ANSEP partners have provided $4.4 million to endow the Dr. Herb Ilisaurri Schroeder Chair of the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP). The endowment ensures stable funding for a full-time, year-round faculty member dedicated to students enrolled in ANSEP.
The partners that made the Chair possible are Rasmuson Foundation ($2 million), Alyeska Pipeline Service Company ($500,000), ASRC Energy Services ($500,000), BP ($500,000), Chevron ($250,000), Shell Oil ($250,000), Udelhoven Oilfield System Services ($200,000), CIRI ($100,000), ConocoPhillips ($100,000) and the ANSEP Alumni.
“ANSEP has made a lasting difference for Alaska Native students,” said Diane Kaplan, President and CEO of the Rasmuson Foundation. “This program has created a supportive learning community, allowing students to excel and graduate at unprecedented levels.”
Dr. Herb Ilisaurri Schroeder is the Vice Provost for ANSEP and Founder. Dr. Schroeder started the program in 1995 with one engineering student. Today there are thousands of middle school, high school, university students and alumni.
“The contributions to the endowed chair ensure that there will be a faculty advocate for Native students on our campus in perpetuity,” notes Schroeder. “All of us at ANSEP are humbled by the support of the Alaska oil industry and the Alaska Native regional corporations. Rasmuson Foundation President Diane Kaplan and Alyeska Pipeline Service Company exhibited great leadership in organizing support for the ANSEP chair. Together with our partners we are having a profound and positive impact on the lives of our students, their families, their communities, our partner organizations, and the state that will endure for generations to come.”
The Dr. Herb Ilisaurri Schroeder Chair will oversee and provide strategic direction for ANSEP across the University system – including University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Southeast. The Chair will be the key individual identified with ANSEP, responsible for building awareness and support of the program both within Alaska and throughout the United States.
