KPC administrator chosen as Sitka’s campus director

Dr. Paula Martin has served as the assistant director for academic affairs and as an associate professor at Kenai Peninsula College since 2008. She was recently chosen to lead the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka campus.

As the new campus director, Martin is expected to take her extensive experiences while serving in her role at KPC and provide excellent leadership for the Sitka campus. A major accomplishment Martin achieved while at KPC was to spearhead the development of both online and hybrid classes, in a variety of disciplines, that ultimately led to expansion of the college’s course offerings.

Dr. Cheryl Siemers, KPC associate professor of English, will be assuming the role of assistant director for academic affairs. Siemers joined the KPC faculty as an assistant professor of English in 2008 and went on to become the department chair of English and liberal studies from 2010-2014.

KPC staff member selected to contribute to publication

Dave Atcheson, night coordinator and an adjunct faculty member at the Kenai River Campus, has been selected as one of six Alaskan authors to work on a new book, entitled “Where Water is Gold: Life and Livelihood in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.” The book, based on 2011 fieldwork done in the region by Anchorage photographer Carl Johnson, is primarily photos, but will include essays that explore various aspects of the western Alaska watershed. The book is set for release in 2016 and is being published by Braided River.

Johnson has a long history documenting the natural beauty of national parks and wilderness areas. He is a past recipient of a Rasmuson Foundation Artist Fellowship and has received the Environmental Issues Award from Windland Smith Rice International.

The other authors selected for the project include Bill Sherwonit, Erin McKittrick, Nick Jans, Anne Coray and Steve Kahn. Together the authors’ essays will provide an overview of the Bristol Bay region to include discussions about the rural lifestyle, subsistence values, and the importance of commercial fishing, recreational tourism and the mineral claims in the area.

Atcheson is the author of “Dead Reckoning: Navigating a Life on the Last Frontier, Courting Tragedy on Its High Seas,” “Hidden Alaska: Bristol Bay and Beyond” and “Fishing Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula” as well as many other works published in a variety of publications including Alaska Magazine, Outdoor Life and served as a past contributing editor for Fish Alaska Magazine.

Kenai River Campus new faculty spotlight

Dr. Casey Rudkin has been hired as KRC’s new assistant professor of English and has replaced Janice High who recently retired. Rudkin holds a doctorate in rhetoric and technical communication from Michigan Technological University; a master’s in composition and rhetoric; master’s certificate in literature from University of Akron; bachelors in journalism from Oakland University and an associate’s in English from Lansing Community College.

Rudkin’s previous employment experience includes assistant professor, graduate director and coordinator of writing tracks at Western Connecticut State; assistant professor at Lake Superior State University; instructor at Michigan Technological University; assistant professor at Temple University; assistant to the director of graduate teaching instruction, chemistry writing tutor and graduate teaching instructor at Michigan Technological University; adjunct instructor at University of Akron and graduate teaching assistant at University of Akron.

This semester Rudkin is teaching two sections of introduction to composition and three sections of fundamentals of oral communication.

This column is provided by Suzie Kendrick, Advancement Programs Manager at Kenai Peninsula College.