Mark Hamilton has rejuvenated the University of Alaska since he stepped in as the 12th president of the UA system in 1998.

After years of budget cuts and program reductions, UA under Hamilton has emphasized a can-do “grow your own” culture to produce Alaska graduates for Alaska jobs. Support from elected officials and business leaders has increased markedly, with favorable budget support from the governor and Alaska Legislature, a major increase in the number of donors to the university, and a coordinated and successful research program relevant to Alaska’s most pressing challenges, including global climate change, energy in the Arctic, and biomedical health sciences.

This increased investment in the university system has allowed for expanded degree options for students, much-needed improvements to facilities and increased enrollment. UA enrolls more than 32,000 students each semester, employs over 8,000 faculty, staff and student workers, and has an FY10 operating budget of $823 million, including state, federal and private funds.

The following are some highlights of the university during Hamilton’s tenure:

• Roughly half of all academic awards (degrees, certificates and endorsements) in the institution’s history  have been made during Hamilton’s term as president.
  
• The UA Scholars Program, which provides an $11,000 scholarship to the top 10 percent of each graduating class of every high school in Alaska, has enrolled a total of 4,200 students who earned more than 1,200 degrees through FY08. Currently, more than 1,800 UA Scholars attend one of the system’s campuses.
   
• The share of Alaska’s recent high-school graduates who come directly to UA has increased from 40 percent in the mid-1990s to over 63 percent today. Scholars represent a part of this growth and serve as ambassadors to other students within their home communities. Almost one in three recent Alaska high school graduates now attends UA, compared to one in five in fall 1996.
   
• Private giving to the university has increased more than 75 percent from FY04 to FY08.
   
• Federal funding, primarily through competitive research grants, has increased since FY98 by more than 60 percent, an increase of approximately $70 million.
   
• State general fund support has doubled, from $165 million in FY98 to $313 million in FY09.
   
• The number of degrees, certificates and endorsements awarded is up nearly 20 percent from FY98 to FY08, reaching record high of more than 3,500 last year.
   
• The number of first-time freshmen attending UA reached record levels at more than 3,000 in fall 2008. This is nearly one-third more freshmen students, approximately 750, compared to fall 1998.
   
• The number of first-time graduate students is also at record levels, with more than 500 in fall 2008 – up 70 percent from fall 1998 levels.
   
• A record number of degree-seeking students now attend UA. For the system as a whole, the proportion of degree-seeking students increased 23 percentage points from fall 1988 (39 percent) to fall 2008 (62 percent). In fall 2008, there were more than 20,000 degree seeking students---the highest number and proportion on record.
   
• Freshmen-to-sophomore retention is at an all time high - with more than 67 percent retained in FY09, nearly 22 percent more than in FY99..
   
• The number of Alaska Native students enrolling at UA has grown more than 25 percent since fall 1998, with 4,300 Native students now attending.

For a detailed biography on UA's 12th president, click here.