Arctic Leadership Lecture Series

The Arctic Leadership Lecture Series offers a unique blend of academic rigor and public engagement. Offered as PS F493/693 Special Topics/Arctic Leadership: Theory and Praxis in the 21st Century, this course invites students and community members alike to explore critical aspects of leadership in the Arctic.

The course is available via online delivery for undergraduate and graduate students. Community members may attend the lectures for free or enroll as non-degree-seeking students to participate fully in the course.

Lectures are held via Zoom Thursdays from 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM AKST (open to public). Classroom discussions continue from 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM AKST (students only).

Public lecture Zoom link:

Learn More About Enrollment

Enroll in the Full Course

Fall 2025 Speaker Schedule

Each lecture is part of the PS F493/693 Special Topics/Arctic Leadership course curriculum and explores leadership in the Arctic from different perspectives.
Students enrolled in the course will engage in deeper classroom discussions following the lectures, while community members can participate as audience members.

Pages for upcoming events will be available as the dates approach!

Download the Fall 2025 Speaker Schedule

Frost blankets the trees around campus. UAF Photo by JR Ancheta

Thursday, August 28, 2025

Mike Sfraga

An active auroral display and clear skies proved optimal for a research rocket launched from UAF's Poker Flat Research Range in January, 2015. UAF Photo by Todd Paris

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Fran Ulmer

A detail photo along the lateral moraine of the Nabesna Glacier in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. UAF Photo by Todd Paris

Thursday, September 25, 2025

Jahna Lindemuth

A collared moose emerges from a pond near the Savage River in Denali National Park. UAF Photo by Todd Paris

Thursday, October 9, 2025

David Balton

Dawn comes to mountains along the Richardson Highway in the eastern ��ֱ�� Range. UAF Photo by Todd Paris

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Melanie Bahnke

Large school of pacific salmon still displaying its ocean silver color swimming on a deep water canyon in Vancouver Island, Canada. by Black Box/Canva

Thursday, November 6, 2025

Journalism in the North

Wild blueberries grow at Denali National Park in the autumn. UAF Photo by Todd Paris

Thursday, November 20, 2025

Veronica Slajer

Course Enrollment

Whether you’re an undergraduate, graduate, or community member interested in exploring leadership in the Arctic, we have flexible options for participation.

Assistant professor Brian Edmonds, left, works with undergraduates Arianna Demmerly and Courtney Sessum in a Reichardt Building study lounge. UAF Photo by Todd Paris

Enrollment Options for UAF Students

Undergraduate Course (PS F493: Special Topics/Arctic Leadership)
CRN 76438

Graduate Course (PS F693: Special Topics/Arctic Leadership)
CRN 76443

Enroll in the Full Course

Faculty, staff and students take part in an R1 Strategy Session in the Wood Center Ballroom on the UAF campus Thursday, October 17, 2024. UAF Photo by Eric Engman

Enrollment Steps for Community Members

Interested in taking this class but not pursuing a degree? You can enroll as a non-degree-seeking student at UAF. Visit Non-Degree Enrollment at UAF to start the process. Apply for admission as a non-degree student (no application fee required). Use the CRN for the desired course to register.

Learn More

Meet the Course Instructor

Chanda Meek, Ph.D.

Professor of Political Science

clmeek@alaska.edu | 907-474-5115

GRUE 604B

Dr. Meek is an interdisciplinary social scientist specializing in environmental and marine policy. She has worked with and researched policy options for community-based resource management and collaborative management since the mid-1990s and now teach courses related to government and politics in Canada, the Arctic, comparative Indigenous rights and research design for graduate students and undergraduate students at UAF. She has active research projects related to marine mammals and environmental change, governance of social-ecological systems, adaptive governance of Arctic systems, and policy learning from disasters. She has published in the journals Global Environmental Change, Marine Policy, Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Polar Geography, Journal of Environmental Management, and the ��ֱ�� Journal of Anthropology and is a contributor to a new volume from Cambridge University Press, "Principles for Building Resilience."