Paul Edward Dunscomb

Paul E. Dunscomb, Professor of History at the University of Alaska Anchorage, passed away after a short illness on March 5, 2025. 

Paul was born in New York’s Hudson River Valley, an area he loved throughout his life. He earned a B.S. in Communications from Ithaca College in 1985. After a short career in television, Paul returned to academia, earning an M.A. from the State University of New York at Albany in 1995, and a Ph.D. in History at the University of Kansas. He attended the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama and was affiliated with Tokyo University Faculty of Law Research Center on a Fulbright-IIE Graduate Research Fellowship.

In 2001 Paul became an assistant professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Heflourished at UAA, becoming a full professor in 2011, serving as chair of the Department of History for six years, and supporting the University community in numerous ways. Paul was a productive scholar, publishing three books as well as numerous articles and chapters in edited collections. In 2016, he was given the UAA Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research. An accomplished and popular classroom teacher, he was well known among UAA students for his skills as a storyteller, his wonderful sense of humor, and his eagerness to weave popular culture into all his courses. 

Paul was an active volunteer and community leader in Anchorage. He served on and chaired the Executive Board of the Alaska World Affairs Council, was a board member at the Cook Inlet Historical Society, was appointed to the Alaska Military History Museum Advisory Task Force by Governor Bill Walker, published commentaries in the Anchorage Daily News, and worked closely with the Anchorage School District on teacher-training programs.

Paul touched many as a warm and endlessly cheerful individual with a generous spirit, a hearty personality, a joyful laugh, and an infectious enthusiasm for Alaska, teaching, his academic work, and his many personal passions. Physically imposing at 6’4” but genuinely kind and gentle, Paul had a strong, unforgettable voice and the enviable gift of looking great in fedoras and bowties. He preferred to interact face-to-face over glasses of beer, and avoided social media and never abandoned his flip phone. Paul had boundless love for his family, a healthy obsession with railroads and naval history, incredible stamina in long-distance driving, and a measured fanaticism for Kansas Jayhawks basketball, UAA Seawolves hockey, and the Yokohama BayStars. 

Paul is survived by his mother, Alison (Harden), his sister Judy, his niece Elizabeth Lohnes, and multiple cousins, nephews, and grand-nephews. 

He was predeceased by his father, Robert Maxwell Dunscomb and his brother Robert Harden Dunscomb. 

A celebration of his life will be held at 4:30 on Thursday, April 3, at the The Lakefront Anchorage Hotel. 

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Paul Edward Dunscomb Memorial Fund for Scholarship of History at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.