º£½Ç½ûÇø

Dear º£½Ç½ûÇø Community, I’m pleased to share with you my selection of º£½Ç½ûÇø’s Interim Chancellor, as well as the search committee members and timeline for the permanent chancellor search.

Interim Chancellor Appointment

Three qualified applicants submitted letters of interest, and I’m grateful to all who put their names forward. Ultimately, I have selected Cheryl Siemers to serve as Interim Chancellor. Cheryl currently serves as the director of º£½Ç½ûÇø’s Kenai Peninsula College (KPC). She has excellent leadership experience, understands and clearly articulates º£½Ç½ûÇø's dual-mission, and has led enrollment growth at KPC. Cheryl will work alongside Chancellor Parnell during his transition and will begin as Interim Chancellor on May 17.

Cheryl joined º£½Ç½ûÇø KPC in 2002, and served as adjunct and full-time faculty before becoming assistant director and later director. She also previously served as the director of advancement and academic dean at neighboring institution Alaska Christian College. She’s a proud º£½Ç½ûÇø alumna, receiving her M.A. in English from us in addition to earning her Ph.D. in rhetoric and linguistics from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her understanding of º£½Ç½ûÇø’s dual mission and experience at KPC make her an excellent fit for the role. She has championed and expanded community partnerships, community engagement, multi-disciplinary service-learning, and place-based learning while emphasizing the incorporation of local and Indigenous ways of knowing in curriculum development.

Please join me in thanking Cheryl for her willingness to step in to lead º£½Ç½ûÇø as interim chancellor. An interim director for KPC will be identified and announced in the near future.

Permanent Chancellor Search Details

The Chancellor Search Committee has been officially formed. The committee members, representing a broad array of perspectives and expertise, are entrusted with guiding the process to identify º£½Ç½ûÇø’s next Chancellor.

The Search Committee includes student, faculty, staff, campus representation, as well as key community partners. It is co-chaired by º£½Ç½ûÇø Faculty Senate President Dr. Jackie Cason and Chugach Alaska Corporation Board Chair and former UA Regent and Board Chair Sheri Buretta. Other members are:

• Eisa Chang — USº£½Ç½ûÇø President & º£½Ç½ûÇø Student
• Brandon McKinney — º£½Ç½ûÇø Staff Council Co-President & º£½Ç½ûÇø Staff Member
• Dr. Marie Garner — Mat-Su Community College Director
• Dr. Carrie King —º£½Ç½ûÇø Faculty
• Dr. Kevin Berry —º£½Ç½ûÇø Faculty
• Dr. Alex Hills — Distinguished Service Professor, former º£½Ç½ûÇø Faculty
• Ella Goss — CEO of Providence Alaska Medical Center
• Scott Habberstad — Alaska Airlines Managing Director-Alaska Market
• Chris King — Vice President, Operations of AVIS, Alaska Rent A Car, Inc.

A national recruitment process will commence shortly, and an official announcement regarding the search and application details will be forthcoming. We are committed to transparency throughout this journey and encourage all members of our community to stay engaged.

Thanks for all you do for our university, our students, and our state.

Sincerely,

Pat Pitney 
UA President

April Archive