Maria Ackrén Appointed Director of the Stefansson Arctic Institute

Maria Ackrén has been appointed as the new Director of the Stefansson Arctic Institute at the University of Akureyri. Maria will assume her position on May 1st, 2026.  Dr. Níels Einarsson was Director of the Stefansson Arctic Institute since its establishment in 1998. Following the institute´s merger with the university in 2025, Tom Barry, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Akureyri, has served as Acting Director. 

Maria´s current position is Professor of Political Science at Ilisimatusarfik/University of Greenland in Nuuk.  She holds a PhD in Political Science from Åbo Akademi University (2009) and brings extensive academic experience, as well as expertise in managing academic units and shaping research policies. 

Maria is a member of numerous international and Nordic research networks and, among other roles, is the elected president of the International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA), an international association of social scientists conducting research in the Arctic.  As president of IASSA, she serves as an observer to the Arctic Council and will bring together social scientists at the 12th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS XII) in Nuuk in May 2027.

Maria has led extensive research projects focusing on, among other areas, the welfare of Arctic residents and their communities, international politics, and other interdisciplinary topics.  Among her recent works is the book Foreign Policy in Greenland: 20 Years of Development, published by Routledge last year. 

Throughout her comprehensive and diverse career, Maria has held positions as department head, research director, professor, and visiting scholar at universities across the Nordic countries, Europe, and North America. Since 2011, she has worked at the University of Greenland, where she has served as department head, helped establish the PhD programme, and taken on various leadership and administrative roles. In addition, Maria has served as research director at Nasiffik - Centre for Foreign & Security Policy at the University of Greenland, since its establishment in 2021. 

 We warmly welcome Maria to the Stefansson Arctic Institute! 

A news article about the appointment, published by the University of Akureyri, can be found [here]