time!

Tonya Dumville (she/her), Treasurer. Tonya is completing an Associate of Arts with a Certificate in Pre-Radiologic Technology. Her fun fact is that she’s “ roamed the streets of Hanover and crisscrossed through the vast expanse of the United States like a modern-day explorer!” This is Tonya’s second year serving as an officer with SSGA!

Hannah Bogdan (she/they), Public Relations Officer. Hannah is completing an Occupational Endorsement in Alaskan Aquaculture and Diving this year. Her fun fact is that she loves sea kayaking and camping!

The Filipino American History Month Celebration will be tomorrow (Saturday) October 26th from 2:00-4:00pm at Blatchley Middle School. Hope to see you there!

Need to get into the spooky spirit before Halloween? Join Sitka Student Government Association tonight at 6pm for a Halloween Movie Night! UAS SSGA will be screening “Edward Scissorhands” (1990) and providing pizza, snacks, and refreshments.

Don’t have a ride? There will be a free van shuttle leaving from the Sitka Fine Arts Camp (SFAC) campus to UAS Sitka. A shuttle returning to SFAC at the end of the movie can be provided upon request. Questions can be directed to [email protected], see you in Room 229 at UAS Sitka this Friday!

The next Natural History seminar features Dr. Gavin McNicol presenting” Climate Connections in the Alaskan Coastal Temperate Rainforest: Insights from Soils, Streams, and Yellow-cedar Stands” on Thursday, October 24th at 7pm at the University of Alaska, room 229. The seminar is free and open to the public.

Join Scientist-in-Residence Gavin McNicol for a presentation about Alaskan coastal temperate rainforest ecosystems and how they help regulate global climate. The talk will discuss how cool and wet conditions of the rainforest can be measured and compared internationally, and how they lead to deep and carbon-rich soils and vast stream exports of organic matter to near-shore marine ecosystems. The seminar will finish with a discussion of new research directions to understand the carbon and climate consequences of the decline in the culturally and ecologically important yellow cedar.

Gavin McNicol is an Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Principal Investigator of the Ecosystem and Planetary Health Integration Lab (ecophilab) at the University of Illinois Chicago. He will be in residence at the Sitka Sound Science Center through Whalefest.

The Natural History Seminar series is co-sponsored by the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka campus and the Sitka Sound Science Center.

Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day!
Today we celebrate and honor the Sheet’ká Ḵwáan, Áakʼw Ḵwáan, Taantʼá Ḵwáan and Indigenous Peoples everywhere. We honor the cultures of the land in which we work and live and the peoples and cultures in our communities. Today's celebration is scheduled from 4-8pm at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

Gunalchéesh/ Háw'aa/ Nt'oyaxsn/ Thank you to the IPD committee for organizing this celebration.

Update: The NWC Woolen Weaving class is now full, but the waitlist is open.

The next Natural History seminar features Dr. Shannon Atkinson DeMaster, UAF Professor in the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, giving a talk titled "Ambassadors of the Deep: Understanding the lives of living and deceased whales" on Thursday, September 26th at 7pm at the University of Alaska Southeast, Room 229.

The lives of large whales are geographically and socially complex. This talk will use 3 case studies to help us better understand the complexities of their lives from living and deceased whales. Environmental change is reflected in the health of marine wildlife health, and these case studies present true ambassadors of the deep.

Dr. Atkinson has worked in southeast AK since 2008 and served as the first SSC scientist in residence. Her research focuses on the physiology and anatomy of large whales, and her insights into individual whales and the populations in Southeast AK are fascinating!

The Natural History Seminar series is co-sponsored by University of Alaska Southeast Sitka campus and the Sitka Sound Science Center.

If you have questions, please contact Kitty LaBounty [email protected] or Lauren Wild, [email protected]

The Fall 2024 Alaska Aquaculture Semester students have been busy gaining hands-on experience in salmon enhancement by spawning, rearing, and learning about Alaska Aquaculture at hatcheries across Baranof Island. In addition to their studies, they also had the opportunity to make fish prints and explore Sitka's beautiful surroundings.

Reminder! Today is the drop deadline. It is also the payment deadline for tuition and fees. If you need to set up a payment plan, please contact our wonderful Student Accounts Specialist, Marjean, at (907)747-7739.

The UAS Sitka Campus will be hosting extended hours to allow for more internet access for students pursuing their college degrees. Please note that the community is welcome, but priority will be given to university students working on their classes if bandwidth becomes an issue.

Thursday, Sept. 5th from 8am-8pm
Friday, Sept. 6th from 8am-5pm
Saturday, Sept. 7th from 11am-5pm
Sunday, Sept. 8th from 1-5pm
Monday, Sept. 9th from 8am-8pm
Tuesday, Sept. 10th from 8am-8pm
Wednesday, Sept. 11th from 8am-8pm
Thursday, Sept. 12th from 8am-8pm

After several days without internet and phone service, the UAS Sitka Campus is now back online thanks to a collaborative effort between UAS Sitka leadership and staff, our UAS Chancellor and the UA OIT Systems Office in Fairbanks. Our staff and faculty are busy catching up after the outage. Please note that internet and cell service is still considered intermittent in Sitka. Our phones are working if you need to call the campus.

The UAS Sitka campus will be open the following hours for any UAS, UAA or UAF students needing access to the internet to work on their classes:

Tuesday, Sept. 3rd from 8am-8pm
Wednesday, Sept. 4th from 8am-8pm
Thursday, Sept. 5th from 8am-8pm

More hours and dates will be posted soon.

Classes start on Monday, but there’s still time to register. Check out our 1-credit Yoga and PE courses.

The UAS Sitka staff and faculty gathered today for the annual Sitka Convocation to start the academic year. At the potluck bbq, retiring math tutor, Max Cottrell, was honored for his 19 years at the university. He has helped countless students throughout his career and we are grateful for his continued dedication and support to UAS students. He is retiring at the end of the month and we wish him a happy retirement.

Please join us for our New Student Orientation at the UAS Sitka Campus on August 19th!

(Sitka Start students, please note that you have a different start time for this orientation)