Pat Pitney

{{short description|American university president and sport shooter}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Pat Pitney | image = Pat Spurgin.jpg  | caption = Pitney in 1984 | office = 16th President of the University of Alaska System | term_start = August 1, 2020 | term_end = | predecessor = Jim Johnsen<br>Michelle Rizk (interim) | successor = | birth_name = Karen Patricia Spurgin | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|8|10}} | birth_place = Billings, Montana, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | education = Murray State University (BS)<br>University of Alaska, Fairbanks (MBA) | module = {{Infobox sportsperson |embed = yes |medaltemplates = {{MedalSport |Women's shooting}} {{MedalCountry |the {{USA}}}} {{MedalCompetition |Olympic Games}} {{MedalGold |1984 Los Angeles |Air rifle}}}} }}

'''Karen Patricia "Pat" Pitney''' ({{nee}} '''Spurgin'''; born August 10, 1965) is an American university administrator, former Alaska state government official, and Olympic gold medalist. She is the president of the University of Alaska system.

==Early life and education== Born in Billings, Montana, Pitney competed and won a gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=SPURGPAT01|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203830/http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=SPURGPAT01|archive-date=3 March 2016|title=Pat Spurgin|author=|website=databaseOlympics.com|publisher=databaseSports.com|access-date=6 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sp/pat-spurgin-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418045207/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sp/pat-spurgin-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |accessdate=July 28, 2015}}</ref> She became the first Olympic Champion in Air Rifle for Women, at the time being an 18-year-old student at Murray State University, Kentucky. The Pat Spurgin Rifle Range at Murray State University is named after her.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://goracers.com/facilities/pat-spurgin-rifle-range/89|title=Pat Spurgin Rifle Range|website=Murray State Racers|publisher=Murray State University Athletics|access-date=6 February 2021}}</ref> She earned a degree in engineering physics from Murray State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.<ref name=News-MinerFebruary2020>{{cite news |author= |title=UA regents name Pat Pitney as interim president|url=http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/ua-regents-name-pat-pitney-as-interim-president/article_248125a4-c642-11ea-8e91-43a84bfdbe3a.html|work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|url-access=subscription|date=14 July 2020|access-date=5 February 2021}}</ref>

==University of Alaska== Pitney held administrative positions at the University of Alaska for 23 years.<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=14 July 2020 |title=UA Board of Regents names Pat Pitney interim president |url=https://www.anchoragepress.com/news/ua-board-of-regents-names-pat-pitney-interim-president/article_d191f3ae-c633-11ea-be93-3b01cca819fb.html|work=Anchorage Press|access-date=7 February 2021}}</ref> In 2007, she became vice president for planning and budget at the University of Alaska statewide office.<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=14 November 2025 |title=President of University of Alaska Pat Pitney announces retirement |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/education/president-of-university-of-alaska-pat-pitney-announces-retirement/article_7b1b5c58-3783-4a93-8486-4bb4e721fe2e.html |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=The helen Snedden Foundation |access-date=4 December 2025}}</ref> From 2008 to 2014, she was the vice chancellor for administrative services at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. While vice chancellor, she also served as finance vice president for the University of the Arctic, starting in 2012.<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=30 August 2012 |title=Pitney named to University of Arctic vice president post |url=https://www.newsminer.com/pitney-named-to-university-of-arctic-vice-president-post/article_c385651a-b51f-5fa9-8ec0-435a28e4d18d.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Grimes |first=Marmian |date=28 August 2012 |title=Pitney named UArctic finance vice president |url=https://news.uaf.edu/pitney-named-uarctic-finance-vice-president/ |website=University of Alaska Fairbanks |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref>

Pitney volunteered as an assistant coach for the Alaska Nanooks rifle team at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for almost two decades.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bernier|first=Blake|date=19 May 2020|title=Spurgin's Olympic gold moment|url=https://www.murrayledger.com/sports/spurgin-s-olympic-gold-moment/article_5f357d36-9941-11ea-a121-6fc9dc01e6f6.html|work=Murray Ledger|access-date=6 February 2021}}</ref> The team won nine NCAA Rifle Championships during that time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/44591|title=Pat Spurgin|author=|website=Olympedia|publisher=OlyMADMen|access-date=6 February 2021}}</ref>

==Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games== Pitney was a torchbearer for the Sochi 2014 Olympics torch relay. She traveled 3,100 miles on the Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker ''50 Let Pobedy'' to the North Pole, where the crew ignited a cauldron with the Olympic torch.<ref>{{cite news |last=Zaccardi |first=Nick |date=25 October 2013|title=Olympic flame's trip to North Pole (photos)|url=https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2013/10/25/sochi-olympic-torch-relay-north-pole-photos/|work=NBC Sports|access-date=5 February 2021}}</ref>

