������Ƶ

Jennifer Carroll PI 

Ryan, J./UAS, Harnish, A./UAA, Lamb, J./UAS, Trochim, E./UAF

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), including the widespread availability of
user-friendly interfaces with large language models (LLMs), have significant implications for
higher education, raising critical concerns about academic integrity, information literacy, and the
effectiveness of writing as a form of assessment.
The First UA Statewide AI Symposium (Tier I) will bring together experts from each MAU to
collaborate on pressing issues related to the emergence of AI-powered technologies and their
impact on higher education. The symposium will consist of three working groups: one for
pedagogy, one for research, and a third—the survey group—for assessing the state of AI
integration and attitudes toward generative AI across campuses. Each working group will review
the relevant national conversation about AI, , propose goals to operationalize best practices,
and map out a strategy to reach those goals.
This symposium aims to further the UA mission and systemwide goals by focusing on two of the
initiative categories: We will build on the intellectual capital of UA through basic and applied
research involving LLMs (Category 1), and we will develop high-impact pedagogical practices
that integrate this technology (Category 3). By doing so, the symposium also has the potential to
generate new professional development initiatives related to LLMs (Category 4), reduce the cost
of degrees and contribute to student retention and success (for example, by establishing best
practices for teaching and learning with LLMs) (Category 6), promote student engagement and
research with this technology (Category 7), and enhance UA’s service to the state by presenting
public-facing versions of our teaching materials and research methods (Category 8).

Awarded $ 29,943

Lauren Wild PI  UAF

Sitka Sound, in Southeast ������Ƶ, is home to a large annual aggregation of Pacific herring
(Clupea pallasii) that typically begin spawning in late March. Gray whales (Eschrichtius
robustus) have been known to feed on herring eggs after the spawn, with increasing numbers of
gray whales showing up in recent years from fewer than 20 individuals prior to 2019 to well over
150 individuals currently. The Sitka Sound herring population has been of utmost cultural and
traditional importance to Tlingit people in Sitka (Sheet K’a) for over 10,000 years, with eggs
being a cultural mainstay and key to food sovereignty. It is also subject to one of the last
remaining commercial sac roe herring fisheries in ������Ƶ, and is further important in the diets of
numerous marine and terrestrial predators. In 2024 we embarked on a pilot study to better
understand the ecosystem dynamics of how these species overlap in space and time, and
potential impacts of an increased gray whale foraging presence on the highly sought after herring
and herring egg resource. We aim to continue this work in the spring of 2025, where gray whale
presence, distribution, and foraging activity will be monitored through boat-based photo-
identification, tissue sampling, and fecal sampling within Sitka Sound. Funds from this project
will be used specifically to work towards two aims: 1) training an existing artificial intelligence
program to match gray whales for photo-identification and catalog building; and 2) analyzing
tissue samples for genetic identification, sex, haplotype, and other genetic markers that will help
us better understand who the population is of gray whales coming to Sitka Sound.
Awarded $29,979

Gabriel Garcia PI UAA

David, EJ, Mapaye, J.C. UAA

Filipinos have been part of ������Ƶ’s history for more than a century, and they are also one of the state’s
largest and fastest growing immigrant populations. In the University of ������Ƶ system, many students
self-identify or partly identify as Filipino/Filipino American. Despite the group’s large presence in the
state and the university, a course on Filipino American studies is non-existent in the UA system. We are
applying for the UA Tier I Faculty Initiative Fund (FIF) for the implementation of Project Kapwa.
Kapwa is a Filipino word which means fellow being, and it is considered a core value in the Filipino
culture that encourages individuals to embrace their shared identity and care of others. The goal of Project
Kapwa is to establish an educational enrichment program in the UA system with a focus on teaching and
learning Filipino American history and experience, and at the same time, incorporating research and
creative activity in the process. The specific aims of this project are: (1) to develop an online,
multidisciplinary Filipino American studies class; and (2) to determine the direct impact of this program
to the ethnic identity of its Filipino American (FA) participants and to the attitudes and beliefs of non-FA
participants on racial/ethnic diversity and equity. The long-term outcome of Project Kapwa is to create a
foundation for sustainable learning and engagement in research and creative activity related to Filipino
American studies with and for the Filipino American community in ������Ƶ. The significance of this
project is its potential to increase ethnic identity and pride among its FA participants, which can foster
increased engagement in the Filipino American community. As for non-FA participants, this project has
the potential to increase their knowledge and understanding of Filipino American history and experience,
which are important in fostering cross-cultural relationships and increasing cultural awareness that are
much needed regardless of their academic or career path. This project is consistent with many of the UA
Faculty Alliance FIF’s initiatives, including building intellectual capital of UA through basic and applied
research, developing high-impact pedagogical practices, and generating new professional development
programs for faculty that will establish and maintain collaborations across the system.
Awarded $30,000

