The University of Alaska Southeast has started its search for a new leader with Chancellor Karen Carey set to retire at the end of this academic year. The search committee recruiting the next chancellor put out a job description Thursday. Applications and nominations for initial review are due Oct. 30, though the recruitment will remain open until filled.
The UAS chancellor will be paid a salary roughly between $200,000 to $250,000 plus benefits, according to Keni Campbell, UAS public information officer and executive assistant to the chancellor. The final amount is negotiated with the University of Alaska system president.
Carey will have served three years as UAS chancellor when she retires June 30, 2023. She initially started as interim chancellor in July 2020 when Rick Caulfield retired. Later that year in November, she was promoted to the role permanently.
The chancellor serves as UAS’s chief executive officer, and is appointed by and reports to University of Alaska President Pat Pitney. UAS has campuses in Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka. The chancellor’s established office is located on the Juneau campus.
According to the UAS chancellor search webpage, the chancellor “must possess solid budgetary and management skills and experience as well as a strong disposition to advocate with the Board of Regents, UA President, fellow UA Chancellors, and state government officials.”
Following the Oct. 30 deadline for the initial review of candidates, the nine-member committee will identify semi-finalists the week of Nov. 14 with semifinalist interviews happening virtually the week of Dec. 5. According to the recruitment timeline, a finalist will be forwarded to Pitney the week of Dec. 12. She is expected to select the next chancellor this spring.
UAS has about 2,000 students and roughly 170 full-time and part-time faculty members. Most students are from Alaska with close to 50% from Southeast Alaska.
“We are a small yet diverse multi-campus regional university, dedicated to increasing Alaska Native representation throughout our programs and operations,” search committee co-chair Jennifer Ward said in a press release. Ward is an associate professor of library and information sciences.
Other members of the search committee are retired UAS Chancellor John Pugh, Dean of Arts and Sciences Carin Silkatis, UAS Sitka Campus Director Paul Kraft, UAS Sitka Academic Advisor Katie Sill, Assistant Professor of Maritime Studies Mike LaBarge, Associate Professor of Alaska Native Studies X’unei Lance Twitchell, UAS Juneau Campus Advisory Council Sander Schivens and Executive Director Juneau Economic Development Council Brian Holst.
