University of Alaska selects Dr. Brian Smentkowski as next VP, chief academic officer

University of Alaska (UA) President Pat Pitney announced that she has selected Dr. Brian Smentkowksi to serve as the university’s next vice president and chief academic officer (VP/CAO). The VP/CAO serves as a member of the UA president’s executive team, providing academic leadership and strategic guidance to the President, Board of Regents, and UA system. Dr. Smentkowski joins UA from the University of Idaho, where he is the founding director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and also serves as a professor of political science. His first day will be Monday, February 3, 2025. Dr. Smentkowski will replace Dr. Paul Layer, who is retiring in January after nearly 36 years of service to UA.

“I’m pleased that Brian will be joining UA as the VP/CAO,” President Pitney said. “His decades of experience in faculty and academic development will be a great asset to our University system, and I’m confident he’s the right person for the job. Please join me in welcoming him to Alaska and the UA Community.”

Dr. Smentkowski earned his B.A. in American politics from Marshall University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Kentucky. Prior to the University of Idaho, he served as the director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence at Queens University of Charlotte; director of faculty and academic development programming at Appalachian State University; and as a faculty member and associate dean at Southeast Missouri State University. As a part of the transition, Dr. Smentkowski will visit all three of UA’s universities in person in his first months.

“I am excited to join the University of Alaska system and be a part of its uncompromising commitment to excellence within and across the three distinct yet related Universities,” Dr. Smentkowski said. “This position provides a rare opportunity to support the learning and lives of a diverse array of students and a world-class network of teachers, scholars, and staff members whose work contributes directly to the communities, cultures, and economies we serve. I look forward to building sustainable relationships that strengthen individual and institutional success through collaboration and innovation.”

President Pitney, the Board of Regents, and the entire UA Community are incredibly grateful to Dr. Layer for his more than three decades of dedication to the University system. Since joining the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) as an assistant professor of geophysics in 1989, he’s served in multiple roles including:

• Two terms as Chair of UAF’s Department of Geology and Geophysics
• Associate dean (2007), interim dean (2009-2011), and permanent dean (2011-2017) of UAF’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM), and
• UA Vice President of Academics, Students, and Research (2017)

Vice President Layer has also published over 180 peer-reviewed papers in his research areas of radiometric geochronology, volcanology, and tectonics and has given numerous presentations at professional conferences and workshops.

“Paul has been a steady hand and support for our system during his time as VP, and I’m grateful for his counsel and long-time commitment to UA,” President Pitney reflected. “On behalf of the Board and the entire UA community, I wish him all the best as he enters retirement and takes on new endeavors. We will dearly miss him.”