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September 29, 2026

Thank you for your willingness to serve on the search committee for the next University of ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Fairbanks Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor. This is an important leadership search for UAF, and I appreciate your time, expertise, and commitment to helping identify the university's next academic leader. The search committee established under the previous administration is hereby disbanded. This committee supersedes the prior committee and constitutes the official search committee for the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor search.

We are committed to conducting an open, transparent, and inclusive search process. Meaningful engagement with our faculty, staff, and students will be an important part of the process, and I encourage the committee to seek and thoughtfully consider input from across the UAF community as the search progresses. The perspectives and experiences of our campus community will help inform the qualities and priorities we seek in our next Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor.

To support the search, UAF will retain a search firm to assist with the search process and help us develop a strong and diverse pool of highly qualified candidates. Their expertise will be valuable in reaching prospective candidates and supporting the committee throughout the search.

I have deliberately selected two co-chairs who will work cooperatively and efficiently to rapidly move the search process forward, together with assistance from the search firm, and support of Faculty Senate leadership, to accomplish this critical process in the best interest of our institution and the advancement of UAF.

The composition of the committee has been an ongoing deliberation and collaboration between the new administration and Faculty Senate leadership, and intentionally consists of a faculty majority along with representation from across our university community. The process by which we search for and select the next Provost remains a top priority throughout my first year as Chancellor. I look forward to meeting with the committee soon to initiate this significant effort.

A draft search committee timeline is attached for your reference. The timeline is intended to provide a framework for the committee's work and may be adjusted as the search progresses. At this time, we anticipate conducting on-campus interviews with finalists in March 2027.

Thank you again for your service and commitment to UAF.

Search Committee:

1. Bill Schnabel, CEM Dean -Co-Chair
2. Jak Maier, Professor, CTC -Co-Chair
3. Trent Sutton, Vice Provost & Accreditation Liaison Officer
4. Kaydee Van Flein, AVC SAEM
5. Emeline Jones, Director of UAF Graduate School
6. Tim Howe, Research Professional, ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Stable Isotope Facility
7. Jackson Nelson, Graduate Student, Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce
8. Amy Cooper, Faculty Senate Rep, Associate Professor, CBSM
9. Genova Boyd, Faculty Senate Rep, Associate Professor, Libraries
10. Laura Zimin, Rural Campus Rep, Assistant Professor Tribal Governance, CIS
11. Zoe Marie Jones, Associate Professor, CLA
12. Diane Wagner, Professor, CNSM
13. Jakir Hasan, Research Assistant Professor, IANRE