==State of Alaska== In December 2014, newly elected Alaska Governor Bill Walker appointed Pitney as director of the Office of Management and Budget<ref>{{cite news |last=Cole |first=Dermot |date=27 December 2014|title=Alaska state budget director has Olympic credentials|url=https://www.adn.com/fairbanks/article/alaska-state-budget-director-has-olympic-credentials/2014/12/28/|url-access=subscription|work=Anchorage Daily News|access-date=5 February 2021}}</ref> During the 2014-2018 Walker administration, Pitney focused on managing the impact of collapsing oil prices on the Alaska state budget.<ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=23 April 2015 |title=Gov. Walker plans public education effort about Alaska's budget gap |url=http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/gov-walker-plans-public-education-effort-about-alaskas-budget-gap/article_968e905a-ea2e-11e4-9b9b-17d6f8f9dc4f.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=5 October 2015 |title=Alaska budget chief: Cuts only one piece of Alaska fiscal picture |url=http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/alaska-budget-chief-cuts-only-one-piece-of-alaska-fiscal-picture/article_0cd9300a-6bc4-11e5-b742-a7f61a7e6ebf.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kwong |first=Emily |date=8 December 2015 |title=Budget director uses money game to illustrate state's plight |url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/12/08/budget-director-uses-money-game-to-illustrate-states-plight/ |work=Alaska Public Media |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Buxton |first=Matt |date=2 February 2016 |title=Budget director attempts to explain consequences of $30 million cuts |url=http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/budget-director-attempts-to-explain-consequences-of-30-million-cuts/article_e180d7b8-c989-11e5-9c73-87e0f30a7832.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kitchenman |first=Andrew |date=7 November 2017 |title=Spending gap could hurt Alaska Permanent Fund, budget director says |url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2017/11/07/spending-gap-could-hurt-alaska-permanent-fund-budget-director-says/ |work=Alaska Public Media |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=McChesney |first=Rashah |date=29 January 2018 |title=Higher oil prices help, but don't solve the state's budget problem |url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/01/29/higher-oil-prices-help-but-dont-solve-the-states-budget-problem/ |work=Alaska Public Media |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref> Pitney then became director of the state of Alaska's Legislative Finance Division in January 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=McChesney|first=Rashah|date=27 January 2020|title=Pat Pitney to head Legislative Finance|url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/01/27/pat-pitney-to-head-legislative-finance/|work=Alaska Public Media|access-date=5 February 2021}}</ref>

==University of Alaska president== Pitney became interim president of the University of Alaska system on August 1, 2020. She succeeded acting President Michelle Rizk, who had stepped in after the resignation of President Jim Johnsen on June 22.<ref name=News-MinerFebruary2020 /> Pitney's term was originally set to expire when a permanent university president was recruited.<ref>{{cite news |last=Treinen|first=Lex|date=15 January 2021|title=Pitney to serve as interim University of Alaska President until 2022|url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/01/15/pitney-to-serve-as-interim-ua-president-until-2022/|work=Alaska Public Media|access-date=7 February 2021}}</ref> However, on January 31, 2022, the chair of the University of Alaska Board of Regents, Sherri Buretta, proposed that the pending recruitment be cancelled and that Pitney be appointed as permanent president, effective immediately.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hersey |first=Linda |date=3 February 2022 |title=Pat Pitney on path to be University of Alaska's permanent president |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/pat-pitney-on-path-to-be-university-of-alaskas-permanent-president/article_9eaecea6-847f-11ec-afe5-9b2595adf560.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |access-date=3 February 2022}}</ref> Although faculty, student and staff governance groups all protested their exclusion from the decision-making process,<ref>{{cite news |last=Bross |first=Dan |date=28 February 2022 |title=Pat Pitney named permanent University of Alaska president |url=https://www.alaskapublic.org/2022/02/27/university-of-alaska-regents-name-pat-pitney-permanent-university-of-alaska-president/ |work=Alaska Public Media|access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref> the Board of Regents unanimously accepted the proposal on February 25; Buretta noted that Pitney was the first woman to hold the University of Alaska presidency as a permanent position.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hersey |first=Linda |date=25 February 2022 |title=Pat Pitney appointed University of Alaska president |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/pat-pitney-appointed-university-of-alaska-president/article_73764978-96a7-11ec-939a-13f404b58c1a.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref>

The first year of Pitney's presidency was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down most on-campus activities in the spring of 2020 in favor of remote instruction. Her administration gradually reopened those on-campus activities, with all in-person classes resuming in the fall of 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hersey |first=Linda |date=5 June 2021 |title=UA prepares for classroom learning post-Covid |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/ua-prepares-for-classroom-learning-post-covid/article_e5e2aaf8-c5b8-11eb-9b34-fb35ded8e5e4.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |access-date=3 July 2021}}</ref><ref name="JuneauEmpire-20220127"/>

