Published Jun 4, 2024 by Alaska Native News

When Brenda Konar launched the first scientific diving course at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2000, there was some speculation that it could be a short-lived experiment.

After all, how much demand could there really be for a class that combines cold-water diving and research skills?

That gamble has paid off nicely: The scientific diving program hit a milestone this year with its 25th year of instruction. Including this year’s graduates, more than 500 students have been trained as scientific divers through the program.

Her initial motivation for teaching the UAF class was simple. Konar’s research at the time focused on sea otter ecology in the Aleutian Islands, and there was a shortage of trained scientific divers at UAF who could conduct that field research.

Since then, the class has become a spring semester tradition at UAF. Students spend a few months in Fairbanks classrooms and the Patty Center swimming pool. The final is held during spring break at the Kasitsna Bay Laboratory, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration field station near Seldovia operated in partnership with UAF. 

Published Jun 4, 2024 by Latoya Abulu

The North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management is the community’s first line of defense. The team includes ecologists, biologists and hydrologists who work under the leadership of an Iñupiat director, Taqulik Hepa. The researchers are just half of the equation. The department also employs a robust team of Iñupiat subsistence hunters who are revered in the community for their ecological knowledge.

“It’s a real unique situation that’s different from anyplace else,” Hepa explained. “We have local hunters and local people working together with very well-respected scientists.”

The department’s approach makes it a potential model for the “true collaborations with local and Indigenous peoples” that the National Science Foundation called for in a 2021 letter, according to Eduard Zdor, a Chuktotkan PhD candidate in Anthropology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In 2022, a White House memorandum also urged federal agencies to consider Indigenous knowledge in “federal research, policies and decision making.” These recent calls to action have spurred new collaborations between researchers and Indigenous peoples.

Published Jun 3, 2024 by alaskabusiness

The new Executive Director of the Atwood Foundation succeeds her father in the role. The board of the Anchorage-based philanthropic fund supporting journalism, arts, and culture chose Sara Perman to lead the organization now that her father, Ira Perman, is retiring.

Sara Perman has been an integral part of the Atwood Foundation for the past five years, working on grant management while fostering strong relationships with grantees. After thorough succession planning and an extensive search process, the board selected her as the best individual to continue the Atwood Foundation’s growth and work in the Anchorage community.

Perman brings eight years of experience in public affairs, having served most recently as the State Government Relations Manager for the University of Alaska. She is a lifelong Anchorage resident with an extensive background in arts and journalism. From her early days with Alaska Dance Theater to playing first-chair violin in the Alaska Youth Orchestra, Perman’s passion for the arts has always been evident. She also received two Alaska Press Club awards for her radio storytelling.