UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research

Do you remember your favorite teacher? Research shows that good teachers are important for a child's academic success, while high teacher turnover can hurt student achievement. In Alaska, maintaining a stable educator workforce has been a challenge for decades. 🧵 [1/2]

📣 ISER's inaugural newsletter is here!​ ISER at @universityofalaska.bsky.social Anchorage produces research that helps Alaskans make informed decisions. The fall issue of ISER News shows that work in action 👉 iseralaska.org/newsletters/...

Read about the ISER data that helped reshape school lunches for the Anchorage School District, Dr. Spencer Perry's research on aging and cognitive decline, and the Center for Economic Development's work with the Anchorage Fire Department to evaluate funding models for wildfire prevention.

@universityofalaska.bsky.social's Dr. Mike Jones was studying how aviation infrastructure & new tech can improve delivery of goods to rural Alaska when he uncovered another question: do SNAP benefits reflect the true price of food in rural grocery stores?

How can research interviews encourage real reflection, instead of surface-level answers? @universityofalaska.bsky.social's Dayna DeFeo & Katie Davis presented at #SciEd2026 on this topic. They shared approaches refined with UAF's Douglas Cost that help interview participants reflect more deeply.

Oct. 9: Join us for a free & interactive public forum at @universityofalaska.bsky.social with visiting food economists from across the country. They’ll share perspectives on food insecurity, grocery prices, and what food costs in remote northern communities. Bring your questions! Details below 👇

Ever wonder what happens inside a glacier? 🧊 Join us Oct. 8 for a talk on glacier caves, some of the least documented features of glacier systems! Visiting Prof. Dr. Andreas Pflitsch & Ms. Lorena Paff will share research tracking changes at Root Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Details 👇

37% of Alaska households can't afford the state's cost of living, according to a new report from United Way of Anchorage, which is more than federal poverty data suggests. (1/3)

💡 @universityofalaska.bsky.social's Mike Jones, research assistant professor of applied economics, and Jared Reynolds, state director of the Alaska Small Business Development Center, provided advisory support for the report. (2/3)

THIS WEEK 📅 The 2026 CBPP Showcase: Democracy in Action takes place on Thursday, October 1. Now in its fifth year, the showcase gathers alumni, students, faculty, staff, business leaders, and community members for sessions that explore issues shaping Alaska's future. 💡

🐟 Bycatch has become a defining issue in Alaska's Senate race. @brettjwatson.bsky.social, associate professor of applied and natural resource economics, doesn't recall fisheries playing such a central role in a statewide or federal campaign in the past decade.

Despite rising oil prices, Alaskans still face ongoing budget challenges and big decisions that will shape the state's future. ISER's @brettjwatson.bsky.social recently presented an analysis of Alaska's fiscal options to the Anchorage Downtown Rotary Club. 📸 Courtesy of Treece Hanley

🥦 Since Anchorage School District began rolling out its new school lunch model, elementary students have been eating 31% more of their entrées and 29% more vegetables, according to data collected by a team based at @universityofalaska.bsky.social's ISER & CBHRS.

What does Indigenous education look like in Arctic communities around the world? This question was at the center of a session at the 2026 @uarctic.bsky.social Congress that focused on schooling in the North. 📖🧵

Coordinated by @universityofalaska.bsky.social ISER's Diane Hirshberg and UPEI's Kathy Snow, the Qaggiq discussion explored nine approaches to Indigenous education from participants representing five different countries.

Are you familiar with the wildfire mitigation strategies in your city? In Anchorage, certain techniques known as fuel treatments have helped reduce fire risk.🔥

What did you do on your summer vacation? ISER Director Diane Hirshberg traveled north of the Arctic Circle in #Norway, where she helped teach a sustainability summer course at Nord University.

30 students from around the world traveled to Bodø in northern Norway for the summer class titled Sustainable Blue Growth in the High North. Hirshberg provided guest lectures, mentored students, and served as an external examiner on the final projects.

Hi from Tórshavn 👋. Several ISER members joined last month's @uarctic.bsky.social UArctic Congress in the Faroe Islands. The biennial meeting assembles researchers and institutional leaders from across the Arctic Circle to collaborate on shared goals for the region.

Elsewhere at the four-day meeting in the Faroes, ISER Professor Mike Jones shared work on Arctic food supply chains with Quebecois collaborator Sébastien Lévesque @ulaval.ca.

Hi from Tórshavn 👋. Several ISER members joined last month's @uarctic.bsky.social UArctic Congress in the Faroe Islands. The biennial meeting assembles researchers and institutional leaders from across the Arctic Circle to collaborate on shared goals for the region.

The school year just ended. Why do teachers choose to stay at or leave Alaska schools? Find out on Wednesday.

ISER has provided non-partisan policy research for Alaska since 1961. For 65 years, our center's multidisciplinary staff have investigated public policy issues facing Alaska, from education to health to Arctic communities and natural resources.

We celebrated our 65-year legacy last week at an anniversary celebration with colleagues and collaborators from across the country, including several former ISER directors.