University of Alaska Fairbanks

Gold discoveries in the early 1900s brought sudden changes to the Tanana Valley. In 1906 the hill where UAF now stands became part of a federal Agricultural Experiment Station, and in 1915 U.S. Congress approved money and transferred a piece of land from this station to establish a school of higher education. On May 3, 1917, with a stroke of his pen, Alaska Territorial Gov. John Strong signed the bill to create the institution now known as the University of Alaska. With a federal land grant, the institution began as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines with research and teaching in support of agriculture and mining as its focus. The Alaska Territorial Legislature added funding, and in 1922, when construction of the first building was completed, the college opened its doors to students. In the first year, a faculty of six offered 16 classes to a student body of six. Commencement in 1923 consisted of a single graduate.The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is a public re