 

Douglas Bourne PI UA

Kraft, Z./UAA, Szczepanski, J./UAS, Hendeson, R./UAF

This Tier I project, DETERMINING A UNIVERSAL PLATFORM AND INITIAL DEVELOPMENT OF
OERCA (OPEN EDUCATION RESOURCES OF ALASKA–TIER I), builds off a working group formed
for the 2024 Writing Symposium funded by a Tier I grant, will solicit and fund a universal digital
platform to house an ������Ƶ place-based OER for the University of ������Ƶ (UA) system. OERCA aims to
support faculty with pedagogical tools that highlight ������Ƶ’s culture and resources, enhancing teaching
and learning across UA campuses. Currently, differing Learning Management Systems (LMSs)
complicate sharing materials, and an LMS may not be suitable for hosting an open-access resource like
OERCA. This Tier I proposal seeks to address these challenges by surveying faculty to identify platform
needs, conducting a cost-benefit analysis of potential platforms, and gathering input through surveys and
outreach, and create a universal platform to serve as a tool for faculty to adopt place-based resources. The
long term goal is to secure funding for a universal platform that can house OERCA, ultimately creating a
shared resource for Writing and English courses across UA, aligned with the university’s mission of
accessible and culturally relevant education. The PI’s will populate OERCA with the materials for one
course with high student enrollment prior to releasing the OERCA to other faculty to also build courses.
Awarded $30,000

Claudia Ihl PI

Initiative Categories:
1) build the intellectual capital of UA through basic and applied research
2) promote obtainment of external grants and contracts or other cost-reducing measures
5) foster community partnerships and engaged learning opportunities
7) promote student engagement, research, internship, or apprenticeship opportunities
8) enhance UA’s service to the state

In light of growing food insecurity due to climate change and high prices, gardening is gaining increasing
popularity in NW ������Ƶ. With gardening, however, comes an elevated risk of introducing invasive
species, such as earthworms. Studies have shown that invasive earthworms can have detrimental effects
on biodiversity and nutrient cycling in soils. This is particularly true of geoengineering species which
burrow deeply and mineralize the soil by reducing organic soil horizons.
This project is intended as a pilot project to build collaborations with local partners and gardeners around
Nome as well as soil researchers from The University of Minnesota to meet the following objectives:
- gather baseline data on earthworm abundance and species composition throughout garden sites in the
Nome area
- establish a long-term monitoring protocol for soil conditions and earthworms at local gardens in order to
investigate which soil conditions can be linked to fluctuations in abundance and species composition.
- develop a workshop to teach gardeners and citizens about soil biology, invasive earthworms and
earthworm identification.
- develop a university course on soil science and invasive species associated with soils.
- use these activities as a basis for applying for future federal grants (NSF or USDA) to further investigate
the impact of invasive earthworms on soil biology, soil microbes and above- and belowground
biodiversity in northwest ������Ƶ.
Awarded $30,000

Erin Larson PI

Samuel, W./UAF

Relationships between beaver and fish are important for communities across ������Ƶ
and the nuances of the relationships between these taxa are not well-understood. The proposed
work will synthesize information about beaver and important subsistence fish in ������Ƶ to lay
the foundation for a future grant proposal and a synthetic manuscript for publication in a relevant
peer-reviewed scientific journal. The proposed work helps foster collaboration between UAA’s
������Ƶ Center for Conservation Science and UAF’s International Arctic Research Center.
Awarded $29,995

 

 

