UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research
@iser-alaska.bsky.social
ISER, a research center of the University of Alaska Anchorage, has been at the forefront of public policy research in Alaska since 1961.
🔥New research🔥 ISER’s Jennifer Schmidt joined a collaborative project to innovate fire breaks in the North. The team proposed four scenarios that safeguard communities from wildfire risk without sacrificing economic and cultural benefits of the land.
Mitigating increasing wildfire risk through fuel break innovations
A warming climate and expanding wildland urban interface are escalating wildfire risk to human life and property in the boreal forests of western Nort…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 8, 2026 at 9:23 PM
🔥New research🔥 ISER’s Jennifer Schmidt joined a collaborative project to innovate fire breaks in the North. The team proposed four scenarios that safeguard communities from wildfire risk without sacrificing economic and cultural benefits of the land.
As Alaska’s legislators prepare to convene in Juneau, ISER is ready to provide policymakers with the economics of education.
January 6, 2026 at 8:50 PM
As Alaska’s legislators prepare to convene in Juneau, ISER is ready to provide policymakers with the economics of education.
It’s been an excellent year at ISER, and 2026 will be even bigger. ✨ We’re celebrating our 65th anniversary as a research center at @universityofalaska.bsky.social. We have lots of new research about #Alaska policy issues coming out shortly. AND we're hosting the 2026 #CUPSO conference.
December 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
It’s been an excellent year at ISER, and 2026 will be even bigger. ✨ We’re celebrating our 65th anniversary as a research center at @universityofalaska.bsky.social. We have lots of new research about #Alaska policy issues coming out shortly. AND we're hosting the 2026 #CUPSO conference.
Alaska Airlines Cargo briefly embargoed its freight shipments last week, causing disruptions during the industry's peak holiday season. Nome public radio station KNOM talked to ISER economist Mike Jones about what that means and why it matters for rural Alaska. Listen in: knom.org/2025/12/18/m...
Maintenance delays Alaska Air Cargo operations, Christmas packages - KNOM Radio Mission
Christmas presents may be arriving later than expected for many rural communities in Alaska. That's after Alaska Air Cargo, Alaska Airlines' cargo-specific carrier, placed an embargo on freight shipme...
knom.org
December 23, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Alaska Airlines Cargo briefly embargoed its freight shipments last week, causing disruptions during the industry's peak holiday season. Nome public radio station KNOM talked to ISER economist Mike Jones about what that means and why it matters for rural Alaska. Listen in: knom.org/2025/12/18/m...
Holiday dinners have very different price tags across Alaska. For example, ISER food systems economist Mike Jones recently found the standard holiday dinner costs 130% more in Nome than in Anchorage.
🎧 Listen in as Jones chats with @alaskapublic.org about food security in rural Alaska:
🎧 Listen in as Jones chats with @alaskapublic.org about food security in rural Alaska:
Alaska's holiday price divide: One meal, two very different costs
Using a menu from the American Farm Bureau, economist Mike Jones found the difference was about $100.
alaskapublic.org
December 19, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Holiday dinners have very different price tags across Alaska. For example, ISER food systems economist Mike Jones recently found the standard holiday dinner costs 130% more in Nome than in Anchorage.
🎧 Listen in as Jones chats with @alaskapublic.org about food security in rural Alaska:
🎧 Listen in as Jones chats with @alaskapublic.org about food security in rural Alaska:
When ConocoPhillips announced layoffs, @alaskasnewssource.com turned to ISER. Listen in as professor Brett Watson explains the economic trends and developing technologies that shape industry on the North Slope: www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/12/10/c...
ConocoPhillips confirms up to 12.5% North Slope layoffs as workers seek union
ConocoPhillips has laid off 10 to 12.5 percent of its North Slope workforce, the company confirmed Tuesday
www.alaskasnewssource.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:07 PM
When ConocoPhillips announced layoffs, @alaskasnewssource.com turned to ISER. Listen in as professor Brett Watson explains the economic trends and developing technologies that shape industry on the North Slope: www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/12/10/c...
17% of AK's teachers and 27% of principals left their districts last year.
ISER's Dayna DeFeo and Noah Burke presented these findings and more in Juneau last week, and talked to KTOO about ISER’s ongoing research into teacher retention.
🎧Listen in @alaskapublic.org
ISER's Dayna DeFeo and Noah Burke presented these findings and more in Juneau last week, and talked to KTOO about ISER’s ongoing research into teacher retention.
