The Conference of Alaskans is hosting a community reception to introduce the delegates Tuesday, Feb. 10 from 5-7 p.m. in the Wood Center multilevel lounge. For more information visit www.conferenceofalaskans.com.

UAF's enrollment for fall 2003 set an all-time record of 10,487 students. That total represents an increase of 11.7 percent over fall 2002, including 9 percent in first-time full-time baccalaureate degree seeking students.

The UAF Chancellor Search Committee will hold an open forum Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom to seek public input on the essential qualities UAF's next chancellor must possess. Comments can also be provided online at www.uaf.edu/chancellor/search/.

Bill McDonnell, head coach of UAF's cross country running and skiing programs, has resigned his position to pursue an opportunity to use his MBA.

Scientists at the Geophysical Institute, in conjunction with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, recently helped a 17-year-old Virginian suffering from a rare neurodegenerative disorder with her wish of seeing and learning about the northern lights. While in Fairbanks, the teenager toured the G.I. and received a personal demonstration of how scientists track and predict the aurora.

Dennis Stephens, longtime collection development officer and faculty member at the Rasmuson Library, retired at the end of January. Pauline Wilson is the interim collection development officer. Contact Wilson at 6695 or ffpgw@uaf.edu.

IAB's Alaska Geobotany Center is featured in the Jan. 2 edition of Science magazine. The issue's NetWatch feature includes information on the center's Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map. For more information visit www.geobotany.uaf.edu/cavm.

The UAF branch of the Northern Schools Federal Credit Union has relocated from Constitution Hall to the Wood Center and is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ATMs are located in the Wood Center, Arctic Health Research Building and the Hess Rec Center.

UAF student affairs is organizing ice sculptures on campus and is asking for donations and suggestions. For more information contact John Fellerath at 7043 or Lydia Anderson at 7037.

The UA Press has announced the publication of With a Camera in My Hands, the biography of pioneer glaciologist William O. Field. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/uapress/.

The 2004 RAHI program will take place May 22-July 3. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/rahi/.

The UAF bookstore is taking orders from faculty for commencement robe rentals. Orders are due by March 15. For more information call 6859.
*** The date due has changed to March 10, for more information call 7348***

Polar Alley, the newly named Wood Center bowling alley, held its grand re-opening Jan. 30 and is now open for use. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/woodcenter/.

UAF's campus closure policy due to emergency conditions has been approved and is posted online at www.uaf.edu/univrel/crisisplan/.

Low grade reports for freshmen are due Feb. 20.

The academic advising center is offering a series of one-hour workshops for students. Note Taking is Feb. 10 and Test Taking is Feb. 17. All workshops are from 1-2 p.m. in Gruening 410. For more information call 6396.

The UA Museum of the North is hosting "Discovering Alaska's Nearshore," a lecture by Katrin Iken, SFOS, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. For more information call 7505.

The UA Coastal Marine Institute's annual research review will take place Feb. 17 at 8:15 a.m. in 109 Butrovich. For more information contact Maggie Billington at 7707, maggie@sfos.uaf.edu or visit www.sfos.uaf.edu/cmi/.

The UAF Leadership seminar series presents "Leadership Paradigms and Paradoxes" by Jim Johnsen Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. in Wood Center Conference Rooms C and D, and "The Joy and the Pain of Leadership... What We Gain as Leaders, and What We Have to Pay for It" by Susan Herman Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. in Wood Center Conference Rooms E and F. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/gradsch/.

The Science for Alaska lecture series presents "Alaska's Largest Earthquakes" by Doug Christensen, GI, Feb. 17 and "Lightning and Fire" by Matt Heavner, UAS, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Chena River Convention Center. For more information call 5823 or visit www.scienceforalaska.com.

The Visiting Writers series presents a reading by former UAF faculty member Sherry Simpson Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in the UA Museum of the North. Admission is free and a book signing will follow the reading. For more information call 7193.

The UA Museum of the North Saturday Family Program "Yukon Quest Dog Days," sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank Alaska, takes place Feb. 21 from 10 a.m.-noon for children ages 7-12. Admission is $10 per child accompanied by an adult. For more information call 6948.

