was created to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Alaska Constitutional Convention in 2005-06. It provides an in-depth review of the events and people involved in Alaska's journey to statehood and an opportunity for better understanding of how Alaska became a state. The program may also raise the level of public debate on many of the contentious issues Alaska faces today. Production of The 49th Star began in 2003, and has continued throughout 2005. Producer/Director Mike Letzring has harvested quotes from hours and hours and hours of conversations with Alaska luminaries. Although The 49th Star reflects work by scores of people, those included below have had particularly vital roles.
KUAC producer Michael Letzring has created award-winning documentary television in Alaska for the past 10 years. At KUAC, he produced the Emmy-nominated Vital Signs series and most recently won a 2005 Alaska Broadcaster's Association award for his documentary, Glacier Pilot Don Sheldon: Denali's High Altitude Hero. In addition to his latest projects, he has examined topics such as Alaska's economy, oceanography and prostitution in Alaska's early Gold Rush camps. Before working full time in public broadcasting in 1999, Letzring divided his year between summers as a commercial fisherman in Alaska and busy winters working in Vancouver Canada's burgeoning film production industry.
Laurence Goldin has been making films in Alaska for 30 years and in 2004 was honored as Alaska Filmmaker of the Year. He's produced and directed 25, long-format documentaries, many of which have appeared on national, prime-time television in the United States and abroad. These included Alaska at War, the story of WWII in Alaska and The Land is Ours, the story of Alaska Natives civil rights and land-claims movements of the 1920's-40's. Goldin also writes, shoots and directs for national and international clients including National Geographic Specials (Amazon: Land of the Flooded Forest and Those Wonderful Dogs). He's been twice nominated for National Emmy Awards for Best Cinematography for Documentary for Television.
Terrence Cole directs the UAF Office of Public History and is an affiliated professor with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of History. Cole's areas of expertise include circumpolar history, twentieth century America, Alaska Native history and world history. His numerous publications include The Cornerstone on College Hill, Crooked Past: The History of a Frontier Mining Camp and Nome: City of the Golden Beaches. He won the Usibelli Award for Teaching in 1994 and the Edith Bullock Award for Excellence in 1998.
Alaska Constitutional Convention delegate Jack Coghill served a term in Alaskas territorial House of Representatives and was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Following statehood, he served in the First through Third and the Fourteenth through Sixteenth Legislatures before his election as Lieutenant Governor in 1990. Coghill also served on the Nenana School Board, and was the President of the Alaska School Board Association.
Alaska Constitutional Convention delegate Vic Fischer served in the territorial House of Representatives and the Alaska State Senate. Born in 1924 in Berlin, Germany, Fischer has degrees from the University of Wisconsin, MIT, and Harvard. He held several planning positions after coming to Alaska in 1950. He was a member of the University of Alaska faculty in Fairbanks and Anchorage, primarily associated with the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), including ten years as its director. His current ISER work covers local self-governance, Alaska Native issues, and Alaska-Russia affairs.
Hurley served as an assistant to Governors Gruening and Egan, and served a term in the State House of Representatives. She was Chief Clerk to Alaska's Constitutional Convention and secretary of the State Senate. Hurley was the first woman to win a statewide election when she was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 1978. She has also served as Executive Director of the Alaska Commission on the Status of Women, Chair of the Alaska State Commission on Human Rights and President of the State Board of Education. In 1995, UAS granted Hurley an Honorary Doctorate of Laws in recognition of her service to Alaska.
Constitutional consultant and temporary secretary for Alaska's Constitutional Convention, George Rogers drafted one of the first comprehensive studies with his book The Future Of Alaska; Economic Consequences Of Statehood. Rogers served as a faculty member at the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage from 1961 to 1983. He has published five books and numerous research monographs and articles. Rogers has served on seven National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council programs and forty Alaskan, Canadian and national research boards and commissions. The University of Alaska Anchorage awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in Economics in 1986.
Alaska Constitutional Convention Secretary Tom Stewart served as Assistant Attorney General for the Territory of Alaska until 1954, when he was elected to the territorial House of Representatives. While in the House, Stewart played a key role in researching, drafting and gaining passage of the bill authorizing the Constitutional Convention, where he served as Secretary. In 1966, he was appointed to the Juneau Superior Court, where he worked until 1981. Since his retirement, he has continued service to the Alaska Court System as a settlement judge and in other capacities.
Sundborg began his career in journalism in 1938 as the city editor for the Daily Washingtonian. Over the course of his career, Sundborg would write for, edit, publish or own the Daily Alaskan Empire, Juneau Independent and the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. In 1955, Sundborg was elected to a Territory-at-Large seat for the Alaska Constitutional Convention. Sundborg served on Ernest Gruening's staff from 1951-53 while Gruening was Territorial Governor and from 1959-68, when Gruening served in the US Senate. Sundborg is the author of several books, including Opportunity in Alaska, Hail Columbia, and Facts About Statehood for Alaska. The U.S. Department of the Interior presented Sundborg with a Meritorious Service Citation in 1973.
Tim Olson has over twenty-five years of experience producing television in Alaska and throughout the country and a strong record as an award-winning producer, director and videographer. His diverse body of work has been recognized for its excellence by the Alaska Broadcasters Association, Alaska Press Club, Margaret Mead and Northwest Film and Video Festivals, and the Museum of the American Indian. Currently, Olson is the general manager and executive producer for Eight Star Communications, Inc.
Robert Hannon has been telling stories on radio and television for more than two decades. His productions include the award winning series What We Say about Aids and The Prejudice Puzzle. Hannon has planned, reported, and anchored political coverage both locally and statewide. In 2003, he produced two television series: the Emmy-nominated Vital Signs and Inside Alaska.
A former student representative and member of the University of Alaska Board of Regents, Joe Hardenbrook is a proud alumnus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a degree in political science and history.
Claudia Clark is the Director of Production for KUAC-TV and Director of Programming for Alaska One. A long-time television producer/director, Clark has developed several award-winning TV projects. Prior to joining KUAC and Alaska One, she was Dean of Enrollment Management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks as well as a UAF faculty member, serving as associate professor of broadcast journalism and an assistant professor of marketing. Clark has held university administrative posts in Montana and Alaska and has wide-ranging public and private sector marketing, public relations, and publication design experience, along with a professional background in television, radio and print media.
Karen Perdue is Associate Vice President for Health at the University of Alaska. She was named to the position in October 2001 to help develop health and social sciences capacity throughout the university. From 1994 to 2001, Perdue, a Stanford University graduate, served as Alaska's Commissioner of Health and Social Services. During her tenure, she led the state's efforts in welfare reform, the development of Denali Kidcare, Smart Start, a comprehensive initiative in primary care and fetal alcohol syndrome and many other initiatives. Perdue serves on the boards of several national and state organizations and has received numerous recognitions for her work. In 2000, the Alaska Journal of Commerce named her one of the 25 most powerful Alaskans. Perdue is a member of the KUAC Leadership Council and an active advocate for public broadcasting.