🎧Listen in @alaskapublic.org
“We’re seeing just a fairly steady, consistent upward trend,” Dayna DeFeo, director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research, said. “We’re going to see this pattern no matter how we splice the data.”
New data shows teacher and principal turnover in Alaska continuing to rise
Data from the Institute of Social and Economic Research shows teacher and principal turnover rates have increased overall beyond levels preceding the COVID-19 pandemic.
www.ktoo.org
December 11, 2025 at 7:13 PM
17% of AK's teachers and 27% of principals left their districts last year.
ISER's Dayna DeFeo and Noah Burke presented these findings and more in Juneau last week, and talked to KTOO about ISER’s ongoing research into teacher retention.
🎧Listen in @alaskapublic.org
ISER's Dayna DeFeo and Noah Burke presented these findings and more in Juneau last week, and talked to KTOO about ISER’s ongoing research into teacher retention.
🎧Listen in @alaskapublic.org
❄️Reminder❄️Tomorrow at noon, ISER's Jennifer Schmidt will share results of our survey gauging local concerns over snow loads. Learn more and register: alaska.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
December 9, 2025 at 7:48 PM
❄️Reminder❄️Tomorrow at noon, ISER's Jennifer Schmidt will share results of our survey gauging local concerns over snow loads. Learn more and register: alaska.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
ISER's Jennifer Schmidt will share results of this snow load survey on Dec. 10 at noon. The local research is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Join our free webinar on snow loads this Wednesday to learn more. Register: alaska.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Join our free webinar on snow loads this Wednesday to learn more. Register: alaska.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Anchorage residents are worried about heavy loads of snow crushing their roofs, according to findings from a recent survey. Respondents also wanted better information for understanding the risks.
New research finds broad concern in Anchorage about roofs collapsing under heavy snow
Survey respondents also wanted better information for understanding the risks, after prior heavy snow winters led to dozens of commercial roof collapses.
www.adn.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:48 PM
ISER's Jennifer Schmidt will share results of this snow load survey on Dec. 10 at noon. The local research is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Join our free webinar on snow loads this Wednesday to learn more. Register: alaska.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Join our free webinar on snow loads this Wednesday to learn more. Register: alaska.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
It’s Thanksgiving week, and we’re happy to share some words of gratitude for project partner Ed Graham.
Ed is an undergraduate intern at @alaskagina.bsky.social and a participant on ISER's SAFRR Project. Read more about SAFRR and why we’re thankful for Ed: www.gi.alaska.edu/intranet/new...
Ed is an undergraduate intern at @alaskagina.bsky.social and a participant on ISER's SAFRR Project. Read more about SAFRR and why we’re thankful for Ed: www.gi.alaska.edu/intranet/new...
November 26, 2025 at 10:35 PM
It’s Thanksgiving week, and we’re happy to share some words of gratitude for project partner Ed Graham.
Ed is an undergraduate intern at @alaskagina.bsky.social and a participant on ISER's SAFRR Project. Read more about SAFRR and why we’re thankful for Ed: www.gi.alaska.edu/intranet/new...
Ed is an undergraduate intern at @alaskagina.bsky.social and a participant on ISER's SAFRR Project. Read more about SAFRR and why we’re thankful for Ed: www.gi.alaska.edu/intranet/new...
You’ve probably heard 95% of Alaska’s purchased food is imported. But that number is both dubious and decades-old. Mike Jones, a food systems economist at ISER, talked to @alaskapublic.org station KHNS about alternate ways to explain and interpret Alaska’s unique food security. 📻 Listen in:
That figure you’ve heard on how much food Alaska imports? It's not real.
The 95% number has been repeated so often, for so long, it’s become something like conventional wisdom. But experts aren’t convinced it should stay that way.
alaskapublic.org
November 25, 2025 at 7:37 PM
You’ve probably heard 95% of Alaska’s purchased food is imported. But that number is both dubious and decades-old. Mike Jones, a food systems economist at ISER, talked to @alaskapublic.org station KHNS about alternate ways to explain and interpret Alaska’s unique food security. 📻 Listen in:
We're researching school lunches! 🍎 ISER weighed trays before and after lunch at local schools. When lunchtime was longer and recess was scheduled before lunch, students ate more of their meals, which improved nutrition and decreased food waste. Read more: resources.finalsite.net/images/v1761...
