Maribeth Murray comes to the Arctic Institute of North America from the International Arctic Research Center and Northern Studies Program of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. She has also held the position of executive director of the International Study of Arctic Change where she was responsible for the growth and development of an internationally supported, ongoing program of arctic environmental change research, science planning and stakeholder engagement. She has worked in the Arctic and subarctic for over 20 years and serves on a number of polar advisory committees, including the Swedish Mistra Foundation’s Arctic Futures program, the EU Svalbard Integrated Earth Observing System and the U.S. Study of Environmental Change Observing Change Panel.

The director of the Arctic Institute of North America leads a multi-disciplinary international centre dedicated to national and international northern and arctic research activities. The institute produces the journal, Arctic, the database, ASTIS and provides research and training opportunities through its Kluane Lake Research Station. The institute aligns with several institutional priorities as an integrative force for understanding human dynamics and ecology in the face of environmental change.
 
The Arctic Institute of North America became a member of the University of the Arctic in June 2012.

Maribeth completed a BA in Archaeology from Wilfred Laurier University, an MA in Archaeology from Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she also completed a post-doctoral fellowship, and a PhD in Anthropology from McMaster University. She was chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and was director of the Human Dimensions of the Arctic System Core Office, UAF, which functioned to build capacity and improve the integration between the natural and social sciences in Arctic system research. Her research interests include the impacts of environmental change on northern human and marine systems, historical ecology, and the interface between research and science policy. In addition to her five-year appointment to the Arctic Institute of North America, Murray also begins an appointment as professor in the Faculty of Arts, Department of Archaeology.