A new generation of ISER researchers discuss the questions that fascinate them and the challenges of conducting social science and policy research in Alaska. Lee Gorsuch, ISER director between 1976 and 1994, joined to provide a perspective from the past.
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The 2022 Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage brought together researchers and leaders from government, the business community, the University of Alaska, and ambassadors of Arctic nations. ISER Director Diane Hirshberg served on a panel related to workforce development.
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A July 2021 report by Dr. Mouhcine Guettabi found that research activities throughout the University of Alaska system create an enterprise that added $242 million in economic benefit to the state in 2020, measured by jobs supported, total payroll produced and business sales generated. The infusion of these research dollars into Alaska leads to economic expansion.
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In recent years, ISER economists have studied various impacts the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend has on the state and its residents. Studies have looked at poverty, income inequality, birth rates, crime rates and more. Current studies are looking into the effects of the PFD on mortgage delinquency and maternal health.
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ISER is partnering with the national non-partison research institution NORC at the University of Chicago to support the Alaska Healthcare Transformation Project. The two research organizations will provide research and analysis of both Alaska-specific costs and programs, and national data and programs, to inform future decision-making in the state. The Alaska Healthcare Transformation Project is a collaboration between legislators, policy makers, state administration, healthcare industry leaders, patient advocates, and private payers to improve Alaska’s population health, improve patient experiences and lower the per capita healthcare cost growth rate.
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Jessica Passini, ISER researcher, shared work being done at ISER and its Center for Behavioral Health Research at the American Public Health Association’s Annual Meeting in San Diego. Passini presented a poster developed with co-authors Rosyland Frasier and Diane King, on how health care practitioners’ use of data in Electronic Health Records is important to the successful implementation of SBIRT - an evidence-based practice to identify patients who misuse alcohol and help them reduce their drinking.
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University of Alaska faculty and administrators have leadership roles in several national and international Arctic research organizations, including ISER’s own Diane Hirshberg. In December 2017, Dr. Hirshberg was elected to a three-year term on the Board of the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. Dr. Hirshberg also was re-elected to a second three-year term on in the International Arctic Social Sciences Association Council in June 2017. In addition, she continues to serve as Advisor to the UAA Chancellor on Arctic Research & Education, facilitating UAA’s engagement in the University of the Arctic (UArctic), building the Arctic research community at UAA, and co-organizing the Anchorage Arctic Research Days along with ARCUS, the Institute of the North and the Anchorage Museum.
The ARCUS Board is led by another UAA faculty member, Board President Dr. Audrey Taylor, an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at UAA. Dr. Taylor is in her second three-year term on the board, and was elected President in December. Another UAA professor, Dr. Jeffrey Welker, Professor of Biological Sciences, is serving in a new leadership capacity in Arctic research. In 2017, he was appointed the first UArctic Research Chair (a collaborative appointment between UArctic, the University of Oulu and the University of Alaska Anchorage). His role is to implement and drive collaborative actions among UArctic members; develop research cooperation that includes undergraduate, graduate, PhD and postdoctoral scientist training; and build partnerships with the broader Arctic community. Finally, in June 2018 University of Alaska Fairbanks Vice Chancellor for Research Larry Hinzman was elected president of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) Council.
There are many other University of Alaska faculty and administrators taking leadership in national and international Arctic research and education efforts and organizations, and ISER is pleased to be a part of this important work.
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Debra Schilling Wolfe is the executive director of the Field Center for Children's Policy, Practice, and Research at the University of Pennsylvania. In a lecture at UAA's Rasmuson Hall, she will talk about the role of research in child protection. ISER is sponsoring the talk, which is free and open to the public.
At the Field Center, Ms. Wolfe directs a team of child welfare experts, and she has more than 30 years of experience in directing child-welfare programs and initiatives around the country. Ms. Wolfe will be in Anchorage to deliver the keynote address at the National Citizen Review Panel Conference, which will be from May 10-12 at UAA. She will make this public talk before the conference. Please join us.
When: Tuesday, May 9, 7 p.m. (Reception 6:30 p.m.)
Where: UAA Rasmuson Hall, Room 101
Note: This will not be live streamed.
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The Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) and UAA are hosting the first Anchorage Arctic Research Day on Friday, March 24, in UAA's Rasmuson Hall. The event is to provide information about the diversity of research and creative activity among Arctic researchers, and to foster new collaborations. There will be participants from government, industry, and academia, as well as not-for-profit and indigenous groups. Researchers from across the natural and social sciences, health, engineering, humanities, and arts will make presentations.
Diane Hirshberg of ISER co-organized the event with ARCUS, and she and Marie Lowe and Matthew Berman of ISER will also make presentations. Registration is free. Go to: https://www.arcus.org/meetings/2017/arctic-research-day
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ISER Celebrates 50 Years: April 13, 1961 - April 13, 2011
The second Alaska Legislature established the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), as part of the University of Alaska, on April 13, 1961. It became the first—and for a number of years, the only—public policy research organization in Alaska. This year, ISER is celebrating 50 years of studying the population and economy of Alaska and helping government, the private sector, and the people of Alaska better understand and deal with change.