Justin Cramb PI

Jean Tekura-i-i-moana Mason Cook Islands 


This proposal is for Tier 1 funding that will enable an inter-university and
collaborative Indigenous (Māori) archaeological pilot study on the island of Rarotonga in the Cook
Islands of East Polynesia. This is meant as the first stage of a much larger multi-year project for which we
plan to obtain NSF funding. Archaeologists have a firm understanding of human migrations into the
remote Pacific Ocean. That is, except for a few inconsistencies in the known timing and order of events.
About 2,800 years ago voyaging peoples sailed into the Pacific from the Bismark Islands near New
Guinea. These Lapita Peoples, as they are known, traveled as far as Samoa and Tonga in West Polynesia.
Once in West Polynesia forward migrations stopped for almost 2,000 years. Around 1,000 years ago
Voyagers from Tonga and Samoa resumed eastward migrations. Evidence suggests that the next islands
inhabited were the Society Islands 2,000 km to the east. However, at about the halfway point between
West Polynesia and the Society Islands lie the Cook Islands. These Voyagers would have sailed through
the Cook Islands to reach the Society Islands. Moreover, traditional narratives from locations such as
Aotearoa (New Zealand) state that many East Polynesian islands were settled by Voyagers from
Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. They even point to a particular harbor, called Ngatangiia, from where
their ships set sail. Why then do researchers believe that the Society Islands were settled before the Cook
Islands? Simply, a lack of examined alternatives. No archaeological excavations have been completed at
Ngatangiia or on the small motu (sandy islets) that shelter it. The goal of the East Polynesia Origins
Project is to archaeologically investigate the two largest motu in Ngatangiia Harbor. Our team, comprised
of US-based and Cook Islands-based researchers, will spend four weeks in July and August of 2025
completing this field work. We will then use radiocarbon dating to demonstrate that the Southern Cook
Islands were the first islands settled in East Polynesia. This will provide the foundation for a broader
effort to investigate the nature of this settlement and the subsequent settlement of islands further afield.
This project has the potential to rewrite the colonization history of East Polynesia in a manner that values
Indigenous insights and scientific methods while providing opportunities for UA students and Indigenous
collaborators. We hope that the UA system Faculty Initiative Fund will support this first step toward a
new collaborative understanding of East Polynesian origins and the history of Rarotonga.

Awarded $28,700

Jay Szcezepanski  PI
Aldrich, C./UAA, Fournier. C./UAF, Harrod, R./UAA, Henderon, R./UAF-Kusk, Miles, C./UAF, Stanley, S./UAF

A Tier 1 Faculty Initiative Fund Proposal
to Build a Digital Archive of Student Voices from the UA System. Masterworks of Our Student
Expression (The MOOSE) is an ambitious initiative to create a responsive, cross-campus archive of
undergraduate writing from the University of ������Ƶ (UA) system. A team of seven faculty members will
design the platform’s interface and infrastructure, establishing the foundation for a robust database that
will ultimately house a diverse corpus of student work. This project aims to enhance writing instruction
and support research on student writing development through a versatile, user-friendly tool. We seek
funding to support the initial design phase, focusing on the creation of a flexible interface using Airtable’s
cloud-based platform, which will foster classroom practice, cross-campus collaboration, and public
engagement. While the final features of the database will evolve during development, the overarching
goal is to create a powerful resource that improves student learning outcomes and advances research in
writing practices by storing and disseminating writing that can be used by students as models and by
faculty as teaching and research tools, improving both how writing is taught at the University and how the
fruits of that instruction is communicated to the wider public.
The MOOSE addresses several priorities outlined in the Faculty Initiative Fund CFP: it promotes
high-impact pedagogical practices by making student writing visible and accessible; supports student
recruitment, retention, and success by offering sorted and categorized samples in gateway and
composition courses; and generates professional development opportunities for faculty through
cross-campus collaboration and shared use of the archive for their own research agendas. By providing a
platform for public dissemination of student work, the project also enhances student engagement and
showcases ������Ƶ’s investment in higher education via these digital artifacts.
The archive will feature writing samples from a wide range of disciplines and academic levels,
representing work at various stages of completion. Key features will include comprehensive metadata for
detailed analysis, a dynamic tagging system for emergent categorization, and customizable views to meet
different user needs. By showcasing diverse voices and writing processes, the project aims to foster a
sense of belonging and representation, helping students see themselves in the larger community of writers
by understanding that they do not write in isolation, and that the writing process itself is messy and
iterative, as illustrated by the archive’s artifacts.
The project will be implemented through a collaborative effort involving faculty from UAS-Juneau, UA
Anchorage, and the UAF Troth Yeddha' and Kuskokwim campuses. Monthly planning meetings (January
to May) will culminate in a four-day working session in Fairbanks, focusing on Airtable training and
initial archive design and the drafting of a scholarly article about the project’s innovative aspects for the
Journal of Basic Writing. The team will also develop archive submission guidelines, create pathways for
student contributions, and implement a moderation system to ensure the quality and appropriateness of
submitted artifacts. Ongoing updates will keep the archive current and representative of student writing
across the UA system.
Ultimately, The MOOSE represents a forward-thinking approach to integrating technology in writing
education. By centralizing student writing samples, the archive will reduce duplication of efforts across
UA campuses and promote the sharing of best practices. As faculty and students engage with the archive,
it has the potential to transform writing instruction, expand research opportunities, and strengthen
cross-campus collaboration across the University of ������Ƶ system.

