Celebrating a century at the University of Alaska Fairbanks 1917-2017

100 Pages·2017·13.92 MB·English

Celebrating a century at the University of Alaska Fairbanks 1917-2017
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Old Main, the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines’ fi rst building, sits on Troth Yeddha’ in this 1925 photograph taken by famed aviator Noel Wien.
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD AURORA ADVISORY BOARD AURORA MAGAZINE
FAIRBANKS Gail Dabaluz ’10 Andy Angaiak
Managing editor
Libby Eddy ’92 Joan Braddock ’77, ’83, ’89
Chancellor Barbara Fujimoto ’13 Amber Darland Jordan ’02 Kim Davis
Daniel M. White
Shannon Johnson-Nanalook ’11 David Marusek Editors
Director of University Relations Forrest Kuiper ’99, ’00, ’12 Charlene Ostbloom ’95 Sam Bishop
Michelle Renfrew ’98 Rachel Lauesen ’04 Paul Reichardt Tori Tragis ’94, ’99
Mary Beth Loewen ’02, ’07 Lorna Shaw ’96, ’05
Shannon McCarthy ’88 Peggy Shumaker Designers
Brenda Riley ’02 Peter Van Flein ’87 Kari Halverson
Peter Van Flein ’87 Venus Sung ’13, ’14
Amanda Wall ’01, ’05
Photographers
Cindy Wright ’88
JR Ancheta ’15
Todd Paris ’83 (retired)
Zayn Roohi
Production specialist
Andrea Swingley
Web designer
Sherrie Roberts ’07
Produced by UAF University Relations, 09/2017. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily refl ect offi cial
positions of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Photos by UAF photographers unless otherwise noted. Send comments or letters to the
editor to [email protected] or to P.O. Box 757505, Fairbanks, AK 99775, or call 907-474-6726. We reserve the right to edit for
grammar and length. Visit us on the web at www.uaf.edu/aurora/.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. UAF is an
affi rmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution.
UAF does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, age, sex, physical or mental disability, status
as a protected veteran, marital status, changes in marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, parenthood,
sexual orientation, gender identity, political affi liation or belief, genetic information, or other legally protected status. The University’s
commitment to nondiscrimination, including against sex discrimination, applies to students, employees, and applicants for admission
and employment. Contact information, applicable laws, and complaint procedures are included on UA’s statement of nondiscrimination
available at www.alaska.edu/titleIXcompliance/nondiscrimination/.
From the chancellor
Reaching 100 years old, even for a college,
is a major accomplishment. I’m proud
to have been associated with UAF for
more than one-fi ft h of those years, and
I’m looking forward to many more as
chancellor.
I hope this commemorative edition of
Aurora magazine will stir fond memories
and make you proud that UAF is part of
your life’s journey.
Daniel M. White
An image of “UAF100,” painted with a cellphone by UAF chief photographer JR Ancheta, is captured by a 30-second exposure under the aurora
at the Poker Flat Research Range in February 2017. The figure at bottom right is a researcher awaiting a rocket launch at the range.
Contents
1 4 14
From the chancellor A mine for learning Alumni across the decades:
1920s -1940s
26 36 48
From the ground up Alumni across the decades: From a cabin to a
1950s -1970s rocket range
56 72 80
Alumni across the The care and feeding of a Campus myths and
decades: 1980s -2010s territory legends
90 96 97
Celebration! In memoriam Citations and resources
A mine for
learning
BY SAM BISHOP
A 5-foot square tunnel runs for Smith served as president of the student
hundreds of feet under the Miners Society during his time at the
Fairbanks campus. Th is is not a college, so he not only took mining courses
utilidor, one of those passages for pipes in the adit but also used it to initiate new
and wires into which mischievous students society members.
occasionally sneak. “We had the new students go through the
It’s older, deeper. tunnel, which required them to stoop, since
And students built this tunnel, for the adit was only about 5 feet from fl oor to
students. No sneaking was necessary to roof,” he recalled in January, shortly aft er
gain entry — just a little training and, turning 100. [See profi le on page 22.]
sometimes, a paddle swat on the backside. “Members of the society had paddles that
The University of Alaska Fairbanks they would whack the students’ butts with
began in 1917 with a more specifi c title as they walked crouching along the tunnel,”
— the Alaska Agricultural College and Smith said. “Th ey would straighten up and
School of Mines. The tunnel, started hit their head on the roof. Th at taught them
shortly aft er the college opened for classes the value of the miner’s helmet.”
in 1922, helped make real the second half Th at was just one lesson learned in the
of its name. tunnel, where students went for their
It was a mine, or at least a rough model required course in practical mining
of one. techniques.
