UA Regents Brian Rogers and Mike Burns have been named by Gov. Murkowski to the seven-member panel asked to convene the Conference of Alaskans to discuss the future of the Alaska Permanent Fund. The panel will next choose 55 delegates to participate in the Feb. 10-12 conference at UAF where 55 delegates met in 1955 to craft Alaska's Constitution.

The UAF chancellor search committee has begun its task. Hans Nielsen, GI, is the committee chair. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/chancellor/search/.

The SFOS dean search committee selected three finalists: Michael Castellini, IMS, Phil Mundy, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council and Denis Wiesenburg, University of Southern Mississippi.

Gary Smith has been named director of the Northwest Campus in Nome . Smith is formerly dean of Colorado Mountain College's Timberline Campus. He previously worked in Alaska as director for the Rural Alaska Native Adult Program and as an associate professor for Alaska Pacific University. Smith officially begins his duties in Nome Jan. 26.

SFOS researchers Bodil Bluhm, Rolf Gradinger, Russ Hopcroft, Gerald Plumley and Terry Whitledge, along with graduate students Casey Debenham and Sang Lee, were featured in the January issue of National Geographic magazine. The group was recognized for their work as part of a 2002 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expedition of the Arctic Ocean's Canadian Basin.

The Chechahcos, a 1924 silent movie produced by Fairbanks pioneer Cap Lathrop, has been named to the National Film Registry. The movie is the first feature film shot entirely in Alaska.

The UA Museum of the North recently received a $100,000 donation from State Farm Insurance to support the development of new programs for school children and families.

The UA Press recently published Han: People of the River by Craig Mishler and William E. Simeone about the history and ethnography of Athabascans living in the upper Yukon River Basin. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/uapress/.

RAHI is accepting applications from high school juniors and seniors for its 2004 program. The deadline for applications is March 31 and the program runs from May 22-July 3.

You can receive news releases via e-mail and keep up to date on what's happening on campus. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/news/.

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.

Technology Advisory Board competition proposals are now being accepted and must be submitted on spring 2004 forms. For more information and deadlines visit www.uaf.edu/tab/.

The Blackboard support staff is taking course site requests for the spring semester. For more information contact Larisa Brunsdon at fnldb@uaf.edu or visit http://classes.uaf.edu.

The Pub will be open at 11 a.m. every Friday during the spring semester. Bring your lunch and enjoy the atmosphere for a break from classes. You must be 21 to enter the Pub.

The UAF Police Department has issued a campus moose alert. To protect the campus community and the moose, campus police officers attempt to move moose to safer browsing areas off campus with the use of sirens and lights on emergency vehicles. If you see a moose on campus, call 7721 to report its location.

The Geophysical Institute's Science for Alaska lectures are being held Tuesdays through February. The series includes: "The Lives of Alaska's Bears: New Research Techniques" on Jan. 27, "Alaska's Wolves: New Insights into their Behavior" on Feb. 3 and "Viewing the Night Sky: Astronomy in Alaska" on Feb. 10. All lectures begin at 7 p.m. in the Chena River Convention Center. For more information visit www.scienceforalaska.com.

The Visiting Writers Series presents a reading by Gerri Brightwell Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at the UA Museum of the North. For more information call 7193.

ARSC is hosting seminars for faculty, staff and students about current projects in the Discovery Lab, Rasmuson 375, at 1 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month. The first seminar will be held Feb. 3. For more information contact info@arsc.edu.

The Visitor Industry Job Fair takes place Feb. 4-5 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. in Wood Center. For more information call 7596 or visit www.uaf.edu/career/.

The Pub is hosting wine tastings throughout the semester, including "Reds from Around the World" Feb. 12, "New World Wines vs. Old World Wines" March 11 and "Wines You Never Get to Taste" April 15 at 6 p.m. For more information contact 7805 or fnjnb@uaf.edu.

The Blind Boys of Alabama, a Grammy Award-winning gospel group, will be performing March 10 at the Davis Concert Hall. Tickets are on sale at Wood Center and Hoitt's with a cost of $25 for students and $35 for adults. For more information call 6026.

A. David McGuire, IAB, recently received the 2002 American Geophysical Union Editor's Citation for Excellence in Refereeing for his reviewing expertise on behalf of the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles.

Fernanda São Sabbas, a 2003 physics Ph.D. recipient, recently took first place at the National Radio Science 2004 Student Prize Paper competition.

Fairbanks accountant Michael Cook has been chosen as the 28th annual Business Leader of the Year by UAF's Associated Students of Business. Cook will be honored at a banquet March 11 at the Princess Riverside Lodge. For more information or to purchase tickets call 6491.

The UAF women's basketball team takes on UAA Jan. 31 at 7 p.m., Northwest Nazarene Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. and St. Martin's Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. in the Patty Gym. For more information visit www.gonanooks.com.

The Nanook hockey team faces off against Michigan Feb. 6-7 at 7 p.m. in the Carlson Center. For more information visit www.gonanooks.com.

The UAF men's basketball team meets UAA Feb. 7 at 4 p.m. in the Patty Gym. For more information visit www.gonanooks.com.

Feb. 13, 2004: All application materials and fees for May 2004 graduation must be submitted by Feb. 13. 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 the Gray Tilly Memorial Awards are due Feb. 13. 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. Feb. 13. 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.

March 1, 2004: Applications for the Global Change Student Research Grant are due March 1. Applications can be found at IARC 306, Gruening 404 or online at www.cgc.uaf.edu. For more information contact 5818 or cgc@iarc.uaf.edu.

April 1, 2004: Abstracts for oral or poster presentations for the 22nd Wakefield Fisheries Symposium Sea Lions of the World: Conservation and Research in the 21st Century are due April 1. For more information call 6701 or visit www.uaf.edu/seagrant/conferences/.

The second session of the 23rd Alaska Legislature convened last week marking the official beginning of debate on the FY 05 state budget, including funding for the UA system. In keeping with his campaign promise, Gov. Frank Murkowski has included a request for a 5 percent increase in funding to UA in his proposed budget. The increase, however, was included in the UA capital, or construction budget, not in the operating budget request. Consequently, this would be a one-time, non-base increment that should be available for operating budget items such as keeping the lights and heat on, salaries and benefits, plowing the roads and generally paying the university's bills.

That's the good news. The bad news is that, simply put, there is not enough money in the FY 05 budget to cover fixed cost increases at the university. For example, the funding request now before the Legislature does not include sufficient funds to pay for contractually obligated salaries or increased contributions in the Public Employees Retirement System and the Teacher Retirement System. Participation in these statutorily mandated retirement programs alone will add $8.8 million to UA's costs. UAF's portion of that equates to nearly $4.8 million. While supplemental requests to the Legislature are being made by all parties affected by the extraordinary PERS/TERS rate increase, including municipalities and schools districts, relief is not assured.

Just before the holiday break, Chancellor Lind convened a campus-wide budget forum in which he outlined the major hurdles we face; documents presented at the forum are located at www.uaf.edu/chancellor/budget/. As noted by Chancellor Lind at that time, the budget debates in the Legislature, in our colleges, schools and institutes, and across the state will likely focus on accountability. UAF has many successes to point to as evidence of wise investments that UA has made with limited state dollars. Although challenging, this is an excellent opportunity for UAF to play to our strengths, define who we are as an institution and align our goals and strategic planning efforts with those of the UA system and the needs of the state.