UAS to honor four Southeast Alaska leaders with honorary degrees, Meritorious Service Award

March 20, 2026

Alaska Native culture-bearers, a sustainable tourism innovator, and an advocate for victims and survivors will receive the university’s highest honors during the 2026 spring commencement ceremonies.

UAS will confer honorary doctorates of laws on L’eiwtú Éesh Herman Davis, Younce Kóo oo Wóo Russell Dick, and Aanyáanáx Ray Wilson, and will present Saralyn Tabachnick with the 2026 Meritorious Service Award.

“It is a privilege to honor these exemplary individuals for their profound impact in shaping the cultural, economic, and social landscape of Southeast Alaska,” said UAS Chancellor Aparna Palmer, Ph.D. “Their leadership and service are a powerful inspiration, as we celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates.”

2026 honorary doctorate recipients

Honorary doctorates are given to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions in service to their communities, to the perpetuation of knowledge and to humankind.

L’eiwtú Éesh Herman Davis, clan leader of the L’uknax.adí Coho People, from Kayaashka Hít (Platform House), has demonstrated exceptional leadership and dedication as he has worked to ensure that his knowledge of the Tlingit language, culture, traditions and history is preserved and passed on. As a master-level birth speaker, Davis has taught Tlingit language and dance for 50 years through the Sitka Native Education Program and Noow Tlein Dance Group, integrating storytelling, song, and dance into lessons and helping build an extensive curriculum to share with others. He has collaborated with co-awardee Aanyáanáx Ray Wilson to repatriate significant ceremonial pieces, including a Raven helmet. Davis has generously shared his extensive Traditional Ecological Knowledge, identified key historical locations on the landscape and worked with scholars to preserve Tlingit place names.

Younce Kóo oo Wóo Russell Dick, from the Kaagwaantaan (Eagle/Wolf) Clan from Hoonah, is a catalyst for innovation and economic growth throughout Alaska and beyond. As president and chief executive officer of Huna Totem Corporation, Dick has been an extraordinary leader in sustainable tourism, cultural stewardship, and workforce development. Beginning with the transformation of Icy Strait Point into a globally recognized destination, his strategic vision has established a model for responsible tourism development, one that honors Tlingit values and traditions while embracing progressive economic opportunity. Throughout his career, Dick has held key leadership roles at Sealaska Corporation, Alaska Dream Cruises, Haa Aani, LLC, and Icy Strait Whale Adventures (Three Wolves Charters), and served as vice chair of the Alaska Industrial Development & Export Authority Board of Directors.

Aanyáanáx Ray Wilson, clan leader of the Kiks.ádi, from G̱agaan Hít (the Sun House), has shown remarkable leadership in sharing Tlingit dance, stories, practices, and values, and has shifted the paradigm for how museums work with and represent Indigenous Peoples. As a Tlingit culture-bearer, Wilson taught dance and culture for 25 years with the All Nations’ Children dance group (Lda Kut Naax Sati Yatx’i), and helped collaboratively develop a tool that teaches children about the Tlingit language and culture through music. Wilson worked with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History to ensure traditional cultural protocols were followed while restoring a ceremonial sculpin hat, and advised the American Museum of Natural History on integrating Indigenous perspectives into renovations, ensuring that Tlingit culture and traditions were represented as living and dynamic.

2026 Meritorious Service Award recipient

The Meritorious Service Award recognizes a community member who has demonstrated significant public, academic, volunteer, philanthropic, cultural or artistic service to the university or to an Alaskan community.

Saralyn Tabachnick has been a transformative leader in Alaska's efforts to effectively address domestic violence and sexual assault, driving innovative service delivery, advocating for policy development, and mentoring those around her. In her 38 years working at AWARE, a survivor-support services, education and advocacy organization, Tabachnick held various roles from trauma counselor to executive director. She oversaw the development of the Kaasei Satu' plaza, healing koote’eyaa (totem pole) and screen, established the Kaasei transitional housing for survivors, and developed a comprehensive approach to addressing the full spectrum of violence prevention. Tabachnick has chaired the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and continues to be involved with several nonprofit organizations.

Nominations for an honorary degree or Meritorious Service Award can be made by a member of the University of Alaska Board of Regents, by campus advisory councils, members of the university community or by any Alaska citizen. These nominations are reviewed by a board of regents committee, the university chancellor, and the president before being approved by the board of regents.

For information on past award recipients and how to make a nomination, visit uas.alaska.edu/chancellor/honorary-degree.

Clockwise, from top left: Honorary doctorate of laws recipient L’eiwtú Éesh Herman Davis, Meritorious Service Award recipient Saralyn Tabachnick, honorary doctorate of laws recipient Aanyáanáx Ray Wilson, and honorary doctorate of laws recipient Younce Kóo oo Wóo Russell Dick.