Legislature honors UAS Chancellor Rick Caulfield

The �Ӱ�ԭ�� Legislature passed a citation honoring University of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Southeast Chancellor Rick Caulfield for his many years of leadership and service to the University of �Ӱ�ԭ��.

“I have dedicated my career to the University of �Ӱ�ԭ��, and I have especially appreciated the opportunity to provide leadership at the University of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Southeast over these past 10 years,” Caulfield said in the announcing his retirement.

Caulfield was selected by former UA President Pat Gamble to serve as UAS Chancellor in May 2015. Prior to serving as Chancellor, he served as Provost for UAS. During his tenure as UAS Provost, student retention increased 14 percent. Before taking leadership roles at UAS, Caulfield served �Ӱ�ԭ�� as an associate professor of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native Studies and Rural Development, Dean of the �Ӱ�ԭ�� Community and Technical College and Associate Dean of Academic Programs.

As academic program head for the Department of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native and Rural Development at the Fairbanks campus, Caulfield developed the distance programs offered by �Ӱ�ԭ�� and worked to create the master’s degree in rural development. His dedication to full inclusion of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native ways of knowing in academia led to his receiving the Dennis Demmert Award for Excellence in serving �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native Students in both 1996 and 2001.

“During Rick’s time as chancellor, the �Ӱ�ԭ�� College of Education was created at UAS, consolidating leadership of education programs across the University system and ensuring UAS remains a leader in training the next generation of �Ӱ�ԭ�� teachers,” said the citation. “In 2019, UAS’ accreditation was reaffirmed by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, which praised the University’s inclusion of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native culture, commitment to student retention, and successful integration of three distinct campuses into one cohesive university.”