The University of Alaska’s President Pat Pitney announced on Thursday she will retire at the end of the spring term, in May 2026, after almost 30 years in public service in Alaska and five years as university president.

“For over three decades, I’ve seen how the University of Alaska empowers this state,” Pitney said in a prepared statement with the announcement. “Our education, research, and partnerships make a difference in every community. As an alum, and the parent of alums from each of our three universities, it’s been one of the greatest honors of my life to serve all of you and the people of Alaska.”

Pitney was appointed by the University of Alaska Board of Regents, first as interim president in August 2020, then as president in February 2022. She oversees the state’s public higher education system with three universities and 13 community campuses, over 500 in-person and online degree programs, and numerous research initiatives. It’s currently serving 20,500 students this year. 

Pitney said Thursday that in retirement, she plans to stay in Alaska and spend time with her children and grandchildren. “Mostly take some time off, enjoy the summer in Alaska. I’ve been fortunate to travel to a lot of places in Alaska, but there’s a lot of places I haven’t been to,” she said, like the Aleutian Islands and the Denali Highway. 

“​​I’m sure I’ll be engaged in other things, but just not, you know, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” she said. 

Pitney led the university through the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been recognized by the university and its board of regents for her leadership through financial instability, helping to boost enrollment, scholarship opportunities, research initiatives and revenue. She is credited by the university with increasing its public confidence rating, with 86% of Alaskans reporting approval of UA in 2024, according to a university survey. 

“Not only has she been a steady hand at the wheel during challenging times, but she has also refocused our university system and embraced our role as an engine that empowers Alaska’s workforce and economy,” said Scott Jepsen, chair of the University Board of Regents in a statement. “On behalf of the Board and the entire university community, I extend our sincerest thanks to Pat for her committed service to UA and the people of Alaska.”

This year, the Trump administration has exerted unprecedented political pressure on higher education institutions across the country, freezing millions in federal funding, revoking international student visas and demanding changes to and elimination of diversity programs. When asked whether the political environment played a role in her decision, Pitney said it did not, and that she sees both uncertainty and opportunity for the university and for Alaska today.

“It is a time of uncertainty. But when I walked in, it was a time of uncertainty,” she said. “We go through cycles of uncertainty and stress, and then there’s cycles of really positive momentum and, actually, even in this period of uncertainty, we have a ton of positive momentum.”

She said the federal freeze of research funding has been painful for some programs, but overall minimal. She added that Alaska also has opportunities in resource development, defense partnerships and in the Arctic. “We are really well positioned in the Arctic,” she said. “Our expertise in Arctic research and Arctic policy have really positioned Alaska well. So as much as there is uncertainty, and, you know, frankly, just a weird environment, on the other side, Alaska and the University of Alaska have tremendous opportunities at this time.”

Prior to serving as the university’s 17th president, Pitney oversaw state finances as the director of the Alaska State Legislative Finance Division in 2020, and she was the State Finance Director in the administration of former Governor Bill Walker from 2014 to 2018. Pitney was the Vice Chancellor of Administration at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and spent 23 years in various roles in research, planning, and finance administration.

Pitney first came to Fairbanks in 1987 from Billings, Montana. She holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from Murray State University, and an MBA from the University of Alaska UAF. She also is an Olympian; Pitney won gold in women’s air rifle in the 1984 U.S Olympic Games. 

The university Board of Regents said it has already started planning for Pitney’s retirement and has retained WittKieffer, a national executive search firm, to assist with the search and recruitment of the next university president.

From now until May, Pitney said her goals are to continue the university’s focus on student recruitment, retention and graduation, which she called their “top focus,” as well as helping with the search to find her replacement. “And then really just reinforcing the team atmosphere that we’ve had that’s been growing over the past five years,” she said. 

The UA Board of Regents is also in the process of recruiting and hiring permanent chancellors at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.