For decades, the tunnel, called an “adit,” Patrick O’Neill ’41, ’53, ’76 (Hon.)
helped give a dose of practical training to learned how to throw dirt. Th at skill got
students learning from books and lectures him noticed and promoted a few years later,
in the buildings on the surface of College he said.
Hill. Th e adit has long since been plugged, “One of the things I learned was, instead
but the emphasis on practical learning that of taking a shovel full of dirt and turning
it represented lives on at the university’s around, was to throw it over your shoulder,”
mplete citation, see page 97) mhtoa“odTIvtdaeh wy eeb’res en nthe utmne ina naintn b oaeionnnlu gdteth nsp1ect0o ehl0werov eefoeedrlle . ,p tts lhoda eenI eteh.pxi pwlleshciedt niet imnt eguaosrtt 2Oilon0’oAg1Ns 7afte.e t e (irtlHrohl ceeesk a att ucauidhnnr dnnir neeodld ui ear n1ntn,0dd c2i ,a no silftntl uee ddArdrv emuiinlgelutiwusnc ss kgthi,. n )oian vnJteadolne sbduml ataahrslyetl-
muson Library archives (for co “uStThhmn ede ietrehenr dw’t4.h”a3es i uan n faainvir eilryns tigetoyrov bideu-wsili dzeeian rrgloiseo,r”m tsh ariiisdg hyRet aaayrt. wcathanoerdrsnk do pbunuum ast h psa e tntthh oeeexf mc praae,r icOslrt oeo’Ndua tdep it-alhllir ekst aeto uitfdr nt.a hnIcteek lwsp b.ra yThas c hhteaiaycnr’adddl
Ras mining course.
Earl Beistline, far left, demonstrates features of the campus mining ore mill in this undated photograph. The mill was one of several components in a model
operation created early in the university’s history to educate students in practical aspects of mining. Beistline was dean of the mining programs for decades.
www.uaf.edu/aurora/   5    centennial 2017
A mine for
learning
BY SAM BISHOP
A 5-foot square tunnel runs for Smith served as president of the student
hundreds of feet under the Miners Society during his time at the
Fairbanks campus. Th is is not a college, so he not only took mining courses
utilidor, one of those passages for pipes in the adit but also used it to initiate new
and wires into which mischievous students society members.
occasionally sneak. “We had the new students go through the
It’s older, deeper. tunnel, which required them to stoop, since
And students built this tunnel, for the adit was only about 5 feet from fl oor to
students. No sneaking was necessary to roof,” he recalled in January, shortly aft er
gain entry — just a little training and, turning 100. [See profi le on page 22.]
sometimes, a paddle swat on the backside. “Members of the society had paddles that
The University of Alaska Fairbanks they would whack the students’ butts with
began in 1917 with a more specifi c title as they walked crouching along the tunnel,”
— the Alaska Agricultural College and Smith said. “Th ey would straighten up and
School of Mines. The tunnel, started hit their head on the roof. Th at taught them
shortly aft er the college opened for classes the value of the miner’s helmet.”
in 1922, helped make real the second half Th at was just one lesson learned in the
of its name. tunnel, where students went for their
It was a mine, or at least a rough model required course in practical mining
of one. techniques.
For decades, the tunnel, called an “adit,” Patrick O’Neill ’41, ’53, ’76 (Hon.)
helped give a dose of practical training to learned how to throw dirt. Th at skill got
students learning from books and lectures him noticed and promoted a few years later,
in the buildings on the surface of College he said.