Awarded $23,000

Abhijit Dandekar PI

This proposal is directed toward improving the state-of-the-art of phase behavior and properties of
relevant energy transition gas mixtures. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) are the primary
components at the forefront of decarbonization and new energy, through Carbon Capture, Utilization, and

Storage (CCUS) and clean fuel or energy, respectively. CO2 is captured followed by utilization and/or sub-
surface sequestration, while H2, produced using renewable energy sources, is stored and withdrawn

intermittently from depleted natural gas (NG) reservoirs, allowing for H2 energy supplied on demand
without emitting CO2, which is a pathway needed for the US to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
A common incorrect assumption, however, is that the CO2 and H2 are 100% pure in the value chain.
For example, the post-combustion CO2 captured from an emitter will be a CO2 rich fluid but not 100% in
purity, and will contain several impurities (toxic gases, non-condensables such as O2, N2 and even trace
hydrocarbons). In a CCUS environment, even on a parts per million or ppm level, these impurities can
significantly impact the phase behavior and properties of the CO2-rich mixture, affecting the integrity of
the infrastructure, storage capacity and injectivity. On the other hand, although the H2 to be stored may be
100% pure, the H2 withdrawn for use will instead be a H2 rich fluid containing some light hydrocarbon
components such as methane and ethane and non-hydrocarbons such as N2, CO2, and water that the stored H2 will pick up during the withdrawal, with similar results. Hence, it is important to recognize that these CO2 or H2-rich fluids are not pure CO2 or H2.
The primary goal of this proposal is to evaluate the experimental data and models from existing
literature (Task 1.0); develop a (standardized) tuning or calibration methodology for phase behavior and
property prediction models (Task 2.0); and conduct experiments on CO2 and H2-rich fluid streams to
produce missing data (Task 3.0). These three tasks over 18-months are designed to provide reliable models and data that can be screened and/or further improved to deal with the compositional variations in the design and operation of the CCUS and H2 processes.
Awarded $ 29,488

Pradeeban Kathiravelu PI

Affordable mental healthcare with dignity has been a challenge for marginalized folks
such as the unhoused and people with disabilities. Mental disorders are stigmatized and often
misdiagnosed in the unhoused. Ensuring personalized care beyond traditional healthcare will
ensure a better healing experience. Building trust and respect with the patients unintrusively can
provide a positive patient-provider interaction, yielding better care and diagnosis. Literature has
shown that patient-generated images (such as digital photographs captured by them or simple
sketches drawn by them) can be considered determinants of behavioral health. However, a
digitized framework to seamlessly incorporate those images into healthcare data to provide a
unifying view to healthcare practitioners is currently lacking in research and clinical practice. This
project stems from our belief and hypothesis that such non-clinical and non-invasive measures
can extend as behavioral health metrics to supplement healthcare practice for better patient care
and individualized patient-centric recovery. We posit that an integrated community health metrics
framework can provide a more holistic approach to healthcare, with humanized access to patients
in a more personalized precision medicinal approach, by anonymizing and generalizing our
findings to the community in a given city.
This interdisciplinary project builds a data federation framework to augment the Electronic Health
Record (EHR) systems with images not explicitly clinical to observe behavioral health in
individuals in challenging physical, mental, or social conditions. We specifically propose to use
artistic and photographic representations over the period, at the patient’s own pace and interest,
to reflect the daily routines to supplement the classic wellness check appointments (which
currently focus on clinical parameters and minimal depression screening). The supplemental
image data, including scanned drawings and captured digital photographs, will be stored in a
secured datastore with authentication, authorization, and access control mechanisms. A minimal
web-based front-end allows connecting with the datastore from mobile devices and computers.
Federated interfaces facilitate connecting this data with the EHR systems without integrating the
images into the EHR.

