In a letter to the University of Alaska community today, University of Alaska Interim President Pat Pitney named former Gov. Sean Parnell as chancellor of of Anchorage campus. Parnell, governor from 2009 to 2014, will take the helm on June 12.
“I believe Sean to be uniquely positioned to lead UAA in providing the programs that support Anchorage and Alaska’s workforce needs and economic growth, including innovative research to drive the state forward,” Pitney said in her letter. Pitney noted Parnell’s long commitment to education.
“Governor Sean sponsored and implemented the Alaska Performance Scholarship program and worked with the Alaska Legislature to establish a $400 million endowment to fund the program as well as needs-based grants to create higher education and job training opportunities in Alaska,” Pitney wrote.
Parnell has many years of service as Alaska’s governor, lieutenant governor, and as a state senator and representative. He was also deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas, and has been working as an attorney in private practice since 2014, focusing on business law.
The most recent chancellor of UA was Cathy Sandeen, who announced her resignation in October to take an academic position in California.