Hill. Th e adit has long since been plugged, “One of the things I learned was, instead
but the emphasis on practical learning that of taking a shovel full of dirt and turning
it represented lives on at the university’s around, was to throw it over your shoulder,”
mplete citation, see page 97) mhtoa“odTIvtdaeh wy eeb’res en nthe utmne ina naintn b oaeionnnlu gdteth nsp1ect0o ehl0werov eefoeedrlle . ,p tts lhoda eenI eteh.pxi pwlleshciedt niet imnt eguaosrtt 2Oilon0’oAg1Ns 7afte.e t e (irtlHrohl ceeesk a att ucauidhnnr dnnir neeodld ui ear n1ntn,0dd c2i ,a no silftntl uee ddArdrv emuiinlgelutiwusnc ss kgthi,. n )oian vnJteadolne sbduml ataahrslyetl-
muson Library archives (for co “uStThhmn ede ietrehenr dw’t4.h”a3es i uan n faainvir eilryns tigetoyrov bideu-wsili dzeeian rrgloiseo,r”m tsh ariiisdg hyRet aaayrt. wcathanoerdrsnk do pbunuum ast h psa e tntthh oeeexf mc praae,r icOslrt oeo’Ndua tdep it-alhllir ekst aeto uitfdr nt.a hnIcteek lwsp b.ra yThas c hhteaiaycnr’adddl
Ras mining course.
Earl Beistline, far left, demonstrates features of the campus mining ore mill in this undated photograph. The mill was one of several components in a model
operation created early in the university’s history to educate students in practical aspects of mining. Beistline was dean of the mining programs for decades.
www.uaf.edu/aurora/   6    centennial 2017
During his college years, O’Neill oft en in practical mining. Th e fi rst year, they dug
worked for the Fairbanks Exploration Co.’s 156 feet of tunnel, Patty reported.
dredging operation in Fox, just north of Patty and Bunnell also put together a
Fairbanks. One night, a tunnel that carried “ collection of more than 2,000 mineral
water to a dredge caved in, and O’Neill was specimens that was “one of the most
called out to help. complete in Western America,” accord-
We had the new students
muson Library archives (for complete citation, see page 97) OFFimotnh..ff“E’E ThageNIe.n .r siw eCt,eheC i ‘ad ooloW“lso v.v Ob sce.eoh’aisra’lngioNi mdmn ’Fbste.ge hayiot“? lihe oOs’lsr” usahabfn”tat oa p eck…wun reioold kad fsma s sheutn hrJoopdm ietva m oi henabonle dniniC g nt aa.w hrsgbgakeo oewa erfrsndak,sf cod eitanesr hnt gddaehd , toff r a ottiohnhshrwtegeee,”-- swtgoohonoi lctpyhh, fl ar sroobienouoqcrguu ehtti or t5t he hrfdeoee oe atthtfdu .e”finrtm onwm etalo,s CwimaettnhhxnoiueegSandl ms tlmtn uetepeeogiurdrene oinmetdaaaosn tnsnwp it cto. oesha aa cn“fkobs rtTh teea oethc snigrtoec eshadbm ls.en”ee uedn e t sediga hintaiirnaognr ei ertgf elhentr iea odnceorvm oi gtsanF u tsi tugtelrehha dbsasebeeytrl ule ua‘fe…hdodda fir eir oal ttnlym owrsit ’ mssc ai1e nelya9aomre n2cvisrndhe4ees-
Ras “He said, ‘Next spring, come to see me diately aft er the college opened in 1922,
and I’ll get you into the engineering work,’ Noyes reported.
which I’d been trying to do,” O’Neill said. location to create a high-quality model “Th ey secured timbers for the mine by
“I’d spent fi ve years on the pick and shovel.” mine, and he recruited students vigorously. wading through deep snow to cut spruce
“He was determined to get something trees from the flats,” she wrote. “The
Overcoming the obstacles going. He was very resourceful and fi nished model of a mine consisted of a
creative,” said Leslie Noyes, who inter- timbered adit with air and water lines, a
Both O’Neill and Smith, who started as viewed more than 300 people from the late blacksmith shop and compressor house.”