November 21, 2025 at 7:22 PM
We're researching school lunches! 🍎 ISER weighed trays before and after lunch at local schools. When lunchtime was longer and recess was scheduled before lunch, students ate more of their meals, which improved nutrition and decreased food waste. Read more: resources.finalsite.net/images/v1761...
Alaska's investment in K-12 spending hasn't kept pace with inflation since 2017. When adjusted for cost of living, Alaska now invests 15% below the national average per student.
See how Alaska stacks up in a presentation ISER prepared for legislators: www.akleg.gov/basis/get_do...
See how Alaska stacks up in a presentation ISER prepared for legislators: www.akleg.gov/basis/get_do...
November 19, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Alaska's investment in K-12 spending hasn't kept pace with inflation since 2017. When adjusted for cost of living, Alaska now invests 15% below the national average per student.
See how Alaska stacks up in a presentation ISER prepared for legislators: www.akleg.gov/basis/get_do...
See how Alaska stacks up in a presentation ISER prepared for legislators: www.akleg.gov/basis/get_do...
Typhoon Halong struck Alaska’s unorganized borough, a vast area with fewer levels of government to help coordinate emergency response. @alaskasnewssource.com interviewed ISER Director Diane Hirshberg on the history of the borough, and the economic challenges it presents in the recovery:
Alaska’s unorganized borough: Halong highlights unique disaster response challenges for rural communities
When former Typhoon Halong devastated dozens of rural Alaska communities in October, the disaster response highlighted the unique challenges faced by villages in Alaska’s unorganized borough, where co...
www.alaskasnewssource.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Typhoon Halong struck Alaska’s unorganized borough, a vast area with fewer levels of government to help coordinate emergency response. @alaskasnewssource.com interviewed ISER Director Diane Hirshberg on the history of the borough, and the economic challenges it presents in the recovery:
Residents in Unalaska are shifting their hunting, fishing, and berry-picking behaviors in response to contamination from Formerly Used Defense Sites. Project Manager Faith Green talked to KUCB public radio about the result's of ISER's subsistence survey in Unalaska. Read the full story below:
Unalaskans change subsistence food practices due to WWII contamination
Residents reported changing where they pick berries and plants, and where they hunt birds and fish. Some have stopped harvesting salmon and marine invertebrates entirely.
www.kucb.org
November 14, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Residents in Unalaska are shifting their hunting, fishing, and berry-picking behaviors in response to contamination from Formerly Used Defense Sites. Project Manager Faith Green talked to KUCB public radio about the result's of ISER's subsistence survey in Unalaska. Read the full story below:
Skagway is just 13 nautical miles from Haines, but its groceries are frequently much more expensive. Why is that? And what makes Alaska’s food network so challenging? Mike Jones, a food systems economist at ISER, talked to @alaskapublic.org about grocery prices in Southeast.
This Alaska town gets weekly barges. So why do people use Instacart to fly in groceries?
In Skagway, one of Alaska’s most popular cruise ports, food problems revolve around one big issue: The number of people in town can range from 900 to 10,000.
alaskapublic.org
November 12, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Skagway is just 13 nautical miles from Haines, but its groceries are frequently much more expensive. Why is that? And what makes Alaska’s food network so challenging? Mike Jones, a food systems economist at ISER, talked to @alaskapublic.org about grocery prices in Southeast.
📢❄️ Business owners, we need your help. ISER is researching the effect snow has on businesses and their buildings. Take a short survey about winter risks. Your responses could inform policies and programs that help Anchorage businesses respond to heavy snow events.
Take the survey: lnkd.in/gzTdSM4s
Take the survey: lnkd.in/gzTdSM4s
November 12, 2025 at 7:46 PM
📢❄️ Business owners, we need your help. ISER is researching the effect snow has on businesses and their buildings. Take a short survey about winter risks. Your responses could inform policies and programs that help Anchorage businesses respond to heavy snow events.