The 31st annual Festival of Native Arts is being held Feb. 26-27 from 6 p.m.-midnight in the Davis Concert Hall and the Great Hall. For more information contact 6889 or 7181, e-mail fnch@uaf.edu or visit www.geocities.com/festivalofnativearts/.

Cory Williams and Heather Wilson, both doctoral students at UAF, have been chosen to split the UA Foundation 's 2004 Angus Gavin Memorial Migratory Bird Research Grant. Each will receive $10, 437 for their research.

The UAF men's basketball team takes on Humboldt State Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. and Western Oregon Feb. 14 at 3 p.m. in the Patty Gym. For more information call 7205 or visit www.gonanooks.com.

The Nanooks hockey team faces off against Michigan State Feb. 13-14 at 7 p.m. in the Carlson Center. For more information call 7205 or visit www.gonanooks.com.

The UAF rifle team hosts the U.S. Air Force Academy Feb. 14-15 at 8 a.m. in the Patty Rifle Range. For more information call 7205 or visit www.gonanooks.com.

The UAF women's basketball team takes on Seattle University Feb. 19 and Western Washington Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Patty Gym. For more information call 7205 or visit www.gonanooks.com.

Feb. 13, 2004: All application materials and fees for May 2004 graduation are due. Applications can be found at www.uaf.edu/reg/forms/graduation.pdf. For more information call 7523.

Feb. 13, 2004: Nominations for the Marion Boswell, Joel Wiegert and Gray Tilly Memorial Awards are due. Students nominated must have or will receive their bachelor's degree during the 2003-2004 academic year. For more information call 7037.

Feb. 13, 2004: All application materials for privately funded scholarships are due. Forms are available from financial aid, the development office or online at www.uaf.edu/giving/scholarships/ and can be submitted through the website. For more information contact Kim Davis at 6726.

Feb. 14, 2004: All application materials for UA Foundation statewide scholarships are due . For more information call 7687 or visit www.alaska.edu/uafound/.

Feb. 18, 2004: Nominations for UAF's 2004 student commencement speaker are due. For more information or to submit a nomination contact Patti Picha at fnplp@uaf.edu.

Feb. 20, 2004: All entries for the 2004 chancellor's holiday card contest must be postmarked or submitted to Chris Bennett in 317 Signer's Hall. For more information call 7112.

Feb. 23, 2004: Nominations for the Usibelli Distinguished Teaching, Research and Service awards are due. For more information call 5178 or visit www.uaf.edu/provost/.

March 1, 2004: Applications for the Center for Alaska Native Health Research pilot research awards are due. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/canhr/.

Shared governance can be difficult to define, depending on the perspective people bring to the process. Much like a family working toward consensus, complete with internal squabbles, university governance can sometimes appear disruptive. Represented by the Faculty Senate, Staff Council, the associated students and the Governance Coordinating Committee, UAF has delineated a process for decision-making that has its roots in the foundation of the world's first universities. It is a process very different from the corporate world.

Administration begins with the chancellor, who is charged with aligning resources to execute institutional policies and accomplish strategic goals. Administration is then, through the provost, entrusted to deans and directors of schools, colleges and institutes. The university's teaching staff, through the faculty senate, determine how to best implement academic policies and exercise leadership in the wise use of resources to maintain a credible reputation. Staff are key to the mechanics of all operations so students can receive the best educational experience for the money.

As a payroll clerk, I've seen staff carry quite a bit of responsibility with little authority. As an instructor, I've seen how a faculty member's role can sometimes be questioned by administrators who feel they should have the authority but none of the responsibility for making good programs. Administrators who have the best interest of the university's mission at heart, sometimes have difficulty communicating that to others. I've also witnessed people exhibit incredible dedication to the success of students as they grapple with registration, class assignments, application deadlines and new information technology.

At various times, the university suffers from bureaucratic inertia, but it also changes with the economic and political landscape. Just as families argue over how things will take place, internal wrangling occurs over how to allocate resources and who should have the most say. But each member has, for the most part, the best interests of the university in mind. As the dynamics of the membership shifts with maturity, age, ability and responds to new conditions and influences, the entire university family shares the responsibility for making UAF a thriving enterprise. The mechanism is shared governance.