Lawyer Chosen as 18th University of Alaska President

The University of Alaska Board of Regents selected a lawyer to become the eighteenth President of the UA System. Matthew Cooper previously worked for the university as General Counsel. He currently serves as Of Counsel at Davis Wright Tremaine, a national law firm with offices in Anchorage. Cooper succeeds Pat Pitney, who announced last year that she would be retiring in May.

Cooper joined the UA Office of the General Counsel in 2011. He served thirteen years, including four as General Counsel from 2020 to 2024, where he advised the Board of Regents, system administration, and the three universities on higher education law, board governance, and complex institutional risk. He’s credited with the finalization and implementation of the UA Land Grant Initiative, a decades-long university priority that will allow UA to receive its full federal land-grant allotment.

“President-Designee Cooper’s university leadership experience, community engagement, and dedication to UA make him the right choice to serve as our eighteenth president,” says Board of Regents Chair Scott Jepsen. “Matt has a deep understanding of the university and has worked on many of our key priorities.”

A resident of Fairbanks, Cooper earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Puget Sound and got his JD at the University of Washington School of Law. Prior to joining UA, he worked in private practice at Guess & Rudd P.C., a law firm with offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks. At Davis Wright Tremaine, Cooper’s legal work has spanned commercial finance, governance counseling, compliance, and collective bargaining with Alaska Native corporations, tribal health organizations, municipalities, companies, and nonprofit organizations. 

Cooper was elected to the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly and served two years as its Presiding Officer.

“I am excited and humbled to return to the University of Alaska, and I am grateful to the board and search committee for this opportunity,” says Cooper. “I look forward to building on the strong foundation President Pitney has established, and to working with the Board and university leadership and governance to support and advance the university’s long-term vision and goals.”