Mat-Su College, Alaska

Welcome Alumni

sellington — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 23:02:09 +0000

Mat-Su Alumni are making a difference across this state and across the globe. We now serve over 2,000 students in a modern and expanding facility. An energetic and talented faculty and staff work hard to create a positive atmosphere to facilitate the development of scholars and workers for the future of Alaska. There are few places in the world as majestic as this valley and the Matanuska-Susitna Campus of the University of Alaska Anchorage is the gem in the statewide system of higher education.

Please come join us in our 2013 Giving Campaign. Through your giving we can expand educational opportunities for more students at Mat-Su College.

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2013 Alumni BBQ

sellington — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 22:57:39 +0000

Hot Dog Bar & Potluck

Share your favorite side dishes!

Date: Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Time: 6:00pm – 7:30pm

Where: Mat-Su College in the Cafe (weather permitting outside)

Bring your family and a side dish to share. The college will supply the meat, beverages, and dessert.

RSVP by July 12, 2012 to Courtney Brooke Smith 907-746-9317 or cbsmith3@matsu.alaska.edu

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Congratulations Graduates!

sellington — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 22:53:15 +0000

There were 94 in the spring 2013, 33 in the fall 2012, and 22 in the summer 2012. Totaling 149 Mat-Su degree/certificates for 2012/2013.

87 graduates attended Commencement which included UAA, UAS and Taft Law School graduates.

View the Graduates HERE

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Machetanz Arts Festival News

sellington — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 22:20:52 +0000

The third annual Machetanz Arts Festival was a success with 22 workshops offered on June 1st and two 4 day workshops offered prior to the one day festival. It was truly a celebration of our Arts!

Dominican Music and Dance Festival News

sellington — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 22:15:24 +0000

The Dominican Music and Dance Festival, sponsored by La Tertulia, the UAA Student Spanish Club, is an event made possible by volunteers and the generous donations and collaboration of various University of Alaska funding entities and community sponsors.This fantastic event shared Hispanic/Afro-Latin culture with Alaska through Dominican music and dance.

This outdoor festival took place in Palmer at Mat-Su College on June 1st from 4-7:30 pm, directly following the Machetanz Arts Festival. A first for the Valley!

Mat-Su College Has Culture

sellington — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:49:55 +0000

Dominican Music and Dance Festival featuring Joan Soriano

The Dominican Music and Dance Festival, sponsored by La Tertulia, the UAA Student Spanish Club, is an event made possible by volunteers and the generous donations and collaboration of various University of Alaska funding entities and community sponsors. The event was held in the Valley and in Anchorage. Sponsors for the Valley event included:

Usibelli Coal Mine Inc
Rotary Organizations in the Mat-Su Valley and Anchorage
La Fiesta

A Special Thank You to Sophia’s Café for accommodating us at the last minute and bringing over her delicious Greek treats!

This fantastic event shared Hispanic/Afro-Latin culture with Alaska through Dominican music and dance. This outdoor festival took place in Palmer at Mat-Su College on June 1st from 4-7:30 pm, directly following the Machetanz Arts Festival. A first for the Valley! The Dominican Music and Dance festival started with a one-hour bachata dance class donated by Alaska Dance Promotions’ professional instructors in the atrium. Followed by a world-renowned Dominican artist Joan Soriano (http://iasorecords.com/artists/joan-soriano) who played a 2-hour concert with his band, featuring Dominican percussion instruments like the tambora, the guira and the bongo. Joan has performed all over the globe and is a well-respected roots artist in his field. At intermission, there was a Dominican folkloric dancer Altagracia Guillen and the Alaska Dance Promotions’ semi-pro team performed Latin dance routines.

Note: A complete photo album on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MSCDragons?fref=ts

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Dean Larson Donates Painting to Mat-Su College

sellington — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:11:17 +0000

Visiting artist Dean Larson returns to his hometown of Palmer to participate in the 3^rd Annual Machetanz Art Festival and donate his original oil painting “Fresh Snowfall” to the college in memory of former Director Al Okeson. In the photo are: Professor Felicia Desimini, the Director of the Machetanz Art Festival, Matanuska-Susitna College Director Talis Colberg, Mrs. Gloria Okeson and visiting Professor Dean Larson gifting the painting in Memory of former Director Okeson.

Art, History and the College

On Friday, May 31 at the Machetanz Art Festival Reception, the Matanuska-Susitna College received a valuable gift. Former Palmer High School graduate (76’) and nationally recognized artist, Dean Larson presented the college with an original oil painting “Fresh Snowfall” in honor of the late Al Okeson, a former director of the Matanuska-Susitna College. Professor Larson has deep roots in Palmer and the college. His father, former Representative Ron Larson, was an adjunct history instructor at the college for many years. Dean Larson took his first college class at the Matanuska-Susitna campus in 1975. He went on to attend Willamette University in Oregon. As an artist, Dean is associated with the resurgent American Realist Movement. He is a nationally recognized artist sought for commissioned portraits and paintings which include works at the White House, a portrait of former US Sen. Mark Hatfield and another of former US Sen. Ted Stevens which hangs in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. In addition to his ongoing creation of new art he teaches art in San Francisco. He has twice won the coveted John and Anna Lee Stacey National Award for oil paintings and in 2008 he was awarded the prestigious Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant for his work.

