The College of Health Access and Belonging Committee (ABC) was established to support
access and success of all students, staff, and faculty of the college. Through shared
values of respect, accountability, and a commitment to equal opportunity, we strive
to create greater cohesion across our college to deliver and promote the health and
well-being of the communities we serve.
We acknowledge and honor the ancestral lands of the Dena'ina, Ahtna, Alutiiq/Sugpiaq,
and Eyak/dAXunhyuu Peoples on which the UAA College of Health campus resides in Southcentral
Alaska. We commit to working in partnership with Indigenous communities to promote
health equity and cultural humility, and to recognize the unique knowledge and contributions
of Indigenous Peoples to health and holistic healing.
When human services and social work alumna Cass Pook says she has always been a helper, she鈥檚 not just referring to her nature as an empathetic and compassionate listener. 鈥淐ulturally, it's in my DNA to be a helper,鈥 said Pook. 鈥淟ooking back on it throughout history, 100 or 200 years ago I would have been doing the same thing. I was born to be a social worker.鈥
After serving a year as the President-elect of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), Yvonne Chase is now the president. Dr. Chase shares some of her vibrant background in human services that led her to UAA.
The Housing Action Summit in Anchorage featured a week of events that draw attention to Anchorage鈥檚 housing crisis. Faculty and staff from across UAA spoke to Alaska鈥檚 News Source about barriers some students face, including food insecurity and homelessness.
Yvonne Chase, Ph.D., associate professor with the Dept. of Human Services under the UAA College of Health, is the new president-elect of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).
Human Services Professor Dr. Yvonne Chase and Social Work Assistant Professor Dr. Jessica Ullrich were featured in an Alaska Public Media article about a study they co-authored in the International Journal on Child Maltreatment, titled "A Connectedness Framework: Breaking the Cycle of Child Removal for Black and Indigenous Children." The study explores alternative child welfare strategies to limit family separation.