The overarching goal of this proposal is to build a health-focused data federation framework to
extend classic EHR systems with images that are non-medical but can provide distinct insights
into behavioral health individually and community health collectively. At the center of this grant is
developing an open-source framework that can self-sustain through volunteer contributions and
provide a basis for behavioral health metrics at an individual level and community health aspects
in ������Ƶn cities such as Anchorage. We will quantify and incorporate these behavioral health
and social determinants through annotated photographs and images. We aim to work with the
data we will acquire from 25 participants from two Anchorage-based organizations, CHOICES
and the Arc. This project is composed of three core development parts. The first part of the project
focuses on developing the software framework, acquiring the necessary Institutional Review
Board (IRB) approvals to secure access to EHR systems, and collecting the images. The second
part focuses on data federation to leverage behavioral health indicators from the images in
conjunction with clinical records in EHR systems from wellness check visits. The final part
aggregates our individual findings in an anonymized and collective manner to understand
integrated community health metrics. We see this grant as a first step in federating clinical data
and behavioral predictor images and drawings for integrative behavioral health in ������Ƶ.
This grant will build upon the existing collaboration between computer science and community
health researchers from the College of Engineering (Principal Investigator/PI, Dr. Kathiravelu, with
an undergraduate research assistant) and College of Health (Consultant, Dr. Moxley) at the
University of ������Ƶ Anchorage (UAA) through their respective previously received Community
Engaged Faculty Mini-grants. The mini-grants allowed them to initiate collaborations, perform
feasibility studies, acquire sample images, and develop a minimal data federation framework to
analyze behavioral health metrics. This Faculty Initiative Fund will provide the necessary funding
to realize the goal to the fullest, implementing the framework, extending our previous work, and
using free and open-source software frameworks to have a functional product that can be
deployed in healthcare practice in our collaborative community clinics and non-profit organizations
in ������Ƶ.
Awarded $29,980

Sally Samson PI

Moses, C./UAF,Siekmann, S./UAF, Ryan, E./UAF, John-Shields, P.A./UAA

Through this Tier II Seed proposal, faculty from UAF’s Kuskokwim and Troth Yeddha’ campuses
(Drs. Samson, Moses, Siekmann, Ryan), UAA (Dr. John-Shield) and representatives from the
Lower Kuskokwim (Erin Haveland), Lower Yukon (Janet Johnson), and Yupiit (Janice George)
school districts seek $10,000 to support the development of a U.S. Department of Education
grant proposal (Goal 3) to address the language and teaching needs (Goal 1, Goal 2) of Yup’ik
Language Teachers (both certified and associate) in Southwest ������Ƶ.

Awarded $10,000

Carol Gray PI

Warren, J./UAA, Wright, G./UAS

The Intercampus Pre-Law Immersion Program proposes high impact pedagogy by bringing
students interested in legal careers from UAF, UAA, and UAS to the state capital to observe law
and law-making in action. The goals of this Tier II proposal are threefold. First, students will
learn about the law by engaging with ongoing state supreme court cases and watching ������Ƶ
Supreme Court oral arguments. Second, students will learn about law-making by visiting the
state legislature. Students will also learn interbranch relationships by attending the Chief
Justice’s “State of the Judiciary” address to the legislature. Third, students will learn about
careers in pre-law by meeting with professionals who work with law who hold different roles in
the judicial system. Our project falls squarely within several eligibility categories since it
embodies high impact pedagogical practices, promotes student engagement, student retention,
internship possibilities, and contributes to the efforts of ������Ƶ’s legal community to promote
law as a career so more young people will return to ������Ƶ to provide critically needed legal
services.
Awarded $10,000

