The UAF rifle team won its sixth consecutive NCAA championship in Murray, Ky. on March 13–14. Sigrid Aas, a senior on the UAF ski team, won the gold medal in both the 5K and 15K individual women’s races at the NCAA cross-country ski championships at Donnor Summit, Calif. March 11–13. The UAF men’s basketball team completed its most successful season ever by winning two games in the NCAA Division II national championship tournament in California. These and other performances by UAF’s outstanding student athletes makes 2003-2004 a year to remember.

UAF graduate Rick Heckert, a former Naval officer on the USS Cole, will deliver the keynote address at UAF’s 82nd commencement ceremony May 9 in the Carlson Center. Honorary degrees will be awarded to former Alaska Lt. Gov. Jack Coghill, Alaska Native leader Al Ketzler and widely respected glaciologist Austin Post.

KUAC/FM and Alaska One public television were awarded a grant of $703,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund digital translators and aid in the conversion to digital broadcasting. Visit www.uaf.edu/news/ for more information.

United Academics, the union representing more than 75 percent of the university’s full-time faculty, has agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement. The agreement is subject to ratification by the union’s members and the UA Board of Regents.

Members of the UA Board of Regents will attend the National Conference on Trusteeship sponsored by the Association of Governing Boards in New Orleans March 27–30. The regents hold committee meetings and a regular meeting of the full board April 14–15 in Sitka.

The UAF Summer Sessions 2004 catalog is now online. Registration for summer 2004 begins March 22, and students can choose from more than 300 courses in a wide variety of subjects. Browse the online catalog at www.uaf.edu/summer/.

UAF is featured as one of four flagship universities committed to educating low-income students by the Mortenson Research Seminar on Public Policy Analysis of Opportunity for Postsecondary Education. The recognition is based on the number of undergraduates in state universities who are recipients of federal Pell grants.

UAF and Kamchatka State University of Education are offering a summer field school for undergraduate or graduate students in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes in Katmai National Park, and on Gorely and Mutnovsky volcanoes on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. See www.uaf.edu/geology/ for application and registration information.

Susan Herman, SOM, has been elected to the executive board of the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society, a national organization of management educators.

Beginning and experienced skiers are invited to join UAF Outdoor Adventures every Thursday at noon for instructional ski tours of the UAF trails. The tours are free if you bring your own skis or $5 if you need rentals. Meet at Wood Center at noon until the snow melts. Call 6027 for more information.

The North Campus Subcommittee of the UAF Master Planning Committee will present its North Campus Management Plan at a series of public meetings. Presentations are scheduled Tuesday, March 30 from 4:30–6:30 p.m. in the assembly chambers of the Fairbanks North Star Borough office building in downtown Fairbanks, Wednesday, March 31 from noon–2 p.m. in Wood Center Conference Rooms C and D, and Thursday, April 1 from 4:30–6 p.m. in the Elvey Building’s Globe Room. E-mail r.boone@uaf.edu or call 7682 for more information.

The Fairbanks campus will be closed March 19 for spring break holiday.

Theatre UAF and Fairbanks Light Opera Theatre present Singin’ in the Rain in the Salisbury Theatre March 19–21, 26–28 and April 2–4. The joint production features a rainstorm, more than 400 costumes and familiar songs. For tickets contact the Theatre UAF box office at 7751.

Students and faculty who fish commercially for salmon are required to attend a free workshop March 23 or 24 if they have applied for benefits from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Trade Adjustment Assistance Program. For information and schedules see www.taaworkshops.org, or call toll free at 1-888-788-6333.

The UA Museum of the North’s lecture series features Professor Emeritus Dale Guthrie’s presentation on Alaska during the late Pleistocene era. The event takes place Thursday, March 25 at 7 p.m. and admission is free. Call 7505 for more information.

The UA Museum of the North’s Saturday family program March 27 is entitled, Gear up for Gardening, and takes place from 10 a.m. to noon. Children aged 7–12 can learn about garden design and plant care from cooperative extension experts, when accompanied by an adult. For more information or to reserve a spot call 6948.

Japan Day in Fairbanks is coming up March 27 and takes place in Wood Center and at other campus venues. Events include a poster contest, speech and skit contests, karaoke, Japanese drumming, a taiko workshop and contest, and a piano concert. For more information, contact Yoko Collier-Sanuki at 5463.

