UAF Announces Seitz as First Meek Endowed Chair

University of Alaska Fairbanks appointed fisheries scientist Andy Seitz as the university’s first Frank and Marjorie Meek Endowed Chair in Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.

Seitz is an internationally recognized expert in fish migration and behavior and a professor in the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.

As the owner of a king crab packing plant in Kodiak, Frank Meek was one of Alaska’s first commercial seafood marketers. In 1992, he and his wife, Marjorie Meek, pledged to establish the endowed chair to further fisheries research at UAF.

Seitz’s research focuses on understanding large-scale oceanic migrations of fish and their interactions with tidal and wave energy systems. He also teaches a broad range of courses on fisheries ecology, conservation, and management. Since his appointment as UAF assistant professor of fisheries in 2009, Seitz has advised numerous undergraduate and graduate students, many of whom are part of Alaska’s workforce in agencies and the private sector.