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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 30, 2025

University of Alaska Fairbanks Chancellor White Announces Retirement at End of July 2025

Growth in research, enrollment enduring highlights of 8 year-tenure as chancellor

(FAIRBANKS) — University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Chancellor Dan White announced today that he will retire as chancellor on July 26, 2025, concluding 30 years of service to UAF and the University of Alaska (UA). During his tenure, UAF’s external research portfolio more than doubled to over $200 million annually as he led the university through a series of challenges and returned the institution to enrollment growth over the last two years.

“I am so grateful to the University for affording me a long and rewarding career,” Chancellor White said. “Teddy Roosevelt once said that the greatest reward in life is the opportunity to work at work worth doing, and I couldn’t agree more. Serving this institution has been a privilege, and I am looking forward to what life has in store for me next.”

In the immediate term, Chancellor White will maintain affiliation with UA through his role as faculty of Civil Engineering. UA President Pat Pitney will consult with UAF leadership, governance and other stakeholders to appoint an interim chancellor while UA searches for a permanent chancellor. She will consult with UAF leadership and other key internal and external stakeholders on the interim selection in the coming weeks.

"Chancellor White has been an incredible leader for UAF, and a steadying force for the university and university system,” UA President Pat Pitney said. “His forward thinking and preparation, along with his experience as UAF faculty, have been a true asset to me and the entire UA System, and he'll be very missed. As we navigate the next steps of selecting an interim chancellor and searching for UAF's next permanent chancellor, I'm committed to open, two-way communication with UAF stakeholders as we work to continue the University's ongoing success, and maintain the stability that’s been built during Dan's tenure."

Chancellor White has served as UAF chancellor since July 2017. He previously served as UA vice president for academic affairs and research. He joined UAF faculty in 1995 as a professor of civil and environmental engineering and served in a variety of leadership roles at UAF before joining the UA System Office in 2015. At UAF, he served as director of the Institute of Northern Engineering, associate vice chancellor for research and head of the Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization, and interim vice chancellor for research. He has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Colorado College, a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Washington University and a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

“I’m incredibly grateful for Chancellor White and his decades of dedicated service to UAF, the UA System, and the people of Alaska,” UA Board of Regents Chair Ralph Seekins said. “While we are sad to see him leave this role at the end of July, I’m pleased he’ll continue to be affiliated with UAF as faculty. On behalf of myself and the Board, I thank Chancellor White for his years of service to UAF and the UA System - he will be dearly missed.”

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For more information, contact Tom Hough, UAF executive director of advancement at (907) 474-5526, or via email at though2@alaska.edu, or Marmian Grimes, UAF communications director, at (907) 474-7902, or via email at marmian.grimes@alaska.edu.