Coast Guard Rear Adm. Michael McAllister and University of Alaska Southeast Chancellor Rick Caulfield shake hands after signing a memorandum of agreement between the Coast Guard and UAS during a ceremony in Juneau, Alaska, Oct. 2, 2017. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Shawn Eggert.
JUNEAU, Alaska- On behalf of the Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zunkuft, Rear Adm. Michael McAllister, Seventeenth Coast Guard District commander, signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the University of Alaska Southeast, establishing the university as a member of the Coast Guard’s Minority-Serving Institution partnership program, Monday.
The purpose of the program is for the Coast Guard to recruit, retain and sustain a ready, diverse and highly skilled workforce.
“Our people are our most important investment, and the Coast Guard must engage and retain the most qualified and inclusively diverse workforce,” said McAllister. “For 150 years, the Coast Guard’s ability to serve and protect Alaska has grown alongside the state’s increasingly prominent role in national sovereignty and maritime commerce. With this MOA we have an opportunity to attract young people that know what it means to live and work on the water.”
Central to this partnership is the Coast Guard’s College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative scholarship program. CSPI is a program designed for motivated individuals who demonstrate high academic and leadership excellence, and desire to serve their country in the United States Coast Guard. Students can apply if they are currently enrolled, accepted for enrollment or pending enrollment in a full-time bachelor’s degree program at Minority-Serving Institutions and have the desire to receive a guaranteed commission as an officer in the United States Coast Guard.
“Being accepted into the CSPI program was vital to my development as an active member of the Coast Guard,” said Ens. Alexander Henry, Coast Guard Sector Juneau command duty officer and CSPI graduate. “The opportunity to serve my country and further develop my education has given me a deep respect for our service, and I look forward to a bright future in the Coast Guard.”
This newly formed partnership will also assist UAS by providing additional tuition-saving choices, and academic options and future employment for UAS students. In addition, this agreement provides UAS and the Coast Guard the opportunity for greater collaboration in the areas of mariner training and marine science.
For more information on the CSPI program click here.
For more information on the CSPI program at UAS click here.
