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Eielson, UAF sign housing, education agreement

The �Ļ�ӰԺ and Eielson Air Force Base have signed an agreement to house and provide educational opportunities for service members on the Troth Yeddha’ Campus starting this summer.

The agreement will take advantage of two low-use residence halls — Stevens Hall and Nerland Hall — to provide housing for up to 96 Eielson service members. They are slated to move into the halls in early July.

The agreement will help mitigate a shortage of on-base housing for the service members stationed at Eielson. The number of people stationed at Eielson has grown significantly in the past 5 years, and housing has not kept up with the growth. Eielson officials approached UAF earlier this year about occupying space in underused residence halls as part of an educational partnership.

The agreement will generate about $2.7 million in annual revenue for UAF, which will cover the cost of providing housing and parking, as well as educational and career support for service members. It will also provide funding for campus maintenance and safety improvement projects. If successful in the first year, UAF and Eielson can renew the agreement for a multiyear term.

UAF plans to integrate the new Air Force residents into the campus community as much as possible, according to Stephen Phillips, UAF’s director of the Department of Military and Veterans Services. The service members will be similar in age to UAF’s undergraduate student population, he added, and many will want to take courses, since doing so can help advance their careers.

“We hope that living on campus will be an attractive option for men and women stationed at Eielson who want to further their education,” he said. “The relationships you build by being in proximity to your professors and fellow students is an invaluable part of the learning experience, and not something that is always available to service members. We can provide that opportunity via this partnership.”

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Stephen Phillips, scphillips4@alaska.edu, 907-474-7405. 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, 354fw.pa.publicaffairs@us.af.mil, 907-377-2116. 

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