The Cornerstone on College Hill ─ An Illustrated History of the University of Alaska Fairbanks

In 1915, Congress granted funds to transform a remote agricultural experiment station on a hill overlooking the frontier town of Fairbanks into a state university. In 1917, the territorial governor signed legislation creating the University of Alaska Fairbanks—initially known as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines. By 1922, the first building was complete, and a faculty of six stood ready to teach sixteen classes to a student body of six.

A century later, the University of Alaska Fairbanks still boasts the most magnificent natural setting of any American university—but in every other way it would be unrecognizable to its first students. It is now a major research university, offering degrees in a wide range of programs to students drawn from throughout Alaska and around the world. This book celebrates the University’s centennial by telling the story of the journey from those small beginnings to the present, accompanied by historical and contemporary photos that make that history come to life.

Terrence Cole is professor of history and northern studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and directs the university’s Office of Public History.
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