The Nanook rifle team won its fourth consecutive NCAA title March 16-17 at the national championship meet in Murray, Ky. Junior Matt Emmons broke the NCAA smallbore record with scores of 1190 out of a possible 1200 on both days of the competition, becoming the first shooter in 14 years to repeat as national smallbore champion. Emmons finished second in the air rifle event, losing the individual championship in a tie-breaker. Teammate Per Sandberg placed fourth in both the individual smallbore and air rifle events.

Nanook senior forward Bobby Andrews has signed a professional contract to play hockey with the New York Rangers. Andrews left campus on March 20 to join the Rangers' minor league affiliate. He plans to return to UAF to finish his degree in political science.

Rasmuson Library and the Fine Arts complex will be closed March 22 -23 due to renovation and construction activities. Regular building hours will resume on March 24. For more information contact Pauline Wilson at 6069 or fyref@uaf.edu.

President Hamilton will deliver his annual "State of the University" address April 9 from 1 -2 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall. The address will be delivered via audio conference and the Web. For more information call Tori Tragis at 6438.

Frank Williams is resuming his full-time duties as director of the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. He has held a dual appointment as ARSC director and vice chancellor of administrative services since 1999. Mark Neumayr, senior associate general counsel for UA, has been asked to step in as interim vice chancellor.

Corey Flintoff, National Public Radio newscaster, will be the keynote speaker and an honorary degree recipient at the 2002 UAF Commencement ceremony on May 12. Flintoff was born in Fairbanks and was executive producer for the Alaska Public Radio Network before joining NPR. He is receiving an honorary doctor of letters degree.

The UAF Staff Council is sponsoring the 2nd annual UAF Day at the Southside Community Center April 13 and is looking for departments or organizations that would like to host a booth at the event. For more information contact Sarah Comstock at 7037 or fnsrc1@uaf.edu.

The Alaska Native Language Center was recently awarded a $120,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for the "Dictionary of Tanacross Athabascan" project.

Jenifer McBeath, SALRM, is the author of the feature story of the American Phytopathological Society for March 2002. View the article on with snow mold, at http://www.apsnet.org/.

Paul Matheus, Alaska Quaternary Center, had his article, "Dynamics of Pleistocene Population Extinctions in Beringian Brown Bears," published in the March 21 issue of the journal "Science."

Andy Anger, TVC, has been appointed associate professor of applied business. Anger previously served as an adjunct instructor and was project manager of the School of Management Tourism Outreach and Research Program from 1993 - 1997.

John Creed, CRA, has received the Breath of Fresh Air Award for Outstanding Media Contribution to Lung Health Issues by an Individual from the American Lung Association of Alaska.

KUAC-FM is recruiting for community volunteer announcers. If you appreciate the variety of programming on Public Broadcasting and have a little time to donate, this is an opportunity to become involved with the on-air operation. Full training is available. For more information call 5049.

The UAF Bookstore is acting as a drop-off point during March for the Literacy Council of Alaska's annual book drive. You can drop off book donations during the entire month.

Faculty members may purchase or rent academic robes for commencement through the UAF bookstore. Deadline for ordering is March 25. For more information call 6859 or contact fybook@uaf.edu.

The UAF Office of Admissions and the UAF Student Ambassadors have new and improved websites. The admissions page is http://www.uaf.edu/admissions/ and the ambassadors' page is http://www.uaf.edu/admissions/ambassadors/.

UAF Outdoor Adventures and the UAF Trails Club offer free cross country ski lessons from noon - 1 p.m. each Monday. Both classical and skating technique are offered. You must be a member or join the UAF Trials Club to participate. For more information or to find out which technique will be taught call 6027.

Dr. Harry Fritz of the University of Montana will present "What would have happened if Lewis and Clark had come to Alaska" March 25 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the Wood Center multi-level lounge. The event is free and there will be food provided. For more information call Julia at 7126.

The Classified Research Open Forum will be held March 26 at 1 - 2:30 p.m. in the Natural Sciences Building room 201. For more information call 7964.

The UAF Small Business Development Center presents "Designing a Brochure" March 26 and "Marketing Your Business on the Internet" April 2, both from 6 - 9 p.m. with a $25 fee. For more information or to register call 456-7232.

The UAF Graduate School Open Forum, "Mentoring Graduate Students," will be held March 28 from 1 - 2 p.m. in the Globe Room of the Geophysical Institute. Lunch will be provided.

The UAF Women's Center, UA Foundation and UAF Women's Studies Department are sponsoring "Race, Gender and the American Courts," a talk by Mary Frances Berry, March 29 from 6 - 9 p.m. in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom. For more information call 6360.

The UA Museum presents "From the Forest to the Coast: The Use of Wood in Eskimo Cultures" by Clarie Alix, March 31 and a discussion on the Beringian Yupik Heritage Project, April 1 by Igor Krupnick of the Smithsonian Institution's Arctic Studies Center and Vera Kingeekuk-Metcalf of the Bering Straits Foundation. Both lectures begin at 7 p.m. and are free. For more information call 7505.

Theatre UAF presents "Touch," a four-character play about emotional despair and recovery, March 29 and 30 and April 5 and 6 at 8:15 p.m. and April 7 at 2 p.m. in the Salisbury Theatre. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for UAF affiliates, seniors and military and $4 for students. This play contains mature content. For more information visit http://www.uaf.edu/theatre/.

The Journalism Department, English Department and Honors Program present a craft talk by travel author Peter Jenkins April 2 from 7 - 9 p.m in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom. For more information call Pat Ivey at 5130.

The UAF Jazz Festival kicks off April 4 at 6:30 p.m. with a concert in the Davis Concert Hall with admission of $5. For more information call 5004.

UAF hockey coach Guy Gadowsky has been named the CCHA Coach of the Year. Senior forward and captain Bobby Andrews was named the CCHA Best Defensive Forward of the year. UAF played Ohio State in the CCHA playoffs in Detroit, Mich. March 15, losing 5 - 6 in overtime.

UAF skiers Sigrid Aas, Shawn Harper, John Heimerl and Juraj Brugos earned All-American status at the NCAA Championships held March 6 -9 in Anchorage.

If I had to pick one word to characterize a university, I suppose I would choose "learning." While we most often associate learning with formal classes, it really pervades all that we do. It is, therefore, not surprising that the total "learning environment" of an institution is one of its most important characteristics.

At UAF we have a rich learning environment. Undergraduate research is a common undertaking among science majors. Our students participate, and do quite well in academic competitions ranging from College Bowl to Mathematical Modeling to Steel Bridges. Our musicians regularly perform around the country and even internationally. Internships are common in our professional programs.

Beginning next year institutional support for undergraduate research and academic competitions will increase significantly because of a generous donation from Williams Alaska Petroleum, Inc. We are very grateful for this support, and I propose that we use this occasion to rededicate ourselves to maintaining a rich learning environment at UAF.

I challenge faculty in the arts and humanities to encourage their students to apply for funding for undergraduate research. I wonder if we couldn't create more opportunities for our students to become involved in academic competitions if we launched some "virtual competitions" either via the Web or videoconference. It also seems that we could incorporate intern experiences into numerous student jobs around campus. I'm sure there are lots of other good ideas. Let's pick a few and put them into action.