University of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is the Fairbanks branch and flagship institution of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as UAF. UAF is a land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant institution, as well as the site at which the Alaska State Constitution was signed. The oldest college in Alaska, UAF was established in 1917 as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, first opening for classes in 1922.
UAF is home to the Geophysical Institute, which operates the Poker Flat rocket range; the Georgeson Botanical Garden; the International Arctic Research Center; and to the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. The campus is situated favorably for arctic and northern research, and several lines of research are renowned worldwide, most notably in the mathematics department and those natural sciences which take advantage of UAF's unique location, including atmospheric physics, geophysics, and wildlife biology.
UAF is the home of the UAF Center for Distance Education, a distance education and training organization, as well as the UAF Tanana Valley Campus, Fairbanks' community college. Kodiak College is a two-year college located on The Emerald Isle of Kodiak.
History
Founding
The University of Alaska was established in 1917 as a college, but its origins lie in the creation in 1906 of a federal Agricultural Experiment Station in Fairbanks, the sixth in Alaska. The station set the tone for the university that developed later, which is strongly research-oriented. In 1915, the U.S. Congress approved funds to establish a school of higher education and transferred land from the station for the purpose. The federal land grant was accepted by Territorial Governor John Strong in 1917. The new institution was established as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines in 1922, offering 16 classes to a student body of six (at a ratio of one faculty member per student). In 1923 the first commencement produced one graduate.
In 1931, the rest of the Agricultural Experiment Station was transferred to the college, and the Alaska Territorial Legislature changed the name in 1935 to the University of Alaska.
Academics
UAF offers a wide selection of courses in many fields including Accounting, Airframe and Powerplant, Alaska Native Languages, Alaska Native Politics, Alaska Native Studies, American Sign Language, Anthropology, Applied Art, Applied Business, Applied Mining Technology, Applied Photography, Arctic Skills, Art, Atmospheric Science, Automotive, Aviation, Biology, Business Administration, Chemistry, Chinese, Civil Engineering, Communication, Community Health, Computer Information and Office Systems, Computer Science, Counseling, Cross-Cultural Studies, Culinary Arts, Developmental English, Developmental Mathematics, Developmental Studies, Diesel Technology, Drafting Technology, Early Childhood Education, Economics, Education, Education: Secondary Education, Education: Special Education, Educator Para-Professional, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Technology, Emergency Medical Services, Engineering and Science Management, Engineering Science, English, English as a Second Language, Environmental Engineering / Environmental Quality Science, Eskimo, Film Studies, Fire Science, Fisheries, Food Science and Nutrition, Foreign Languages, French, Geography, Geological Engineering, Geoscience (Geology and Geophysics), German, Health, History, Honors, Humanities, Human Services, Human Services (HMSV), Japanese, Journalism, Justice, Latin, Law Enforcement, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Library Science, Linguistics, Marine Science and Limnology, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Mechanics-Diesel/Heavy Equipment, Military Science, Mineral Preparation Engineering, Mining Engineering, Museum Studies, Music, Natural Resources Management, Northern Studies, Paralegal Studies, Petroleum Engineering, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Process Technology, Psychology, Recreation, Religion, Rural Development, Rural Human Services, Russian, Science Application, Social Work, Sociology, Software Engineering, Spanish, Statistics, Theatre, Trades and Technology, Tribal Management, Welding and Materials Technology, Wildlife, and Women's Studies.
Athletics
UAF's sports teams are called the Nanooks, which is a native Alaskan word for the polar bear, meaning "master of bears". The school colors are blue and gold. UAF competes at the NCAA Division I level for hockey and is a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. For all other sports except Rifle, UAF is a Division II member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
Publishing
There are several book publishers at UAF, including the University of Alaska Press, the Alaska Native Language Center, SeaGrant, and the Alaska Native Knowledge Network. The University of Alaska Foundation also publishes books.
Magazines include Agroborealis, a twice-annual produced by the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences; Ice Box, the UAF student literary magazine; and Permafrost, the UAF English department's literary magazine.
The student newspaper is the Sun Star, which historically was a merger of an independent student paper and the journalism department's student newspaper, the Polar Star and The Northern Sun.