Ingrid Johnson PI

UAA-Dr. Rei Shimizu

We request UA Faculty Initiative Funds for a Tier II mini-project ($10,000) that involves organizing and
hosting a 2-day symposium in March 2025 titled “Connect Deeply, Dream Big: Reframing Justice in
������Ƶ through Restorative Practice.” This will be the third annual restorative justice (RJ) symposium
hosted by UA (the first of which was funded in part by FIF Tier II funds in FY23). The overarching
purpose of these symposiums is to grow and enhance access to RJ in ������Ƶ by creating networking and
professional development opportunities for professionals and community members who share this vision.
The past two symposiums have been more didactic, teaching fundamental purposes, principles, tools,
legal parameters, and examples around the use of RJ. The purpose of the 2025 symposium is to be
experiential, and will thus facilitate experiences with restorative practices and dive deep into what makes
RJ impactful and unique from other healing practices. Organizing this symposium is an interdisciplinary
and interuniversity collaboration between the UAF Justice Department, the UAA School of Social Work,
and the Haa Tóoch Lichéesh Coalition (HTL), an Indigenous-led non-profit based in Lingít Aaní
(Juneau). The goals of the symposium fit within the UA mission to inspire learning and to advance and
disseminate knowledge through teaching and public service, emphasizing the North and its diverse
peoples. The major steps in organizing this symposium are contracting with HTL to design and facilitate
the daily structure of the symposium (complete); securing funding (in progress - nearly $18,000 already
secured); inviting Elders, other Indigenous knowledge bearers, and other RJ advocates to co-host and
facilitate in partnership with HTL; securing space and planning other logistical components; advertising
the event and inviting guests; and, ultimately, hosting the symposium in March 2025.

Awarded $10,000

 

Kapil Sharma PI

Abstract: Sensors are crucial to remote areas of ������Ƶ for several applications including communication,
remote sensing, emergency management such as fighting forest fires, forecast of disasters such as
earthquakes and avalanches, environmental monitoring, surveillance and reconnaissance, aerial
photography, and wildlife monitoring. In the past, several sensors have been used in remote regions of
������Ƶ. These sensors have typically utilized different electronic components which have been
manufactured by utilizing conventional subtractive manufacturing processes. Advanced sensors with higher
performance characteristics, such as high resolution, high accuracy, high sensitivity, wide frequency
coverage, and reliability, are required for operations in remote areas with extreme environments. This
project aims to develop additively manufactured advanced sensors to be used for environmental monitoring applications, namely air monitoring, space weather monitoring, water and ice monitoring, fire, drought and flood monitoring in ������Ƶ. These sensors include Air Quality Monitor, Space Environment Monitor (SEM), Spectroradiometer, advanced Scatterometer, Magnetometer, Mag‐690 sensor, Aerimis camera system, flame detectors, and flood sensors. The proposed additively manufactured sensors will have several advantages such as reduced size and weight, shorter manufacturing lead time and low fabrication cost while exhibiting superior electrical and mechanical performance compared to the existing sensors being used in several electronic and mechanical systems. These additively manufactured sensors will also require lower power consumption as compared to currently utilized sensors.
This submission is intended for Tier II and the initiative category: ‘build the intellectual capital of UA
through basic and applied research.
Awarded $10,000

Erin Trochim PI

The goal of this project is to provide the University of ������Ƶ generally and
UA faculty specifically with baseline data about faculty and student knowledge of, attitudes
towards, current use of, and preferred future use of generative artificial intelligence tools in
research, teaching, and learning. We need to know where faculty stand so that the universities
can best plan for their development and technology needs. We need to know where students
stand so that we can meet them where they are educationally and to provide them with the tools
they need to move forward. Most of the data we have heard used within UA to guide AI
decision-making have been either anecdotal or based on national data. Collecting this
information on the UA level will provide a baseline understanding for our universities as we
move forward to implement curricular changes.

