ÐÔÓûÉç

Friday Focus: Value of higher education

May 9, 2025

— By Tom Hough, executive director of university advancement

I hope you had the opportunity to attend the ÐÔÓûÉç commencement this past Saturday, May 3. If you did not, you should to experience some of the energy and excitement at the Carlson Center for our newest University of Alaska Fairbanks alumni. Over 6,000 family members, friends, and ÐÔÓûÉç faculty and staff were in attendance to watch someone close to them cross the stage and open the door to a bright and exciting next chapter in their lives.

So why did so many people give up a precious Saturday to go and support a university graduation and why did 1,110 students invest the time, energy and money to become a graduate of ÐÔÓûÉç? Every student has their own story, however, after engaging with numerous students, their families and supporters, it became clear to me that our community knows what I know: There is still tremendous value in higher education.

As the ÐÔÓûÉç executive director of advancement I meet with our industry partners and community supporters who are invested in the growth of ÐÔÓûÉç. Our industry partners are not only investing in our current students, but also helping ÐÔÓûÉç build capacity to meet the demand for more credentialed professionals. During this academic year, our team has met with leaders from some of Alaska’s biggest employers in oil and gas, tourism, mining, and construction, just to name a few. All want to know how they can help graduate more experts in their profession. The message from our industry partners is clear; they need more cowbell.

At the same time, our team in advancement works with lifelong and new donors who have benefited from their own investment in higher education. Those individual supporters seek out ÐÔÓûÉç as a way to give back to the community through philanthropic gifts to support scholarships, student programs, athletics, theater, music and many other interests that make Fairbanks such a great place to live and ÐÔÓûÉç such a great asset for Alaska. This past giving day saw the highest number of donors supporting ÐÔÓûÉç and raised over $800,000 to support ÐÔÓûÉç students and programs.

I am convinced that our community members, industry partners and Alaska employers recognize the value of higher education. This week’s commencement was evidence of broad support. What I don’t know is how well we, as a community, are delivering that message to the next generation of the Alaska workforce. We are competing with a cultural counternarrative that downplays the value of post-secondary education. We should be loud and clear; we need more students to seek the opportunities available at ÐÔÓûÉç and become the credentialed professionals who will propel our economy forward. The future in Alaska and at ÐÔÓûÉç is bright, and there is room here for you.

Friday Focus is written by a different member of ÐÔÓûÉç’s leadership team every week.