The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - January 27, 2025
From left: Coeur Alaska External Affairs Manager Rochelle Lindley; UAS Executive Director of Advancement Chris Natynski; UAS Interim Dean of Arts & Sciences Alison Staudinger; UAS Assistant Professor of Chemistry Megan Behnke; and Coeur Alaska Environmental Manager Pete Strow, Environmental Manager at the Áakʼw Tá Hít building for Environmental Science on the UAS campus.
To help the next generation of homegrown environmental scientists, Coeur Alaska Inc. has donated $30,000 to the Coeur Alaska Kensington Gold Mine Environmental Science Award, an endowed scholarship fund that supports University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) students majoring in environmental science, environmental resources, or marine biology.
As owner and operator of the Kensington gold mine about 45 miles north of the UAS campus in Juneau, Coeur Alaska looks to the university for its next generation of workers. In December, the company committed to investing $100,000 to cover tuition and fees for local high school students taking diesel and welding courses at the UAS School of Career and Technical Education.
Now, Coeur Alaska is adding funds to an environmental sciences scholarship endowment it established for UAS students in 1991.
This endowment is personal to Coeur Alaska Environmental Manager Pete Strow.
"I am a graduate of UAS' Environmental Science program, and my Environmental Science degree set me up for the career path I'm on today," he said. "I was hired by Coeur Alaska right out of college and worked my way up to my current role as Environmental Manager."
Through the endowment established and funded by Coeur Alaska, environmental science, environmental resources, and marine biology majors at UAS are invited to apply to receive scholarships of at least $3,000.
Strow says the environmental science-related majors supported by the endowment are in high demand.
"They're well-rounded degrees that are applicable in many industries, including mining and government sectors," he said.
Alison Staudinger, interim dean at UAS, says Coeur Alaska's environmental sciences endowment demonstrates the power of partnerships between the university and the Southeast Alaska community.
"Together with the 2024 opening of Áakʼw Tá Hít, UAS' new oceanside facility dedicated to environmental science research and student learning, there has never been a better time to pursue a degree that helps us all to understand and manage Alaska's natural environment and resources," she said.
While all UAS environmental science, environmental resources, and marine biology majors are eligible for scholarships under the endowment, preference is given to full-time Southeast residents maintaining at least a 3.0 grade point average.
With this endowed scholarship, Coeur Alaska hopes to foster homegrown managers of Alaska's environment and resources.
"I'm proud to work for a company that cares deeply about environmental protection and actively invests in the next generation of environmental stewards," said Strow.
The deadline to apply for a Coeur Alaska Kensington Gold Mine Environmental Science Award for the 2025-2026 academic year award is Feb. 15. More information about applying for this and other scholarships at UAS can be found at the university's Financial Aid website or by calling the UAS Financial Aid office at 907-796-6255.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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