Students in the nearly destitute students, went on to distin- 1980s through 2000 while writing “Rock Digging ore from a hill is only the start
university’s mining guished careers. Aft er working his way up Poker to Pay Dirt: Th e History of Alaska’s of the mining process, though. To simu-
program labor in the
to dredge superintendent at the F.E. Co. School of Mines and its Successors.” late a real operation, the school obtained
model mine operation,
which the university and earning a master’s in 1953, O’Neill took Noyes, who now lives in Golden, a small mill with two stamps to crush the
established early in a job running a mine in South America Colorado, noted that Ernest Patty ’53 ore. Another mill did a similar job using
its history to give
and became an executive in several inter- (Hon.), the School of Mines’ fi rst geology steel balls in a cylinder. Th e operation also
students practical
national mining companies. Smith, aft er a professor, outlined his thinking in an had a classifi er to recycle ore that didn’t get
experience. At top, a
student in the training stint as a faculty member at UA, went on to article for the March 1928 edition of the crushed well on the fi rst try. A fl otation cell
adit, the university’s the presidency of Michigan Technological campus newspaper, the Farthest-North allowed the ore to be treated with chemi-
mine under campus,
University from 1965 to 1979. Collegian. cals to separate the gold.
guides a drill into the
rock to make a hole for Th ey credit their success not only to their “Th ere are too many graduates from our If there was gold, that is. Th e ground
an explosive charge. training in Fairbanks but also to fi nan- mining schools who lack the confi dence to under the Fairbanks campus didn’t seem
cial assistance and encouragement from go into a mine, set up a machine, drill and to hold any obvious worthwhile minerals.
At bottom, students Charles Bunnell, the university president blast a round, and put in a set of timbers,” So the model mine also tested ore from
dump a rail-mounted from 1921 to 1949. Bunnell and his faculty Patty wrote. So he required School of miners around the area and turned over
cart after mucking
overcame the adversities of a remote Mines students to take at least one course the results.
out the results of a
winter blast in the adit.
Rasmuson Library archives (for complete citation, see page 97)
1906 1915
Notable moments from
UAF’S FIRST
U.S. government establishes March: U.S. Congress approves July 4: James
agricultural experiment station land grant for Alaska Agricultural Wickersham
CENTURY next to Tanana Mines Railroad College and School of Mines at dedicates
track five miles from Fairbanks experiment station site cornerstone
www.uaf.edu/aurora/   7   centennial 2017
During his college years, O’Neill oft en in practical mining. Th e fi rst year, they dug
worked for the Fairbanks Exploration Co.’s 156 feet of tunnel, Patty reported.
dredging operation in Fox, just north of Patty and Bunnell also put together a
Fairbanks. One night, a tunnel that carried “ collection of more than 2,000 mineral
water to a dredge caved in, and O’Neill was specimens that was “one of the most
called out to help. complete in Western America,” accord-
We had the new students
muson Library archives (for complete citation, see page 97) OFFimotnh..ff“E’E ThageNIe.n .r siw eCt,eheC i ‘ad ooloW“lso v.v Ob sce.eoh’aisra’lngioNi mdmn ’Fbste.ge hayiot“? lihe oOs’lsr” usahabfn”tat oa p eck…wun reioold kad fsma s sheutn hrJoopdm ietva m oi henabonle dniniC g nt aa.w hrsgbgakeo oewa erfrsndak,sf cod eitanesr hnt gddaehd , toff r a ottiohnhshrwtegeee,”-- swtgoohonoi lctpyhh, fl ar sroobienouoqcrguu ehtti or t5t he hrfdeoee oe atthtfdu .e”finrtm onwm etalo,s CwimaettnhhxnoiueegSandl ms tlmtn uetepeeogiurdrene oinmetdaaaosn tnsnwp it cto. oesha aa cn“fkobs rtTh teea oethc snigrtoec eshadbm ls.en”ee uedn e t sediga hintaiirnaognr ei ertgf elhentr iea odnceorvm oi gtsanF u tsi tugtelrehha dbsasebeeytrl ule ua‘fe…hdodda fir eir oal ttnlym owrsit ’ mssc ai1e nelya9aomre n2cvisrndhe4ees-
Ras “He said, ‘Next spring, come to see me diately aft er the college opened in 1922,
and I’ll get you into the engineering work,’ Noyes reported.
which I’d been trying to do,” O’Neill said. location to create a high-quality model “Th ey secured timbers for the mine by
“I’d spent fi ve years on the pick and shovel.” mine, and he recruited students vigorously. wading through deep snow to cut spruce
“He was determined to get something trees from the flats,” she wrote. “The
Overcoming the obstacles going. He was very resourceful and fi nished model of a mine consisted of a
creative,” said Leslie Noyes, who inter- timbered adit with air and water lines, a
Both O’Neill and Smith, who started as viewed more than 300 people from the late blacksmith shop and compressor house.”
