Professor Ronald Spatz to receive Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts

November 15, 2024

Professor Ronald Spatz, a long-serving faculty member, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts at the 2024 Governor's Arts and Humanities Awards ceremony, Oct. 29 in Anchorage. This prestigious award underscores his career contributions to the literary arts through his editorial talent and skill at the Alaska Quarterly Review (AQR) and his other creative projects.

Professor Spatz is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Alaska Quarterly Review (AQR), “Under his editorial leadership, the work featured in AQR also put Alaska and its arts community on the map nationally and internationally,” said Renee Carter-Chapman, retired UAA Senior Vice Provost.  Former Alaska Writer Laureate Nancy Lord added that “over four decades, Ron’s work as a literary editor of 80 book-length AQR editions, has played an impressive part of our Alaskan and national literature.”

Professor Spatz, a former National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, is known for his role as a professor in UAA’s English department and the founding dean of the University Honors College. His extensive contributions since 1980 include establishing a rigorous university wide track for highly motivated students and also spearheading initiatives that grew undergraduate research at UAA. His work in the literary arts and creating educational opportunities have been acknowledged by many competitive grants and by accolades including multiple UAA Chancellor’s Awards, a UAA Alumni Award, the University of Alaska Foundation’s Edith R. Bullock Prize for Excellence, a 2010 Alaska State Governor’s Award in the Humanities, and by national recognition for his contributions to the literary and academic communities.

Link to original UAA article here.

Event Details

Event location - Anchorage Museum
Event date - Oct. 29, 2024
Event start time - 7 p.m.
Event end time - 8:30 p.m.