About ARCUS | Overview

About ARCUS

The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) was formed in 1988 to identify and bring together the distributed human and facilities resources of the Arctic research community--to create a synergy for the Arctic in which each resource, when combined with others, can result in a strength that enables the community to rise to the many challenges facing the Arctic and the United States. ARCUS provides a mechanism for the Arctic community to complement the advisory roles of other national organizations, such as the US Arctic Research Commission (USARC), the Polar Research Board (PRB), and Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC), that are concerned with the Arctic.

ARCUS is a non-profit corporation consisting of institutions organized and operated for educational, professional, or scientific purposes. An institution is considered eligible for membership in ARCUS if it has made a definitive, substantial, and continuing commitment to a coherent research program or course of studies leading to degrees in one or more disciplines associated with Arctic research or related fields. The representatives of member institutions constitute the Council of ARCUS and elect the Board of Directors.

The ARCUS headquarters and staff are located in Fairbanks, Alaska at:
3535 College Road, Suite 101
Fairbanks, Alaska 99709-3710 USA
Phone: 907-474-1600
Fax: 907-474-1604
info@arcus.org

Mission

1. The role of the Arctic in global change
2. and the requirements for a national arctic education program.

These two areas are inherently complementary to each other and both serve to coalesce the community because they cut across the disciplines of arctic science. They also provide a mechanism to determine current strengths within the community and areas of need.

Purpose

The purpose of ARCUS is to provide leadership in advancing knowledge and understanding of the Arctic by:

1. Serving as a forum for planning, facilitating, coordinating, and implementing disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies of the Arctic;
2. Acting as a synthesizer and disseminator of scientific information relevant to state, national, and international programs of arctic research; and
3. Encouraging and facilitating the education of scientists and the public in the needs and opportunities of research in the Arctic.