Alaska News covers University of Alaska Anchorage research on Alaska's economy, workforce, and federal spending trends.
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Denise Runge
“In many ways, the Native corporations and the tribes are the partners in this because they're helping to identify the students.”RDC: 3-26-2026 Breakfast Forum: UAA on Building Alaska's Talent Pipeline
Denise Runge
“UAA has an apprenticeship program in early childhood education, and the way that that works is throughout Alaska primarily in rural and small areas, anyone who is employed in any capacity within the school can apply for the apprenticeship, and then they start taking online classes through UAA. Their on-the-job training happens inside the school that they're already employed in, and eventually they become a licensed teacher.”RDC: 3-26-2026 Breakfast Forum: UAA on Building Alaska's Talent Pipeline
Brett Watson
“I was presenting data from 2023 because that's sort of the latest data that we have available to us to see what actually got spent”The Impact of Federal Dollars On Alaska’s Economy - 6/23/26 · Jun 26, 2026
Brett Watson
“federal spending over the last 10 years has grown by approximately $9 billion.”The Impact of Federal Dollars On Alaska’s Economy - 6/23/26 · Jun 26, 2026
Brett Watson
“Many regional economists have often commented that Alaska's economy is a bit like a three-legged stool, that there's kind of three pillars that support the rest of our, the rest of our economy. Bob described that metaphor as a bucket in which industries like the oil and gas industry, the federal government, and kind of all of our other basic industries bring new money into the state.”The Impact of Federal Dollars On Alaska’s Economy - 6/23/26 · Jun 26, 2026
Bob Loeffler
“federal government is the most important industry, if you will, that brings money in.”The Impact of Federal Dollars On Alaska’s Economy - 6/23/26 · Jun 26, 2026
Three UAA hockey teams become the first teams in the Hall of Fame
UAA Athletics has set July 20-22, 2027 for its first student-athlete reunion, where the 2027 Seawolf Hall of Fame class will be inducted. The class includes three hockey teams, the first teams honored since the Hall was founded in 2001.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago1 min readAI
UAA patents insulation grown from Alaska birch sawdust and a native fungus
A University of Alaska Anchorage team has patented a biodegradable insulation grown from Alaska birch sawdust and a native fungus, Irpex lacteus, to replace polystyrene foam.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 2w ago2 min readAI
Alaska students will spend the year researching the veterans buried at Fort Richardson
The VA's National Cemetery Administration awarded the University of Alaska Anchorage $325,000 for a one-year Veterans Legacy Program project sending dual-enrolled high school students and undergraduates into the burial records of Fort Richardson National Cemetery, with a campus memorial and a cemetery walking tour among the deliverables.
by Melinda Communities.News3w ago2 min readAI
UAA students to train inside ANTHC facilities under new workforce partnership
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and UAA have launched a partnership placing university students in clinical and professional settings at ANTHC, which employs more than 4,000 people, as the consortium expands facilities using contract support cost settlement funds.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readAI
New $605k research asks why some Denali spruce survive the beetles
A spruce beetle outbreak has killed 45% to 60% of spruce around Denali. NSF-funded UAA research will study why some trees survive and what happens to the soil after the rest die.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
UAA trains rural school workers to become teachers without leaving home
A UAA apprenticeship lets rural Alaska school employees earn teaching licenses without leaving home, aimed at out-migration and staffing rural schools.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
Can a bacterium pull rare earths out of coal waste? Alaska researchers just got $4.7M to find out
UAA and UAF received $4.7 million from the National Science Foundation to test whether a bacterium can extract rare earth elements from coal mining waste, a potential domestic supply source.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min readAI
Federal money, not oil, drove half of Alaska's growth — and now it's shrinking
At a June 23 ISER forum, University of Alaska economists put federal spending behind roughly half of Alaska's $16.5 billion in GDP growth from 2015 to 2023, ahead of oil and gas, mining and fishing combined.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska lost 15.8% of its federal civilian workers in two years, ISER economist reports
Alaska shed 15.8% of its federal civilian workforce from 2024 to 2026, above the national rate, an economist told a forum, with the losses coming mostly through buyouts.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
As melting ice opens the Arctic to more ships, a UAA scientist studies how a spill would behave
A UAA researcher received a $364,999 NSF grant to study how sunlight degrades toxic oil-spill compounds in Arctic waters, as retreating sea ice raises shipping and spill risks.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
UAA wants to pour wine at the gallery opening — under a 'sporting' license
UAA concessionaire seeks beer and wine permits for the Fine Arts Building and Wendy Williamson Auditorium; the Anchorage Assembly takes up the licenses Aug. 4.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Mercury in Western Aleutian sea lion pups exceeds safety thresholds, prompting $1.5M NSF study
Mercury in Western Aleutian Steller sea lions has doubled in a decade, and a $1.5 million study will test whether zooplankton gut microbes are the hidden source.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min readAI
Federal and state cuts erase Alaska private-sector job gains in June
Alaska lost a net 900 jobs in June 2026 compared to a year earlier, as 1,300 federal cuts and 600 state-government losses outpaced 1,000 private-sector gains led by oil and gas. The state unemployment rate stood at 4.4 percent, just above the national 4.2 percent.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Federal money built Alaska's recent growth — now it's receding fastest here
UAA economists say federal spending drove about half of Alaska's growth since 2015 — and the state is now losing federal workers faster than most, hitting rural areas hardest.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
House panel hears confirmation for physician assistant to State Medical Board
The House Health and Social Services Committee held a confirmation hearing for Norman Walker, a physician assistant appointed to the State Medical Board, and received a presentation from UAA College of Health on workforce programs.
by Alaska News4mo ago4 min readAI
House panel advances seafood industry data-sharing bill
The House Labor and Commerce Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 181, which allows the University of Alaska to access employment data for seafood industry research.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min readAI