The University of Alaska Board of Regents meeting on May 23, 2024, at UAA. Photo by Matthew Schmitz.
Correction: 7/31/2024 12:31 p.m. A previous version of this article misspelled the name of Jonathon Taylor, director of public affairs for the University of Alaska.
Correction: 8/10/2024 1:14 p.m. A previous version of this article incorrectly reported that that Pearl Brower joined the University of Alaska in 2020 and left in 2021. Brower joined the university in 2021 and left in 2022.
In 2021, The University of Alaska created a position called senior advisor for Alaska Native success, institutional diversity and student engagement, and hired Pearl Brower to fill the role, according to an announcement.
The university created the position — along with The Alaska Native Success Initiative — as a result of priorities established by the University of Alaska Board of Regents.
According to the Alaska Native Success Initiative Strategic Plan, the priorities for the University of Alaska were “understanding and addressing of racial justice and Alaska Native success,” and the position’s areas of focus were “Alaska Native Success, Institutional Diversity and Student Engagement.”
Brower left the position in 2022, and Memry Dahl moved into the position in the interim. In an announcement of the change, University of Alaska President Pat Pitney wrote, “I recognize the value of having a senior level advisor as a member of my cabinet to provide counsel and guidance on ANSI and DEI efforts.”
In 2023, the University of Alaska retitled the position to senior director for Alaska Native success and partnerships, and hired Kristel Komakhuk to fill the position, according to a university announcement.
The announcement excluded any reference to the goals of advancing diversity in the university system, focusing entirely on the role’s relationship with the Alaska Native Success Initiative.
According to the announcement: “In this role, she (Komakhuk) will help to guide and support the implementation of the Alaska Native Success Initiative (ANSI) Strategic Plan. She will also focus on strengthening relationships between UA and Alaska Native partners.”
The Northern Light reached out via email to Jonathon Taylor, director of public affairs for the University of Alaska, regarding the title change.
Taylor wrote that the position’s duties had been expanded from what the position had originally been doing, and despite “diversity” being removed from the title, the responsibilities of the position were not reduced.
Taylor wrote in his email, “Whether the title change reduced the scope of the role, the short answer is no.”
On Komakhuk’s university biography page, there is no mention of advancing diversity or racial justice at the University of Alaska system — although her biography is under a page titled “Race, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Success.”
There is still a position with the title of “senior advisor” currently held by Dahl, wrote Taylor, but “institutional diversity and student engagement” are no longer a part of the official title either, according to Dahl’s university biography page.
Correction: 8/19/2024 5:12 p.m. A previous version of this article misspelled the name of Pearl Brower, former senior advisor for Alaska Native success, institutional diversity and student engagement.
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