The University of Alaska Southeast is now the lead university in the state for teacher education.
The University of Alaska Board of Regents voted on December 21 to formalize what has long been an unofficial reality of the state’s university system.
The move will not substantially affect faculty or course offerings at university campuses in Anchorage or Fairbanks, but rather, it will allow the UAS campuses in Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan to focus their efforts on expanding already-successful programs in teacher recruitment and training.
KCAW’s Robert Woolsey recently spoke with UAS Chancellor Rick Caulfield about the new designation.
Caulfield – We’ll be working closely with our colleagues at the University of Alaska in Anchorage and Fairbanks on a goal of really dramatically increasing the number of Alaskans teaching in our schools. UA president Jim Johnsen has said that we really need to increase the number of Alaska-educated teachers. Currently about two-thirds of the teachers hired in Alaska in any given year come from out of state. And what he has said is by 2025 he’d like to see 90-percent of the new teachers hired in the state coming from Alaska and the University of Alaska. And that’s a goal that I share, and many other people do as well. So the good news is that UAS, and our three campuses in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Sitka will have a role to play in providing leadership across the state in achieving that goal.
KCAW – Why is it so important that we increase the number of teachers in Alaska who are from Alaska?
Caulfield says that UA President Jim Johnsen has set a target of 90-percent of new teacher hires in 2025 will be Alaska-educated. (KCAW photo/Emily Kwong)
Caulfield – Well I think it’s important to have teachers in classrooms who really understand the state’s people, our communities, our economy, the cultures, the languages of our great state. Inevitably we’ll have some teachers coming from elsewhere and that’s fine because they bring new energy and ideas. But I think the fact that only a third of our teachers hired in any given year are from Alaska suggests that we could benefit from those who have a much richer understanding, particularly rural schools and Native communities where the turnover in teachers is quite regular — in many cases only a year or two. I think the more we can focus on seeing people from those communities become teachers, or encouraging those who do come from elsewhere to stay longer and provide quality education — I think that’s to the benefit of students in those communities.
KCAW – Did the University of Alaska Southeast have to give up anything in order to become the lead campus? Was there a quid pro quo of any kind?
Caulfield – Not really. But this is a time of significant change in the UA system. This conversation about teacher education is part of a broader review called “Strategic Pathways,” and President Johnson and the Board of Regents have put into motion a review of all our academic and administrative programs, in areas like IT and Human Resources and so forth, we’re looking to reduce costs as much as we can. Just part of our budget realities. But at the same time in the academic areas there’s been a focus on working with the strengths of each of the universities. So just as in Fairbanks, for example, Arctic Research and Engineering are very prominent, and in Anchorage at UAA, health care programs, Business, and Finance are very much a part of the programs they offer, teacher education historically has been an anchor and integral part of what UAS has been about. So it’s a recognition of the strengths of our university, even as there will continue to be faculty in Anchorage and Fairbanks, but working under an aligned program designed by UAS.
Chancellor Rick Caulfield will visit the Sitka campus in early January.
