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Pitney names Mike Sfraga interim ����Ӱҵ chancellor

University of Alaska President Pat Pitney announced today her selection of the interim chancellor for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, as well as next steps in the search for ����Ӱҵ’s next permanent chancellor.

Ambassador Mike Sfraga (ret.), a ����Ӱҵ alumnus who most recently served as the first U.S. ambassador-at-large to the Arctic, will lead ����Ӱҵ as interim chancellor. Sfraga will work alongside Chancellor Dan White as he prepares to retire at the end of July and will lead ����Ӱҵ until a permanent chancellor is selected. He will not be a candidate for the permanent chancellor position. 

Sfraga’s first day in the office as interim chancellor will be July 28, and he will join senior UA leaders at the Arctic Encounter Symposium July 30-Aug. 1 in Anchorage.

“Ambassador Sfraga is a fitting choice to lead America’s Arctic University,” Pitney said. “Mike brings a strong record of accomplishment, international networks, and over 31 years of experience at UA to the role, and he will be an excellent leader and steady hand at the wheel as we commence a search for a permanent chancellor. Please join me in extending heartfelt gratitude to Chancellor Dan White for his 30 years of dedicated service to UA and ����Ӱҵ and in wishing him well in retirement. I am pleased to welcome Ambassador Sfraga back to UA and ����Ӱҵ, and thank him for his willingness to serve.”

Sfraga also previously served as chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. He was the founding director of the Polar Institute and concurrently served as director of the Global Risk and Resilience Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

“Returning to ����Ӱҵ is both a homecoming and recommitment, and I’m grateful to President Pitney for the opportunity to serve my alma mater and its mission once more,” Sfraga said. “ ����Ӱҵ has long stood at the nexus of Arctic research, innovation, and leadership; a place where policy and science converge, and local knowledge informs global decisions. From its inception over a century ago, members of the Fairbanks community and communities throughout the state worked tirelessly to build a unique institution — committed to serving Alaskans and the Circumpolar North. ����Ӱҵ is well-positioned to address the many opportunities and challenges evident in the age of a more connected and globalized Arctic. I’m honored and humbled to rejoin America’s Arctic University and contribute to its mission at a time when the Arctic matters more than ever, not just to Alaska, but to the world."

Sfraga’s career at the University of Alaska has spanned over 31 years. He worked for ����Ӱҵ and the UA system from 1985 through 2016 in a broad range of administrative, academic and executive positions. He most recently served at ����Ӱҵ in several positions, including vice chancellor, director of the UA Geography Program, chair of the Geography Department, faculty member, and associate dean of ����Ӱҵ's former School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences. At the UA system office, Sfraga served in executive positions, including director of program development and associate vice president.

A geographer by training, Sfraga is a Fulbright scholar and member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned a bachelor’s degree from ����Ӱҵ in 1984 and a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University in 1986. He earned ����Ӱҵ’s first doctorate in Northern studies and geography in 1997.

Search for permanent chancellor

Pitney is continuing to gather feedback from stakeholders about the search process to identify the next permanent chancellor for ����Ӱҵ. Additional details on the search, committee and process timeline will be shared in mid-August.