Eileen Boris, the keynote speaker for Women’s History Month, will present a talk entitled You Are What You Shop: Women and Sweatshops–Past, Present and Future, Wednesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. in Schaible Auditorium. For more information call 6360.

Nationally known flutist Mary Youngblood will perform in Schaible Auditorium Friday, April 2 at 7 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information call 6360.

UAF’s Outdoor Adventures office is offering a wilderness first aid 20-hour introductory course in April and an in-depth 80-hour wilderness medicine course in May for those wanting to learn how to handle medical emergencies in remote settings. E-mail fywild@uaf.edu or call 6027 for more information.

The fourth annual Nanook honors celebration is scheduled April 23 at 4:30 p.m. in Wood Center. All co-curricular awards will be recognized, including student employees, leaders, the student commencement speaker, graduating athletes and graduating resident assistants. For information e-mail leadership@uaf.edu or call 1170.

Carol Gold, CLA, will be awarded the 2004 Ruth Lister Feminist of the Year award at the Fabulous Feminist Fundraiser event at the Chena River Convention Center Saturday, March 27 at 6 p.m. Gold was the founder of the UAF Women’s Center and has been a key supporter of the center over the years.

Men’s basketball coach Al Sokaitis and standout guard Brad Oleson were named Coach and Player of the Year, respectively, in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Sokaitis won the award for the second year in a row after leading the Nanooks to a 21-6 record and second place finish in the GNAC. Oleson led the league in scoring at 22.2 points per game, and averaged 29 points in three NCAA tournament games. Meanwhile, sophomore standout Adrienne Taalak led the GNAC in scoring for the Lady Nanooks and was named to the All-League team.

The UAF athletic department announced in early March the addition of women’s swimming as a varsity sport for the 2005-2006 season. A search is underway for a coach to be on board in fall 2004.

March 31, 2004: Exceptional student employee award nominations are due March 31. For more information or to submit a nomination contact Patti Picha at fnplp@uaf.edu.

March 31, 2004: Statistics show only about 35 out of 1,000 nominees for the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship are selected each year, but winners receive financial support for most educational expenses for up to six years. Applications for two senior undergraduates are due March 31.

April 2, 2004: The deadline for graduation with leadership honors is April 2. Student leaders are encouraged to apply. More information is available at Wood Center or e-mail leadership@uaf.edu.

April 15, 2004: The University Women’s Association is offering scholarships for fall 2004. Applications are due April 15. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/uwa/scholarship.html.

April 15, 2004: The George and MineŽ Mikami Scholarship recognizes one male and one female student in any field of study who plans to work in Alaska after graduation. Nominations for the $10,000 award will be accepted until April 15.

This past week I have been reviewing scholarship applications of UAF students. Reviewing these applications was a great reminder of the amazing group of students we have at UAF who are actively involved and making significant contributions to campus life. I thought I would share a few of their stories.

Murphy Chu is a junior studying environmental education and is an exchange student from the University of New Hampshire. Chu has been totally blind since the age of 20. He is very adventurous and in addition to meeting all the academic challenges in studying soils and forest ecology at UAF without the aid of vision, he has spent a considerable amount of time volunteering in the Fairbanks community with Access Alaska.

Kentrell Fruge, a broadcast communications major, moved to Alaska in 2001 from Louisiana. He is an energetic first-year student living in Moore Hall and is involved in the EDGE Residential Leadership Council, the Residence Hall Association and ASUAF and is working now with the Moore RLC to plan the March Madness event for EDGE. Kentrell is actively involved on campus attending a variety of events from hockey games to residence hall programs.

John Rosario Ortiz, a senior in psychology from North Carolina, plans to attend graduate school in the field of clinical psychology with hopes of pursuing a Ph.D. in forensic psychology. John says he came to UAF to get away from the southern heat. John, who enjoys his job as a resident assistant in Bartlett Hall, has found his RA experience to be extremely helpful in developing supervisory and management skills.

Shawna Slater is a sophomore from North Pole who says she is probably going to major in art. She is a recipient of the George and MineŽ Mikami Scholarship. She is involved in a number of activities with her church including handing out food to the homeless. Shawna said the highlight of her year is her sign language class which gives her an opportunity to participate in cultural awareness week for individuals with disabilities.