Class of 2018: UAF commencement honors graduates

SNRE's graduating seniors pose before the ceremony. Photo by Nina Olivier

During the UAF graduation on May 5, students with  the School of Natural Resources and Extension received 15 bachelor’s degrees, eight master’s degrees and two doctorates.

Berill Blair and Alyssa Rodrigues received Ph.D.'s in Natural Resources and Sustainability.

Blair’s dissertation is titled, “Toward Arctic Transitions and Sustainability Modeling Risks and Resilience Across Scales of Governance.” Perceptions of risks to sustainability were studied among Arctic Alaska stakeholder groups. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for optimizing complex decision making under uncertainty. Professors Gary Kofinas of SNRE and Amy Lovecraft of the Political Science Department served as major professors. Blair is working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Wageningen University in The Netherlands.

Ph.D. recipient Alyssa Rodrigues is hooded during the UAF ceremony.
UAF photo by J.R. Ancheta

Rodrigues’ dissertation looks at effect of wildland firefighting on subsistence harvests. It is titled “Up in Smoke: Exploring the Changing Relationship Between Wildland Firefighting and Subsistence Harvest.” Rodrigues concludes that climate change may impact participation in fall subsistence hunting, but that rural communities will be able to participate in firefighting and fall hunting in most cases. Joseph Little of the School of Management is her major professor. Rodrigues is the development director for the Alaska Division of Economic Development.

Other degree recipients included:

Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management
Hannah Christian
Kimberly Diamond
Brandy Flores
Dawson Foster
Cheyenne Greenside
Jessica Herzog
Luke Johnson
Trisha Levasseur
Dennis Lucey
Sagen Maddalena
Cynthia Nelson
David Rhodes
Richard Rummler
Amelia Sikes
Christopher Smith

Master of Science in Natural Resources Management
Tara Callear
Ryan Wilson

Master of Natural Resources Management
George Aguiar
Teresa Anderson, Natural Resources Management and Geography
Samantha Harris
Nina Olivier
Stefan Tangen
Nicole Warner, Natural Resources Management and Geography