University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen has appointed Dana L. Thomas as interim chancellor of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Thomas will begin on Aug. 14, succeeding outgoing UAF Interim Chancellor Mike Powers who will leave his post on Aug. 13.
Thomas’ term will end on June 30, 2017. His salary will be $300,000.
Thomas will lead UAF through its evolution as an Arctic research university, refinement of Title IX compliance, completion of its engineering building and celebration of the university’s 100th birthday in 2017.
Thomas was born and raised in Fairbanks and is an alumnus of UAF. He was the statewide vice president of academic affairs and research from 2012 to 2014. Thomas served six years as chair of UAF’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. He is recognized for his interdisciplinary research on the design and analysis of studies assessing food and habitat selection by animals. In 2005, Thomas received the Emil Usibelli Distinguished Teaching Award. From 2006 to 2012, Thomas served as UAF’s vice provost and accreditation liaison officer. The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities asked him to serve as an institutional accreditation evaluator of other institutions.