Mr. Larson grew up in the Matanuska Valley and was a student of Fred Machetanz. Dean credits Mr. Machetanz with being a key figure in his own development as an artist. Fred Machetanz is one of Alaska’s most recognized artists. His wife, Sara Machetanz was an accomplished writer and produced several children’s books which were often illustrated by Fred. The works of Fred Machetanz adorn the walls of public and private collections throughout Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and increasingly far beyond. The Machetanz family played a key role in the early history of the Matanuska-Susitna College. 240 acres of the 970 acre campus were donated to the school by the Machetanz family after both Fred and Sara Machetanz had passed away. That parcel of land includes most of their original homestead overlooking High Ridge lake. The Machetanz family donated their personal Alaskana book collection to the college. Those books are housed in special glass cases in the Okeson Library. In addition, the Machetanz Family endowed a $67,000 scholarship fund for MSC students. In addition, the college is now home to three original Machetanz oil paintings, one of which hangs appropriately in the lobby of Machetanz Hall. Fred and Sara Machetanz had one child, Traeger Machetanz. Traeger is a prominent attorney in both Alaska and Washington. Traeger Machetanz and Dean Larson grew up together and remain good friends. Traeger Machetanz has been very supportive of the college endeavor to develop the art festival in honor of his parents.

Al Okeson became the director of the Matanuska-Susitna College in 1961 when there was no campus, no building, no full time staff and only rented rooms in downtown Palmer for a few courses taught by adjuncts. He served as director of the college for 27 years until his retirement in 1988. His retirement as director did not end his work at the college. He continued to work as a counselor for new students at the college and even as an interim director between the terms of some of his successors. Al’s wife Gloria was a crucial unpaid support staff for many of the early years when she did much of the paperwork to keep the college viable. The Okeson’s made use of valley talent to generate a local faculty in the early years of the college. Recognizing that Dean Larson was an emerging talent, Al Okeson and later Glenn Massay started to invite Dean Larson back to the college to teach short art classes. A tradition that was repeated this year. Two years ago, Al and Gloria Okeson established a scholarship fund for non-traditional students (older students who were unable to pursue college immediately after high school). Al Okeson passed away in 2011. Mrs. Okeson continues to reside in Palmer.

On Friday evening Professor Felicia Desimini with her Arts Advisory Council organized a reception at the college for artists who participate in the Machetanz Art Festival classes. The Arts Advisory Council members for the festival are: Sharon Allen, Nancy Angelini Crawford, Elaine Helling, Dr. Carole Menard, and Judy Stancyk. A key member of the committee was Ms. Candace C. Gleason, who passed away before this year’s festival. Although technically “advisory”, the committee has in fact generously devoted a lot of time and energy to hands on work to make the festival possible. Dr. Desimini evinces palpable excitement at her first opportunity to manage the art festival. The festival reception featured the presentation of Dean Larson’s painting to the college in memory of Mrs. Okeson’s husband. The Matanuska-Susitna College is now the beneficiary of the seeds that were planted in its early years.Dean Larson, once a student at the college, is now a donor to the college. The life of Dean Larson is confirmation of the college slogan “Opportunities Start Here.”

Story by Talis Colberg

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In Honor of Arbor Day

sellington — Wed, 29 May 2013 01:35:38 +0000

Students Help Plant Trees at College Entrance

Chuck Kaucic and the Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District team up with Dr. Polly Bass and her Matanuska-Susitna College Life on Earth class to plant trees near the college entrance in honor of Arbor Day. College Director Talis Colberg noted that “Mr. Kaucic is a very community minded individual and it is great to see him looking for opportunities to team up with our faculty and students to make this a better place. This is a great project because it is simple and permanent. Decades from now the students who planted these trees will drive by and be able to say with pride, “I helped make that possible.”

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Juried Art Show

sellington — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:14:42 +0000

2013 Juried Art Show

May 1, 2013 – June 3, 2013

Come Celebrate the Work of the Art Students!

Opening Reception is from 3:00pm – 5:00pm in FSM 200

**Announcing the 2013 High School Art Portfolio Winners at the Opening Reception**

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Author Jeffrey T. Babcock Meet & Greet

sellington — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:59:12 +0000

MEET THE AUTHOR

Thursday, April 25th from 7:00pm – 8:30pm in FSM 202

Jeff was a member of the rescue team that searched the upper slopes of Mount McKinley in the summer of 1967 for seven missing climbers from the Joseph Wilcox Expedition, who all died during North American Mountaineering’s worst climbing disaster. Jeff’s book SHOULD I NOT RETURN presents a fascinating story, which presents the tragedy and the exploits of a life-long mountaineer from several different perspectives.

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