Students in the nearly destitute students, went on to distin- 1980s through 2000 while writing “Rock Digging ore from a hill is only the start
university’s mining guished careers. Aft er working his way up Poker to Pay Dirt: Th e History of Alaska’s of the mining process, though. To simu-
program labor in the
to dredge superintendent at the F.E. Co. School of Mines and its Successors.” late a real operation, the school obtained
model mine operation,
which the university and earning a master’s in 1953, O’Neill took Noyes, who now lives in Golden, a small mill with two stamps to crush the
established early in a job running a mine in South America Colorado, noted that Ernest Patty ’53 ore. Another mill did a similar job using
its history to give
and became an executive in several inter- (Hon.), the School of Mines’ fi rst geology steel balls in a cylinder. Th e operation also
students practical
national mining companies. Smith, aft er a professor, outlined his thinking in an had a classifi er to recycle ore that didn’t get
experience. At top, a
student in the training stint as a faculty member at UA, went on to article for the March 1928 edition of the crushed well on the fi rst try. A fl otation cell
adit, the university’s the presidency of Michigan Technological campus newspaper, the Farthest-North allowed the ore to be treated with chemi-
mine under campus,
University from 1965 to 1979. Collegian. cals to separate the gold.
guides a drill into the
rock to make a hole for Th ey credit their success not only to their “Th ere are too many graduates from our If there was gold, that is. Th e ground
an explosive charge. training in Fairbanks but also to fi nan- mining schools who lack the confi dence to under the Fairbanks campus didn’t seem
cial assistance and encouragement from go into a mine, set up a machine, drill and to hold any obvious worthwhile minerals.
At bottom, students Charles Bunnell, the university president blast a round, and put in a set of timbers,” So the model mine also tested ore from
dump a rail-mounted from 1921 to 1949. Bunnell and his faculty Patty wrote. So he required School of miners around the area and turned over
cart after mucking
overcame the adversities of a remote Mines students to take at least one course the results.
out the results of a
winter blast in the adit.
Rasmuson Library archives (for complete citation, see page 97)
1917 1918 1921
May 3: Territorial Gov. Board of trustees Construction begins Charles E. Bunnell
John Strong signs law appointed on first building chosen first president
creating AACSM
www.uaf.edu/aurora/   8    centennial 2017
Smith recalled also stuffing Mining
Society initiates into some kind of a rotat-
ing barrel separator during rites. “It was a
tough go for the new students, but eff ec-
tive,” he said wryly.
Looking for work
By the late 1930s, the mining school had
become the dominant academic enterprise
within the university.
In 1941, just before World War II deci-
mated enrollment, the university graduated
its largest class to date, Noyes noted. Of
the 35 graduates, 15 came from the School
of Mines. Of the 307 students enrolled in
the 1940-1941 academic year, 88 were in
mining. In addition, about 500 students
took short courses in communities around
the state, Noyes reported.
People entered the fi eld because they
could see it off ered a chance of employment,
said Paul Metz ’75, a UAF professor of
geological engineering in the Department
of Mining and Geological Engineering, the
descendant of the School of Mines.
Aft er studying at Michigan Tech while Rasm
ARnano“laaDd yjso kuhSbaramsi sin n aiwgtn 1h oty9h rww6ek8 heaG,des er r epaaeatr re tneU lDsesAiedde, F”phe rnMisesit sn,mes ctMizoae .snse ta,te ztirdh ’sc.e air“nemTh w 1e9ae 7ttr’o5es uson Library archives (for com
ihno wth Re alayt eS m19i3th0 sa, nlodo hkiisn pga frotrn wero crakm.”e here plete citation, see page 97)
School of Mines Dean Earl Beistline, left, and UA President Ernest Patty inspect a working
model of a gold dredge, No. 2 ½ Nyac. William Race ’42 gave the model to the university in
1958, 20 years after it was built for the New York Alaska Gold Dredging Corp. The company
operated full-size dredges at Nyac in Southwest Alaska. Such dredges were an important
source of employment for students and graduates of the university’s mining programs.
1922
Main Building completed Sept. 13: AACSM Sept. 18: First day of classes Men’s basketball team
dedicated Registration $2; no tuition forms with seven players