President Joe Biden has announced his intent to nominate nine individuals to serve as key leaders in his administration. One of the individuals is Michael Sfraga, who is lead of the UArctic Institute for Arctic Policy (IAP). Michael Sfraga has been nominated as Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs.
Michael Sfraga is the Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, to which he was appointed by President Biden in 2021. Sfraga was the founding director of the Polar Institute and concurrently served as Director of the Global Risk and Resilience Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. He currently serves as the Institute’s Chair and Distinguished Fellow. An Alaskan and a geographer by training, his work focuses on the changing geography of the Arctic and Antarctic landscapes, Arctic policy, and the impacts and implications of a changing climate on political, social, economic, environmental, and security regimes in the Arctic. Sfraga served as distinguished Co-lead Scholar for the U.S. Department of State’s inaugural Fulbright Arctic Initiative from 2015 to 2019, a complementary program to the U.S. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. He served as Chair of the 2020 Committee of Visitors Review of the Section for Arctic Science, Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, and he currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Council of the Finnish Institute for International Affairs. Sfraga previously served in several academic, administrative, and executive positions at the University of Alaska Faribanks including Vice Chancellor, Associate Vice President, faculty member, Department Chair, and Associate Dean. He earned the first Ph.D. in Geography and Northern Studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
UArctic would like to congratulate Michael Sfraga for his nomination, and we look forward to continue working with him.