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 ƵCollege 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.
Human Services alumna Billie Slaikeu knows a thing or two about what it means to start over. A retired certified nursing assistant, Billie returned to school in her sixties after being inspired by her daughter’s experience with mental illness. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 2025.
When human services and social work alumna Cass Pook says she has always been a helper, she’s not just referring to her nature as an empathetic and compassionate listener. “Culturally, it's in my DNA to be a helper,” said Pook. “Looking 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.”
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’s housing crisis. Faculty and staff from across Ƶspoke to Alaska’s News Source about barriers some students face, including food insecurity and homelessness.