Major steps required for this project are:

1. Design separate surveys for faculty and students
2. Obtain IRB approval
3. Work with UA Institutional Research to send surveys to all faculty and students
4. Analyze and develop a report based on survey results
5. Present survey results and proposed future actions to administrators, faculty, and
students

Reviewers may ask, why is the university administration not conducting their own surveys? The
Faculty Alliance chair, Jennifer Carroll, has discussed this with system office administrators and
one issue is that they feel that this will be better received if it comes from faculty, for faculty. We
agree with this assessment. Conducting these surveys as faculty research keeps AI firmly in the
faculty realm and preserves faculty purview over AI’s role in higher education.
Awarded $10,000

Lisa Schwarzburg PI

Garcia, J.M./UAA, Miller, V./UAA

������Ƶ experiences significant shortages in the public health workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic
intensified the need for a strong public health workforce, especially in rural and disadvantaged
communities. In response to this need, UAA’s Division of Population Health Sciences (DPHS) initiated
Project PACE (Public Health Accessibility, Certification, and Expansion), funded through the University of
������Ƶ Health Programs Strategic Investment Fund for three years, with the goal of increasing access to
education in population health sciences throughout ������Ƶ to address these workforce needs. Through
Project PACE, DPHS added the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences (BSHS) to Master of
Public Health (MPH) Program option, developed an accelerated degree completion pathway option for
students holding a 2-year allied health degree to earn their BS in Health Sciences, and received full
curricular approval for the Occupational Endorsement Certificate (OEC) in Gerontology and Graduate
Certificate in Public Health. Moreover, the number of applications for both Health Sciences and Public
Health programs increased within three years. A gap in Project PACE efforts, however, is creating a
direct pathway from high school to graduate public health education. Thus, we propose seed money
from the Faculty Initiative Fund (Tier II) to establish the foundation for the PACE STEP (Students Training
Early in Public Health) Program. The goal of the PACE STEP Program is to offer a public health
educational pathway for high school and first-year college students statewide to our BSHS to MPH
Accelerated Program by AY 2025-2026. To achieve this goal, the project’s specific aims which will be
addressed through AY25 FIF are to: (1) develop the process, structure , and student support system for
the STEP Program; and (2) create a pool of potential STEP scholars from existing high school summer
bridge programs, ASD academies, first year college students in ������Ƶ, and ������Ƶ Center for Rural
Health and Health Workforce’s ������Ƶ Native Student Learning Community for Health Sciences. The
long-term outcome of the proposed program is to create an opportunity for early exposure to the public
health field and to increase the number of qualified public health practitioners to meet ������Ƶ’s
workforce needs. A successful implementation of our proposed program will give us leverage for future
larger external funding through institutions such as HRSA and the CDC Foundation. Through PACE STEP
efforts, we will be able to address several of UA Faculty Alliance FIF’s initiatives including promoting
obtainment of external grants and contracts or other cost-reducing measures; fostering community
partnerships and engaged learning opportunities; reducing the cost of degrees and/or contribute to
student recruitment, retention and success; and enhancing UA’s service to the state.

Awarded $10,000

 

Jason Kuhn PI

This project aims to advance the monitoring of Hazardous Algal Bloom (HAB) species in
Southeast ������Ƶ; HAB species often accumulate within filter feeding mollusks and can cause
paralytic shellfish poisoning in people who consume these affected organisms. By
incorporating newer, more sensitive molecular methods of detection alongside traditional
detection methods, this work aims to support local recreational and subsistence shellfish
harvesting, with particular relevance for Southeast ������Ƶn Native communities. Funding at
the Tier II level (<$10,000) will enable the collection, processing, and analysis of shoreline
samples over an 8 week span in the Spring of 2025, with further data analysis, and manuscript
preparation/submission occurring during the Fall of 2025. This project will compare HAB
detection using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) on marine samples acquired
both actively and with passive collection devices. qPCR results from both active and passive
sampling will additionally be compared to the traditional method of HAB detection using light
microscopy. Importantly, this project provides opportunities for undergraduate students who
are enrolled in the University of ������Ƶ Southeast’s spring 2025 course BIOL S355:
Experimental Design and Data Analysis to participate in the research by collecting and
processing samples as part of their course lab. Incorporation of BIOL S355 students into the
project allows us to extend an authentic research experience to a diverse group of
undergraduate students while enabling a broader collection of samples from shorelines around
Juneau. This project fulfils multiple initiative categories serving the UA mission, including:
building the intellectual capital of UA through research (Category 1), promoting obtainment of
external grants (Category 2), developing high-impact pedagogical practices (Category 3), and
promoting student engagement and research (Category 7). Additionally, this project supports
the development of cross-university networks, since as part of the project, we propose to test
and provide feedback on HAB passive sample collection devices developed in the College of
Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at University of ������Ƶ Fairbanks.
Awarded $9,925