In 2003, Fran was a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics in Cambridge, MA. In 2004, she accepted a teaching job at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She served as the Director of the Institute of Economic and Social Research (ISER) at UAA. In March 2007, University of Alaska system President Mark R. Hamilton appointed Ulmer interim chancellor for the University of Alaska Anchorage. In April 2008, she accepted the position of chancellor on a permanent basis. As chancellor, she was responsible for governing UAA and its eight satellite facilities in Southcentral Alaska. On January 22, 2010, she announced her intent to resign from the Chancellor's position at UAA, effective 2011.