Photo by Scott Hobbs.
Native Student Services, or NSS, is located in Rasmuson Hall Room 108. According to its website, NSS is a place where “students can receive academic, advising, and cultural support.” This article will provide a timeline for the organization’s developments over the last six weeks.
On March 19, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Deanne Woodard sent an email to the UAA community. Woodard wrote that reorganization within Student Affairs would take place on July 1 to improve fiscal health.
NSS and Multicultural Student Services will be moved under Community and Belonging, which currently comprises Student Organization Services and First-Year Experience.
Woodard wrote “we will update the names of these areas to the Indigenous and Rural Student Center (IRSC) and the Multicultural Student Center (MSC).”
Following this email, students began to circulate rumors on social media that NSS was being shut down.
On March 27, Woodard sent another email focused on addressing those concerns. Woodard again cited budget as reason for the name change and reorganization.
Woodard wrote that the IRSC will continue to provide the same services as NSS, and NSS will remain in the same location. She wrote that the organization will remain independent, and would not be combined with other organizations.
Following the March 27 email, The Northern Light was informed that the Party for Socialism and Liberation had become involved with students advocating against the reorganization.
Michael Patterson, organizer for the Party of Socialism and Liberation Anchorage said, “PSL is going to help the organizers,” referring to students protesting the reorganization.
The Northern Light reached out to Deanne Woodard for comment on the situation. On March 28, Woodard provided a written response stating that meetings have been held monthly since August 2024 across UAA to monitor department deficits.
In the response, Woodard also said Student Affairs appeared to be on a negative fiscal trajectory last fall, prompting her team to devise methods to get Student Affairs on track with their budget allocation.
Woodard wrote that the process for Student Affairs' reorganization and subsequent name changes began early in the university’s fiscal year, ahead of the Board of Regents’ motion requiring the removal of DEI-related language from public-facing documents.
On April 3, students and community members protested against the reorganization outside the UAA Consortium Library.
On April 10, Woodard sent an email to the community that stated NSS was still open. She wrote that NSS is still operational, with academic advisors available from 10 a.m to 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
The email acknowledged the elimination of staff positions and the reassignment of Community and Belonging staff. Woodard wrote that two full-time NSS staff would be on site starting July 1, despite the changes.
Woodard wrote that a combination of Community and Belonging staff and Chanshtnu Council members are putting together a survey for feedback from students.
On April 24, an email was sent to the UAA community from NSS. The email addressed events taking place at NSS and the Cama-i Room, located in Gorsuch Commons. The email also highlighted several opportunities, including student staff positions at the Cama-i Room and a summer internship at the First Alaskans Institute.
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