President Pitney delivers last State of University Address before retirement, discusses growth and progress

By Jonathan Wasilewski

Photo courtesy of UA

University of Alaska President Pat Pitney discussed the progress and growth UA has made in reversing enrollment declines, creating more research opportunities, funding scholarships and more at the last State of the University Address before her upcoming retirement in May. Pitney gave her speech at a hotel with the Rotary Club of Fairbanks March 19.

“To understand progress,” Pitney said, “we have to acknowledge the enormous challenges we faced.” The university faced budget crises, funding uncertainty, declining enrollment, the pandemic, and “turbulence” at the federal level. 

“When I returned to UA as president in 2020, we were focused on survival,” she said.

She highlighted reversing enrollment declines, which she said is not normal among state institutions.

Research, the bulk of which is at UAF, has also been “turbo-charged,” and talent has been built in welding, process tech, engineering and construction management. According to Pitney, UA’s highest priorities include student recruitment, student retention and the time it takes to graduate, all of which have been invested in.

“Investing from within on our highest priorities has been working,” she said.

There have also been expansions and increases to different scholarships, allowing Alaskans to pursue an education in a wide variety of disciplines. Dual-enrollment opportunities exist, and the Arctic Leadership Initiative was launched last year. The program equips students to be future leaders for Alaska in an increasingly global Arctic.

Pitney mentioned that federal funding has helped the system create a stable foundation, but emphasized that stability requires change. Short-term outcomes don’t define the system, she said— long-term ones do. Pitney explained priorities must continually be evaluated and decisions must be made about where to invest. 

“That means reallocating resources, making difficult choices so we can move forward,” she said.

Still, the system remains focused on doing what is right.

“If you see a headline or hear a concern about UA, I’d encourage you to take a moment to seek the full context,” she said.

Pitney first joined the UA system in 1991 and received a master’s in business administration from UAF. From 2008 to 2014, she was the system’s vice chancellor, and began serving as Finance Vice President for the University of the Arctic in 2012, an international cooperative network. After serving as the director of the Office of Management and Budget starting in 2014, she became UA’s president in 2020.

She also volunteered as an assistant coach for the Nanooks’ rifle team for almost 20 years and won a gold medal at the 1984 summer olympics for air rifle. 

“It has been a true honor to and privilege to lead the University of Alaska system,” she said.