Alumni of Achievement

The Alumni of Achievement Award is awarded to an alumnus who has attained prominence in his or her industry or profession, and that has had a demonstrated impact on their community and enhanced the reputation and image of UAA.

Nomination criteria

• Candidate has been awarded a degree from UAA (Associate, Bachelor, Masters or PhD).
• Candidate has demonstrated sustained excellence, accomplishment, and creativity in the sphere of their chosen profession.
• Candidate has demonstrated qualities of leadership, integrity, dedication and motivation professionally in the community.
• Candidate has demonstrated qualities of teamwork and the willingness to share their own skills and expertise in the accomplishment of goals.
• Candidate has demonstrated qualities which would encourage others to view them as a role model.

Submit your nomination for the 2013 Alumni of Distinction Awards!

Previous Winners

2012

Carol Comeau M.Ed. '86, LL.D. '07, Retired Superintendent, Anchorage School District

Carol Comeau has been a fixture in the Anchorage community for 38 years. Her passion for education and for children never waned as her career developed from the classroom into administrative leadership. Notably, her proudest success is having been an effective collaborator with the community and the state. From K-12 leader to university leader, Carol continually encouraged good rapport and partnership with the university’s chancellors, and she always loved opportunities to advocate for programs on UAA’s campus as an alumna. Read Carol's full story at the Green & Gold

2011

Eric Wohlforth, LL.D. '09, M.A. Interdisciplinary Studies '11, Senior Partner & Attorney, Wohlforth, Brecht, Cartledge & Brooking

Seventy-nine-year-old Eric Wohlforth is the epitome of a lifelong learner. He adds his degree from UAA to a resume that includes Princeton University, University of Virginia School of Law, Loyola University and the Fielding Graduate Institute. Rooted in community service, Eric serves on the Chancellor's Board of Advisors and the UA Foundation Board of Trustees, is a leadership-level donor to the University, and is currently the chair of the UA Foundation Investment Committee.

2010

Dana Stabenow, M.F.A. ’85, Author

Dana Stabenow is an Alaska author who has produced literary works in the science fiction, mystery and suspense/thriller genres. Many of Stabenow's books are set in her home state of Alaska, where she was raised on a 75-foot fish tender in the Gulf of Alaska. Stabenow received a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Alaska in 1973 and graduated in 1985 from UAA's MFA program. She published her first novel, Second Star, in 1990. Her first Kate Shugak book, A Cold Day for Murder, won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original in 1993 and her 27th novel, Though Not Dead, came out in February 2011. Her proudest achievement is participating in two successful Authors to the Bush programs in 2001 and 2007, which sent a hundred published authors to communities from Unalaska to Anaktuvuk Pass to talk to kids in the Bush about reading and writing.