Arctic Leadership Initiative

Developing leaders for a rapidly changing Arctic

The Arctic Leadership Initiative (ALI) is a University of Alaska-wide program that prepares students, faculty, and partners to lead across disciplines, cultures, and communities in the Arctic. ALI supports people who are curious, collaborative, and willing to engage complexity, whether in science, policy, Indigenous knowledge, education, business, or public service.

ALI is a priority of the University of Alaska President and Board of Regents (Priority Strategy: Building Arctic Leaders).

Current Opportunities

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Thanks to a generous $5 million gift from Rasmuson Foundation, this strategic endeavor is intended to reshape Alaska’s role in the Arctic while promoting innovation and economic development. ALI is creating a powerful network of Alaska-trained Arctic leaders, advocates, and scholars who can make a global-scale impact in the Arctic, support Indigenous communities, address climate change, and responsibly pursue economic opportunities.

How ALI works

  • Students build leadership skills and networks through seminars, applied work, and retreats.
  • Faculty mentor students and strengthen Arctic collaboration and leadership capacity across the UA system.

  • Partners help shape real-world “problem and opportunity sets,” engage with cohorts, and support internships and applied learning.

Why ALI

The Arctic is changing faster than any other region on Earth. ALI helps cultivate leaders who can move between disciplines, listen deeply, and work across difference.

Faculty and peer/colleague encouragement matters: many strong applicants apply because someone took the time to say, “You should consider this.”

For more information contact Nate Bauer.