UAF's Dr. Debasmita Misra named inaugural UAF Faculty Citizen of 2021

Earlier this month, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Faculty Senate created the Faculty Citizen award at its final meeting of the year and chose as the first recipient Dr. Debasmita Misra. The Faculty Citizen award is not meant to be an annual award. It will only be awarded when a faculty member reaches the esteemed level of service that has been attained by Dr. Misra. 

Dr. Misra, a long-time professor in the UAF College of Engineering and Mines, has been a tireless advocate for the University of Alaska Fairbanks in many capacities and for many years. 

Dr. Misra has selflessly invested endless hours mentoring junior faculty members and has also given generously of his time to guide faculty colleagues through difficult challenges; and the tenure and promotion process; and consistently dedicated himself to the highest principles of shared governance, as demonstrated by his sustained involvement and invaluable participation in advocacy on behalf of faculty. 

The Faculty Citizen Award honors a faculty member who exemplifies the principles of academic citizenship with a strong commitment to the University of Alaska’s core values and its student community. 

The awardee will be a faculty holding a lengthy and well-recognized record of active engagement, participation and leadership in activities pertaining to faculty function and commitment to their constituency, to their students, to their colleagues, to their discipline/profession, to the university at large and the Alaskan public. 

Faculty Citizen Awardees consist of a small cadre of committed professors across the University System whose names evoke immediate acknowledgement and respect for their deep understanding of faculty matters and their balanced judgement on what relates to shared governance and the interaction between the Faculty Senate, the University Administration, and the Board of Regents.

The Faculty Senate hopes to eventually create a Staff Citizen and a Student Citizen award. 

These awards would be bestowed upon the winners by the constituent groups to which they belong. 

For more information on this award, please contact Julie A.K. Maier, former UAF Faculty Senate President, current UA Faculty Alliance Vice Chair, current UA Systems Governance Council Chair, at jamaier@alaska.edu.