Take the survey: lnkd.in/gzTdSM4s
Take the survey: lnkd.in/gzTdSM4s
“It’s feeling very quiet,” said Diane Hirshberg, ISER director & academic VP at an international network of schools called University of the Arctic. “We’re just in this weird land of uncertainty.” #ISER_Alaska #ArcticAmbassador #LisaMurkowski tinyurl.com/3bbjxtsc
As Trump eyes Greenland and Arctic resources, America's ambassadorship for the region goes unfilled | Alaska Beacon
On Jan. 20, Mike Sfraga resigned — departing his post as Arctic ambassador, like other ambassadors, as Donald Trump took power.
tinyurl.com
June 2, 2025 at 6:38 PM
“It’s feeling very quiet,” said Diane Hirshberg, ISER director & academic VP at an international network of schools called University of the Arctic. “We’re just in this weird land of uncertainty.” #ISER_Alaska #ArcticAmbassador #LisaMurkowski tinyurl.com/3bbjxtsc
It's National Alcohol & Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week. Many people are surprised to learn what counts as a drink, and a glass of wine contains the same amount of alcohol as a shot of liquor. #BirthDefectsAwareness #PrenatalSafety #SafePregnancy #NDAFW #FASDNPN #ISER_Alaska #CBHRS
May 15, 2025 at 11:24 PM
It's National Alcohol & Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week. Many people are surprised to learn what counts as a drink, and a glass of wine contains the same amount of alcohol as a shot of liquor. #BirthDefectsAwareness #PrenatalSafety #SafePregnancy #NDAFW #FASDNPN #ISER_Alaska #CBHRS
CBHRS and their partners share information on National Alcohol and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week. This week aims to educate the public about the risks of alcohol and drug use during pregnancy and how it can lead to birth defects. #ISER_Alaska #CBHRS
May 14, 2025 at 10:56 PM
CBHRS and their partners share information on National Alcohol and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week. This week aims to educate the public about the risks of alcohol and drug use during pregnancy and how it can lead to birth defects. #ISER_Alaska #CBHRS
@akfoodpolicycouncil Staff, Ellen and Robbi, ISER’s Mike Jones and Faith Ozer Green, had a great week learning about rural food supply chains in Bethel. #foodsecurity #supplychain #breakupbash #bethel #afpc #ISER_Alaska
May 12, 2025 at 10:25 PM
@akfoodpolicycouncil Staff, Ellen and Robbi, ISER’s Mike Jones and Faith Ozer Green, had a great week learning about rural food supply chains in Bethel. #foodsecurity #supplychain #breakupbash #bethel #afpc #ISER_Alaska
The federal government has been Alaska’s No. 1 industry, with 15,000 employees. #FederalJobLosses #ISER_Alaska #BrockWilson tinyurl.com/r663kry
May 8, 2025 at 2:30 AM
The federal government has been Alaska’s No. 1 industry, with 15,000 employees. #FederalJobLosses #ISER_Alaska #BrockWilson tinyurl.com/r663kry
On May 1, 2025, Commonwealth North, ISER, and Build Alaska’s Future co-hosted a virtual economic forum featuring ISER economists discussing Alaska’s economic trajectory in light of federal policy changes by the current administration.
#ISER_Alaska #FederalSpending tinyurl.com/5wat84td
#ISER_Alaska #FederalSpending tinyurl.com/5wat84td
May 6, 2025 at 6:29 PM
On May 1, 2025, Commonwealth North, ISER, and Build Alaska’s Future co-hosted a virtual economic forum featuring ISER economists discussing Alaska’s economic trajectory in light of federal policy changes by the current administration.
#ISER_Alaska #FederalSpending tinyurl.com/5wat84td
#ISER_Alaska #FederalSpending tinyurl.com/5wat84td
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PROMOTION & TENURE #ISER_Alaska #JenniferSchmidt #BrettWatson #UniversityOfAlaska_ANC
May 5, 2025 at 6:07 PM
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PROMOTION & TENURE #ISER_Alaska #JenniferSchmidt #BrettWatson #UniversityOfAlaska_ANC
Brett Watson is an assistant professor of economics at UAA. It took the economy longer to recover from the COVID pandemic, he said, but now, it’s the opposite. #ISER_Alaska #Economic #JobGrowth #BrettWatson tinyurl.com/2snm7k3v
Economic forum identifies federal spending as key to Alaska job growth
Economists point to two sectors as the engine: construction and healthcare.
tinyurl.com
May 5, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Brett Watson is an assistant professor of economics at UAA. It took the economy longer to recover from the COVID pandemic, he said, but now, it’s the opposite. #ISER_Alaska #Economic #JobGrowth #BrettWatson tinyurl.com/2snm7k3v