Chevron donates $1 million to UAA

Chevron has donated $1 million to support the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Alaska Native science and engineering program, and the process technology, instrumentation and computer electronics programs operated by the Kenai Peninsula College. Kenai Peninsula College is part of UAA and is located on the university’s Kenai River Campus in Soldotna on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.

UAA said that the Kenai Peninsula College portion of the donation is the largest single corporate gift that the college has ever received in its 44-year history.

Representatives from UAA, Kenai Peninsula College and Chevron attended gift announcement events on the Kenai River Campus on Sept. 4 and on UAA’s Anchorage campus on Sept. 5.

Process technology is one of the fastest growing programs at the University of Alaska, with the Kenai Peninsula College having had more than 300 process control and/or instrumentation declared majors as of fall 2007, UAA said. The college enrolls about 2,000 students each semester, it said.

“Chevron’s generous commitment to our programs will have an incredible impact on our current and future students,” said Gary Turner, director of Kenai Peninsula College. “We will be good stewards of this gift. We plan to use the funds to upgrade teaching labs, to purchase industry-standard teaching equipment and to establish a scholarship program in these areas of study.”

The Alaska Native science and engineering program is also growing fast, UAA said. The program increases recruitment and retention rates among Alaska Natives at the university level by introducing high school students to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields through hand-on outreach initiatives and summer bridging programs — the Chevron gift will benefit students through expanded program and support opportunities, UAA said.

Chevron said that it has recently increased its activity level in Alaska and that a larger workforce is needed, particularly in the fields of engineering, process technology and instrumentation.

“Chevron is committed to support the communities where we work,” said John Zager, Chevron’s Alaska manager. “We believe in recruiting and training locally and we want to be an active contributor in helping to grow Alaska’s workforce for the future.”

—Alan Bailey