2011 Governor's Awards for the Arts and Humanities recipients announced

It is with great pleasure that the Alaska Humanities Forum announces the 10 outstanding individuals recently selected by Governor Parnell as the 2011 recipients of the Governor's Awards for the Arts and Humanities.

The awards will be presented during a dinner event at the Captain Cook Hotel on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, and are sponsored by the Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Alaska Humanities Forum and the Office of the Governor.

With six awards going to outstanding contributions to the arts and one joint arts and humanities award, the three humanities award recipients demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the enrichment of the civic, intellectual and cultural lives of all Alaskans.

Recipients:

• Maryanne Allan, Fairbanks, Margaret Nick Cooke Award for Alaska Native Arts and Languages
• Ray Barnhardt, Fairbanks, Humanities Award
• Arthur William "Bill" Brody, Fairbanks, Individual Artist Award
• Jeff Brown, Juneau, Lifetime Achievement Award
• Carol Comeau, Anchorage, Arts and Humanities Award
• Tom Heywood, Haines, Arts Advocacy Award
• Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley, Fairbanks, Humanities Award
• Mike McCormick, Whistling Swan, Eagle River, Business Leadership Award
• Mike Powers, Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, Fairbanks, Business Leadership Award
• Jim Rearden, Homer, Humanities Award
  

 
 Humanities award recipient bios:

A professor of cross-cultural studies, Ray Barnhardt is also co-director (and co-founder) of the Alaska Native Knowledge network at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The network serves as an invaluable resource in compiling and exchanging information related to Alaska Native knowledge systems and ways of knowing and serves as a model venue for highlighting the importance of indigenous knowledge throughout the world. His published collaborations with Oscar Kawagley on indigenous cultures and education have transformed the way these subjects are viewed. Barnhardt is the recipient of distinguished service awards from the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals.
 
Anchorage School District (ASD) Superintendent Carol Comeau is the recipient of a joint award from the Alaska Humanities Forum and the Alaska State Council on the Arts honoring her nearly 50 years of service to education and the humanities. Comeau began her career at ASD in 1974 as a noon duty attendant and teacher's aide. Twenty-six years of experience later she was named superintendent, a post she has held for the past 11 years. During Comeau's tenure she's worked tirelessly to incorporate and improve vital programs such as the district's Culturally Responsive Education Plan, recognizing the importance of incorporating Alaska's diversity into education.

Deeply rooted in her community, Comeau's been involved in numerous boards and committees working toward bettering the community including the Best Beginnings initiative, the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, the United Way, the Boys and Girls Club, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, coaching Little League, and the revitalization of Mountain View. Both in her professional life and her active participation in her community, Comeau has been a champion for academic achievement and cultural education.
 
A pioneer in the field of Native knowledge, scholar and educator Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley spent his lifetime raising awareness of the values of Alaska Native languages and cultures. His unique perspective and ability to work across cultures has left a legacy that will have a positive impact for years to come. Kawagley, who passed away in April of 2011, worked in close consort with fellow Governor's Award recipient Ray Barnhardt in the field of indigenous language and culture and the two were recipients of the University of Alaska Anchorage's William Demmert Leadership Award in 2011 for their groundbreaking work.
 
Journalist and scientist Jim Rearden has been chronicling the history of Alaska and lives of its residents throughout a prolific career spanning six decades. His first magazine articles were penned in the 1950s when he was a professor of wildlife management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. After a 10-year career as an area biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Rearden spent 20 years as outdoors editor for Alaska Magazine, Alaska field editor for Outdoor Life magazine, and wrote literally hundreds of Alaska-centric feature articles that appeared in more than 40 magazines around the world. Rearden served on the Alaska Board of Fish and Game for seven years in the 1970s, and was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere. The author of more than two dozen published books, Rearden was named Historian of the Year in 1999 by the Alaska Historical Society, and awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2005.