Ronald Spatz
Dean, University Honors College
786-4361, afrms1@uaa.alaska.edu

Ronald Spatz is Dean of the University Honors College. He is a full professor of Creative Writing and Literary Arts and the founding and executive editor of Alaska Quarterly Review and founding editor and project director of the statewide web site LitSite Alaska. He has an MFA degree in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop. Dean Spatz is the recipient of a 2010 Governor's Award for the Humanities.

Spatz is a literary editor, filmmaker and a writer. He has produced, directed, photographed, and edited a range of short subject and expressionist documentary films for children and adults. Many of these films have been broadcast on commercial and public television, selected for film festivals and conferences, and used in schools and colleges and several are currently in national distribution. His film, For the Love of Ben, was broadcast nationally on public television and was reviewed and recommended by Choice, Library Journal, Book Report, and Video Rating Guide for Libraries ("4 stars"). Additionally, For the Love of Ben was selected for presentation at the American Psychiatric Association as well as for both the American Psychological Association regional meeting in Los Angeles and its national meeting in Boston. Spatz's writing has appeared in a wide range of national literary journals and anthologies.  He is the recipient of individual artist fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Alaska State Council on the Arts. In total, Spatz has been the recipient of more than 45 individual and project grants.

Recognition for Spatz's work as the editor of Alaska Quarterly Review includes a Chancellor's Group Award for Excellence (in Research and Creative Activity), a Special Recognition Award for "offering literary excellence to Alaska and the world" from the Alaska Center for the Book, five major awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the 1996 Governor's Award for the Arts--the State of Alaska's highest award in the Arts. LitSite Alaska has received a Chancellor's Award for Excellence and praise from local and international venues including The Chronicle of Higher Education, Education World, Stands for Education, School Library Journal, and The White House.

As a professor, Spatz has been the recipient of three university-wide teaching excellence awards (two Chancellor's Awards and a University of Alaska Anchorage Alumni Award), a Chancellor's Award and other awards and recognition for LitSite Alaska. The University of Alaska Board of Regents has also recognized him for outstanding leadership. In 1999, Spatz was honored with the University of Alaska's highest award, The Edith Bullock Prize for Excellence, presented by the University of Alaska Foundation.