ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Chancellor Search
In January of 2025, ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Chancellor Sean Parnell announced his intent to retire at the end of the spring 2025 semester. ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ President Pat Pitney has named an interim chancellor to lead ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A upon Chancellor Parnell's retirement, and convened a search committee to guide the search for ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A's next permanent Chancellor.
ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Chancellor Position Profile
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ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Chancellor Search Committee
The search committee for ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A’s next permanent chancellor has been formed, with members representing a broad array of stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, community campuses, and key community partners. The committee is charged with publicizing the search, vetting potential candidates, and making recommendations for finalists to President Pitney. The search committee will be instrumental in developing the position profile, communicating the opportunity nationally and ultimately informing the decision, currently intended to be announced during the Fall 2025 semester.
The search committee is co-chaired by ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Faculty Senate President Dr. Jackie Cason, and Chugach Alaska Corporation Board Chair and former ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ Regent and Board Chair Sheri Buretta. In addition to the co-chairs, the committee includes:
- Eisa Chang — USÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A President & ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Student
- Brandon McKinney — ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Staff Council President & ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Staff Member
- Dr. Marie Gardner — Mat-Su Community College Director
- Dr. Carrie King — ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Faculty
- Dr. Kevin Berry — ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Faculty
- Dr. Alex Hills — ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Distinguished Affiliate Professor of Electrical Engineering
- 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.
Key Search Committee Responsibilities:
- Communicate broadly throughout the search
- Develop, recommend, and publish a search committee process and timeline
- Identify and recommend desirable attributes for a ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Chancellor
- Publish a position prospectus
- Publish an external position advertisement
- Solicit a diverse candidate pool
- Inform the candidates about the university and the position
- Evaluate the candidates against the desired attributes
- Narrow the candidate pool to three to five
- Provide information about the candidate pool
- Socialize the finalists with the university community through town hall meetings and other events and collect feedback
Support:
- Communications Support: ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´A Executive Director for University Advancement Tanya Pont, System Office Director of Public Affairs Jonathon Taylor and other communication team members including Katie Bender, Keenan Britt, and Monique Musick will help the committee communicate broadly to include, websites, written updates, town halls, and other engagements.
- Chief Human Resources Officer Memry Dahl will assist the committee in an advisory capacity, along with her executive assistant, Stefanie Gorder. Chris Triplett (ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ HR Talent Acquisition Specialist) and Helen Sale (Human Resources Coordinator ) will advise the committee on hiring policy and provide administrative support.