University of Alaska Anchorage

01/16/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 01/16/2026 20:01

Hiring: ISER Director

ISER is currently looking for a new director, who will coordinate research activities both within the institute and with other institutions and agencies, and will supervise a multi-disciplinary team consisting of 30 people, including faculty, administrative and research staff and student researchers. ISER's current director, Diane Hirshberg, has announced that she will step down from the director's role at the end of June 2026. She has been ISER director since 2022.

For 65 years, ISER has been producing research that helps people understand social and economic systems and supports informed public and private decision-making. The institute has a strong, multi-disciplinary group of faculty and research professionals, and is regularly called upon by state and federal legislators and policymakers to examine legislative and regulatory issues. In Alaska and around the circumpolar North, ISER is known for high-quality policy-oriented research in economic development, natural resource management, health, education and fiscal policy. ISER researchers are also fully engaged in Arctic policy research related to climate change and environment, energy and rural sustainable development.

The ISER Director will coordinate research activities both within the institute and with other institutions and agencies, and will supervise a multi-disciplinary team consisting of 30 people, including faculty, administrative and research staff and student researchers. The successful candidate's current research agenda should add to or complement ISER's focal research areas. In the director role, the institute expects the ISER Director to be recognized on and off campus as knowledgeable about Alaska public policy issues. Most importantly, the director will work with institute researchers and staff to shape ISER's future research agenda in the context of the rapid social, economic, and environmental change Alaska is currently experiencing.

Application deadline: Feb. 9, 2026

Application review begins: Feb. 9, 2026

Expected start date: July 1, 2026

University of Alaska Anchorage published this content on January 16, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on January 17, 2026 at 02:02 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]