Alaska Native elders and renowned artists, Joe and Martha Senungetuk, have been named the inaugural Elder Artists-in-Residence for the heARTS Healing Center and Studio at Alaska Pacific University. From November until June, the couple will use the art room in Atwood Center as their studio and mentoring space for any student, staff, or faculty member…
APU Spotlight
One Woman, Two Degrees (Soon to be Three, Plus a Certificate)
When Desirae Roehl moved to Anchorage from King Cove in the Aleutians in 2008, she was looking for new opportunities. She had had a job at her tribal office doing environmental outreach — a role that had her crafting a recycling program, doing assessments, and educating the community on environmental causes — that she enjoyed….
Activist to Host Community Event in Atwood to Kick Off AFN
The largest annual gathering of Native peoples in the United States will kick off with an event in Atwood Center on Sunday, October 15th. Spearheaded by local motivational speaker and performer, Samuel Johns, the event prior to the start of Alaska Federation of Natives Convention is called Decolonizing the Dream: Honoring our Sacred Mothers and…
Sharnel Vale: APU Student, ANTHC Employee, Community Builder
Growing up in Yakutat, a Southeast Alaska village of just over 600 people, basketball was everything for Sharnel Vale. The sport kept locals active, created camaraderie, and unified the town. “Basketball is the lifeblood of rural communities,” Vale said. “Half my time growing up was spent in the gym playing or practicing.” Her love of…
Q&A with LeeAnn Garrick, APU’s Board of Trustees Chairperson
LeeAnn Garrick’s path to becoming the first Chairperson of the new Board of Trustees formed as a result of the APU-ANTCH partnership was an unconventional one. Raised in Petersburg, she came to Anchorage for high school and college at UAA, where she received three degrees (Bachelor’s and Master’s in English and a Master’s of Public Administration)….
Photo Club Spends Spring Break on the Beach … of Utqiagvik
While spring breakers throughout the U.S. headed south in search of warmer climes this month, APU’s Photo Club went north. Way north. For part of their break, eight students went to Utqiagvik (the city formerly known as Barrow) to work on their photography prowess. It’s not the first time the club has traveled to colder locales…
APU Student Becomes Alaska’s Only Certified Chess Coach
When it’s Jonathon Singler’s move, he sits back and surveys the chess board. He may imagine moving his knight two squares vertically and one square horizontally. He may consider moving his queen diagonally across the board. He may debate moving the rook back to better defend the king. But beyond that, he’s thinking of…
Message from the APU Board of Trustees
“Dear APU Staff, Faculty, and Students On December 19th, the APU Board of Trustees took action to partner with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. This joint effort, building on years of success and the rich legacy established by APU’s Founder and Trustees, allows APU to emerge as a dynamic educational institution with new and…
Alaska Pacific ranked by Midwestern Higher Education Compact
In August 2015, a regional education organization, the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), released a research brief on The Effectiveness and Efficiency of Postsecondary Institutions in the United States: 2010-2012 Baseline Results. Institutional effectiveness is defined as the difference between an institution’s actual graduation rate and the rate that would be expected given the institution’s…
Is this a great country or what?
Whereas on September 17, 1787, delegates of the United States to the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution and sent it to the states for ratification; Whereas the states, in the collective wisdom of their citizens, insisted on appending a Bill of Rights to the Constitution; Whereas the U.S. Congress in 1952 designated September 17 as…
