Interviews Begin for UA’s Next Vice President/Chief Academic Officer

August 23, 2024

The hiring committee searching for UA’s next Vice President/Chief Academic Officer (CAO) will begin interviewing a strong pool of prospective candidates next week, with campus visits planned for later in the fall.

Catch Up Quick: Vice President of Academics, Students, and Research Dr. Paul Layer plans to retire at the end of the year, capping a nearly 35-year career in Alaska post-secondary education, and over 7 years in his current role. He’ll be dearly missed.

  • VP Layer was hired as an assistant professor of geophysics at UAF in 1989. He was promoted to full professor in 2000, and twice served as Chair of the Department of Geology and Geophysics.
  • He became associate dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM) in 2007, and later served as interim (2009-2011) and permanent dean (2011-2017) before becoming the UA VP of Academics, Students, and Research.
  • VP Layer has also published over 180 peer-reviewed papers in his research areas of radiometric geochronology, volcanology and tectonics and has given numerous presentations at professional conferences and workshops. 
  • VP Layer received his B.S. in geology from Michigan State University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geophysics from Stanford University. 

Zoom Out: The retitled VP role will continue to report to the President. Candidates are being vetted by a committee representative of the entire system:

  • Michelle Rizk, Vice President for University Relations for the UA System (Search Chair)
  • Anupma Prakash, University of Alaska Fairbanks Provost (UAF)
  • Deanne Woodard, University of Alaska Anchorage Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (UAA)
  • Bill Urquhart, University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan Campus Director (UAS)
  • Jennifer Carroll, AY25 Faculty Alliance Chair (System Governance)

What’s Next: Candidate visits are tentatively planned for late September/early October. Those visits will include targeted meetings with key stakeholder groups:

  • academic affairs team 
  • governance 
  • provosts, vice chancellors for research and student affairs, and accreditation liaisons
  • system office leadership


For more information, visit alaska.edu/pres/vp-cao/ or contact VP Rizk at marizk@alaska.edu.