Pitney inherited an ongoing downsizing of the university system in response to a three-year program of scheduled reductions in financial support from the state of Alaska. Her presidency began at the start of the second year of the reductions. To compensate for reduced funding from the state, Pitney pursued private philanthropists,<ref>{{cite news |last=Bohman |first=Amanda |date=25 February 2021 |title=UA positioned to stay competitive despite cuts, says system president |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/ua-positioned-to-stay-competitive-despite-cuts-says-system-president/article_00d5ad58-7729-11eb-bc48-6f4409652940.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |access-date=3 July 2021}}</ref><ref name="JuneauEmpire-20220127">{{cite news |last=Segall |first=Peter |date=27 January 2022 |title=UA President: University has turned a corner on funding |url=https://www.juneauempire.com/news/ua-president-university-has-turned-a-corner-on-funding/ |url-access=registration |work=Juneau Empire |access-date=3 February 2022}}</ref> external grants for research programs, and completion of the University of Alaska's federal land grant endowment.<ref name="NewsMiner-20210607">{{cite news |last=Hersey |first=Linda |date=6 June 2021 |title=University of Alaska charts a course for the future |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/university-of-alaska-charts-a-course-for-the-future/article_1b9ca502-c679-11eb-9d7b-fb7ba828f9b6.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |access-date=3 July 2021}}</ref> Pitney reported in early 2023 that in the previous year the University of Alaska system had "reached the highest level ever of externally funded research".<ref>{{cite news |last=Barnwell |first=Jack |date=22 February 2023 |title=Pat Pitney: University system is key to workforce development |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/pat-pitney-university-system-is-key-to-workforce-development/article_70f531ba-b243-11ed-b1d1-ab0d543336b4.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |access-date=22 February 2023}}</ref> The completion of the land grant had passed a milestone in December 2022 with the passage of the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which directed the Bureau of Land Management to begin the process of transferring 360,000 acres of federal land to the university.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://alaskabeacon.com/2022/12/30/university-of-alaska-will-gain-land-under-new-federal-budget-law/ |title=University of Alaska will gain land under new federal budget law |last=Brooks |first=James |date=30 December 2022 |website=Alaska Beacon |publisher=States Newsroom |access-date=31 December 2022 |quote=Under the terms of the legislation, the Bureau of Land Management must create a program within four years to transfer 360,000 acres of federal land selected by the state of Alaska and the University of Alaska.}}</ref>

The Pitney administration's academic focus was on programs which directly benefit the Alaska economy, such as alternative energy, marine farming, health care education, heavy oil recovery, mining of critical minerals, and development of drone aircraft applications.<ref name=NewsMiner-20220214>{{cite news |last=Hersey |first=Linda |date=14 February 2022 |title=University of Alaska seeks 3% budget increase over fiscal 2022 |url=https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/university-of-alaska-seeks-3-budget-increase-over-fiscal-2022/article_10fe0b18-8d34-11ec-94db-63794ee37b2a.html |url-access=subscription |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner |access-date=5 March 2022}}</ref> In the face of budget cuts, Pitney pushed forward the Alaska Native Success Initiative, which increases the involvement of Alaskan native students and faculty in University academics.<ref name="NewsMiner-20220214"/><ref name="JuneauEmpire-20220127"/> She also oversaw the expansion of the UA Scholars Program and the Alaska Performance Scholarship, which encourage Alaskan high school graduates to attend college in Alaska.<ref name=APM-20251114/> During Pitney's presidency, University of Alaska enrollment increased by 4% between fall of 2022 and fall of 2024. Projections for 2025, reported in November 2025, forecast another 4% increase for the year.

On November 13, 2025, Pitney announced that she would retire in May 2026.<ref name=APM-20251114>{{cite news |last=Diep |first=Jamie |date=14 November 2025 |title=University of Alaska President Pat Pitney to retire in May |url=https://alaskapublic.org/news/education/2025-11-14/university-of-alaska-president-pat-pitney-to-retire-in-may |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=Alaska Public Media |access-date=15 November 2025}} </ref> Her last day on the job was May 21st.<ref>{{cite press release |author= |date= |title=University of Alaska Board of Regents to celebrate staff and students in final meeting for President Pitney and Interim Chancellor Sfraga |url=https://www.alaska.edu/opa/enews/2026/0519/ |location=Fairbanks, Alaska |publisher=Statewide Office of Public Affairs |agency=University of Alaska |access-date=May 28, 2026}}</ref>

==Other activities== Pitney joined the Board of Directors of First National Bank Alaska in October 2022.<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=16 October 2022 |title=First National Bank Alaska announces Pat Pitney to join Board of Directors |url=https://www.kinyradio.com/news/news-of-the-north/first-national-announces-pat-pitney-added-to-board-of-directors/ |work=KINY |location=Juneau, Alaska |access-date=20 October 2022}}</ref>

==Legacy== Pitney has been inducted into the USA Shooting Hall of fame.<ref name=hall-of-fame>{{cite web |url=https://www.usashooting.org/about/alumni-association/hall-of-fame/pat-spurgin-pitney |website=usashooting.org |title=Pat (Spurgin) Pitney |access-date=3 September 2021}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://www.alaska.edu/pres/about/ Meet the President: President Pat Pitney] at the University of Alaska * {{sports links}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitney, Pat}} Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:American female sport shooters Category:Sportspeople from Fairbanks, Alaska Category:Murray State Racers rifle shooters Category:Alaska Nanooks rifle coaches Category:Shooters at the 1984 Summer Olympics Category:Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in shooting Category:Shooters at the 1983 Pan American Games Category:Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in shooting Category:Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in shooting Category:20th-century American sportswomen