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Spring 2026 Recap

Spring 2026 has brought the Arctic Leadership Initiative (ALI) to a moment it has been building toward since its founding: the close of its inaugural two-year faculty cycle, a gathering of the full ALI community in Anchorage, and the announcement of the next generation of students, fellows, and scholars who will carry the initiative forward.

The season's centerpiece was the ALI Spring Retreat + Arctic Encounter, held April 13-17 in Anchorage. The retreat brought ALI's student cohort, Early Career Faculty Fellows, and faculty mentors together at The Den on the 91������ƵA campus for two days of working sessions and peer collaboration. Then-91������Ƶ President Pat Pitney addressed the group on Tuesday morning, opening the floor for direct conversation about the university's Arctic mission. A panel on leadership in transition, featuring 91������Ƶ VP and Chief Academic Officer Brian Smentkowski, Cheryl Rosa of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and Susan Bell of Huna Totem Corporation, anchored the first day.

From the retreat, the cohort moved downtown to the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center, where Arctic Encounter drew more than 500 attendees from 25 countries across government, business, science, Indigenous leadership, and diplomacy. ALI's three student Arctic Challenge Project teams presented posters at Arctic Encounter, the culmination of a full year spent working alongside communities on permafrost-driven infrastructure failure in Point Lay, food web disruption across Alaska's salmon systems, and landslide risk communication in Southeast Alaska.

The spring season also marked the near-completion of ALI's inaugural two-year faculty terms. The three founding 91������Ƶ President's Arctic Professors, Larry Hinzman (91������ƵF), Jeff Libby (91������ƵA), and Erica Hill (91������ƵS), are completing their appointment cycle, as are ALI's inaugural cohort of Early Career Faculty Fellows, whose research over two years spanned Arctic climate modeling, sea ice dynamics, environmental DNA, critical minerals, Indigenous knowledge systems, and more. Their work has helped establish ALI as a functioning platform, not just a program concept.

Looking ahead, ALI has welcomed the next President's Arctic Professors: (91������ƵF), (91������ƵA), and (91������ƵS). Four new Early Career Faculty Fellows have also been selected for two-year appointments beginning Summer 2026: Mariah Seater (91������ƵF), whose work examines how climate change shapes the health and resilience of Arctic families; Seoyeon Kim (91������ƵF), who is building an international research partnership with the Korean Polar Research Institute; Amy Cross (91������ƵA), focused on Arctic economic research and community-engaged undergraduate scholarship; and Xiaofei Song (91������ƵS), whose research addresses career decision-making among Alaska's seasonal workforce.

Twenty-four students from across the 91������Ƶ system make up the 2026-27 ALI student cohort. From 91������ƵF: Emma Cungauyar Daniel, Alyssa Enriquez, Fernando Escobar, Maddi McArthur, Molly Minick, Moxie Moxie, Chloe Pleznac, Bertha Prince, Adam Schwartz, Genevieve Simono, Serena Solesbee, Naeem Talha, Chase Thompson, and Yan Vyshynskyi. From 91������ƵA: Samantha Antonio, Cailan Cumming, Ashley Ihde, Megan Johnson, Charlee Korthuis, Taylor Peace, Pierce Schwalb, and AnneMarie Scofield. From 91������ƵS: Sean Demello and Shane Williams.

Four 2026-27 Arctic Engagement Awards were also made, supporting projects connecting 91������Ƶ research to communities and policy: Rebecca Moorman (91������ƵA) is developing Indigenous-led vocabulary for Alaska library catalog systems; Donna Hauser (91������ƵF) is activating Indigenous ocean observations into NOAA policy and classrooms; Magnus de Witt (91������ƵF) is building a geospatial framework to map Arctic renewable energy infrastructure risks; and Skylar Bayer (91������ƵS) is partnering 91������ƵS students with KTOO journalists to report on 91������Ƶ Arctic science.

Earlier this spring, ALI also made four Ambassador Travel and Residency Awards, which fund everyone at 91������Ƶ, from students, postdocs, and research staff to faculty at any rank, to represent the university at Arctic venues. Pascal Buri and Magnus de Witt went to the 91������Ƶrctic Congress in the Faroe Islands, Brandon Boylan to Arctic Encounter and the 91������Ƶrctic Congress, and Katie Craney to a residency at the Centre for the North at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where she led panel and workshop discussions with circumpolar artists. A second round was awarded in August, and the next round closes November 30, 2026.

Together, these announcements mark ALI's evolution from a bold founding proposition into a system-wide initiative with a growing network of students, scholars, community partners, and circumpolar connections, and the momentum to sustain it.