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Office of the Chancellor

Chancellor Russell Vander Lugt

UAF alumnus Russell Vander Lugt is a senior military officer and Arctic scholar with 26 years of executive leadership experience in complex organizations. A colonel in the Army, he currently serves as commander of the 11th Airborne Division’s Arctic Aviation Command at Fort Wainwright. He previously served as director of strategy, plans and programs for Alaskan Command, advising senior defense leaders on Arctic strategy and coordinating joint military activities in Alaska.

Vander Lugt earned an interdisciplinary doctorate from UAF. His research draws on Arctic history, security, anthropology and Indigenous knowledge systems, and reflects a longstanding commitment to collaboration with Alaska Native communities. He served as an assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he also served as a department chair. He has a bachelor’s degree in music and historical theology from Wheaton College in Illinois, a master’s degree in management science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a master’s degree in Arctic and Northern studies from UAF.

Vander Lugt and his family have lived in Alaska for two decades and maintain deep ties with the Fairbanks community. His spouse and eldest son are also alumni of UAF.

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