Jenifer Huang McBeath, SNRAS, was recently awarded a U.S. State Department Embassy Science Fellowship. McBeath is the first scientist not affiliated with the U.S. government to receive this award. She will be based at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing through May 31 and will work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to improve conditions for exporting U.S. agricultural products to China.

Statewide Human Resources is seeking feedback on job family A specifications, the administrative family. To view the specifications visit www.alaska.edu/hr/classification/. For more information or to provide comments contact syhrcd@alaska.edu.

The UAF rifle team is shooting for its sixth consecutive NCAA championship March 12–13 at Murray State University in Kentucky.

Renee Manfredi, CLA, had her first novel, Above the Thunder, published by MacAdam Cage Publishing. The novel was reviewed in the January 2004 issue of Publishers Weekly.

The Science for Alaska lecture series has been a big hit with Fairbanks residents. Attendance this year has risen nearly 30 percent from 2003.

Student- or faculty- initiated withdrawals must be submitted by March 12.

The Division of Computing and Communications is evaluating new webmail software titles and asks users to help test them and provide feedback. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/dcc/survey/.

UAF men’s basketball coach Al Sokaitis is featured in this month’s edition of Gigant, a magazine of the Federation of International Basketball Associations distributed to about 200 countries. Sokaitis’ expertise in hosting successful basketball clinics in Japan, Italy and the Middle East was recognized by the magazine for its excellence.

The five-kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell being tested by the UAF Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory has reached the 5,000-hour milestone, proving its reliability and longevity. This test shows promise for the use of fuel cells in rural areas.

The UAF Staff Council Advocacy Committee and the city of North Pole are hosting the second annual UAF Day at North Pole on April 24. A mini-campus will be set up to showcase UAF. For more information or to sign up to participate contact Scott McCrea at 2857 or fnsjm@uaf.edu.

The Office of Admissions recently hired Hope Platt and Crystal McAlpin as admissions counselors. Platt will work with new student scholarships and UA Scholars, while McAlpin will focus on outreach to high schools, military and prospective minority students.

Libby Jackson, CES, has been appointed assistant professor of 4-H and youth development at Eielson Air Force Base.

Environmental Health and Safety and Risk Management reminds employees that its driver training course is available online and is required for those driving vehicles for university business. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/safety/.

Terry Reeve is a new SFOS marine advisory agent and assistant professor for the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta region. Reeve will be based in Bethel and begins his duties March 15.

The Office of Faculty Development has awarded 15 travel grants of $750 to the following individuals: Sine Anahita, Seta Bogosyan, Walkie Charles, Cheng-fu Chen, Dixie Dayo, Charles Fedullo, Eric Madsen, Tamara Mix, Wes Pullman, Janet Schichnes, Judy Shepherd, Paras Trivedi, Lisa Wallace, Dan Walsh and Jane Weber.

Jeffrey Smeenk, CES, has been appointed assistant professor of horticulture and an extension horticulture specialist. Smeenk works at the UAF Palmer Research and Extension Center.

University Relations is searching for outstanding students from the class of 2004 to profile for graduation. If you want to nominate a deserving graduate, send his or her name, outstanding achievements or academic involvement and contact information to carla.browning@uaf.edu.

The spring break holiday is March 15 –19. Campus will be closed on March 19.

The UAF Women’s Center is celebrating Women’s History Month during March. For more information or to volunteer contact 6360 or fywoc@uaf.edu.

The 2004 Alaska Unconventional Gas Workshop, hosted with assistance from UAF’s Petroleum Development Laboratory and SME, is being held March 9–11 in Anchorage. For more information call 7734 or 2668.

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 at $25 for students and $35 for adults in advance, or for an extra $5 at the door. For more information call 6026.

The Landscape Master Planning committee is hosting an open forum March 11 from 4–6 p.m. in Wood Center.

Outdoor Adventures is hosting an instructional ski tour of the UAF trails every Thursday until the snow melts. Meet tour leaders in Wood Center at noon. You can rent skis, boots and poles for $5 or participate free with your own equipment. For more information call 6027.

The UA Museum of the North’s junior curators camp, Pottery Workshop, is March 15–17 from 9 a.m.–noon. Middle and high school students will learn about Alaska Native designs. Admission is $60 per student and reservations are required. For more information call 6948.

Career Services is sponsoring the Career Expo March 24–25 in Wood Center. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/career/.

The third annual Leaders for Alaska Institute, March 26–27, includes a presentation on citizen leadership Friday night and a student workshop all day Saturday. For more information or to sign up call 1170 or e-mail leadership@uaf.edu.

Japan Day in Fairbanks, hosted by the Department of Foreign Languages, takes place March 27 from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. in Wood Center with a piano concert at 6:30 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall. Exhibits, a speech contest and a Japanese drumming concert and workshop will be held. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/language/.

The UA/UAF Women in Higher Education conference, Advancing in Academe– Is the Sky Really the Limit?, will take place April 8–10 in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom. The conference is open to all faculty, staff and students. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/provost/womensconference.html.

Dale Clark, Kate Hedstrom and Greg Newby, ARSC, won the Literacy Council of Alaska’s 12th annual BizBee, its fund-raising spelling contest, on Feb. 12. The ARSC team also won in 1996 and 2001, tying them with a team from the Noel Wien Library for the most wins.

Wendy Croskrey and Michael Nakoneczny, CLA, along with Alvin Amason and Jean Flanagan Carlo of the Native Arts Center, were awarded the 2003–2004 Arthur J. Schaible Memorial Cultural Enrichment Fund to bring visiting artists Daniel and Katya Ogan to Fairbanks.

Brandon Browne, a volcanology graduate student, received a American Geophysical Union Outstanding Student Paper award for the work he presented at the 2003 AGU fall meeting.

March 10, 2004: UAF faculty can rent commencement robes, but must have their request submitted by March 10. After March 10, robes must be purchased. For more information call 7348.

March 12, 2004: The English department is holding several writing contests for UAF students in which cash prizes will be awarded. Submissions are due March 12. For more information contact 7197 or faengl@uaf.edu.

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.

April 1, 2004: Applications for the American Fisheries Society-Sea Grant Fellowship are due April 1. For more information visit www.fisheries.org/html/jobs/job2146.htm.

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.

The development office is the private fund-raising arm of UAF. Our mission is to create partnerships and obtain gifts from the private sector to help sustain UAF now and into the future.

Every year we ask alumni, community leaders and businesses to show their support through private donations. Every year, they respond. In FY03 that response totaled more than $6.6 million, most of which was restricted to specific scholarships or programs.

A state-assisted educational institution will inevitably face budget challenges. Do you hear complaints from students because their lab is ill equipped? Do you wish you could help fulfill a student’s dreams with much-needed scholarship assistance? Perhaps you’re frustrated by the lack of professional development opportunities for you or your peers? You can make a difference! You now have an opportunity to help shape the future of the place where you spend many of your waking hours.

Join your colleagues in the employee giving campaign to show your “Power and Pride from Within.” Many of your co-workers have been giving to UAF for years. When those who are most familiar with the university give, it encourages others, including alumni, friends and even legislators, to support us as well. No gift is too large or too small. Even if you can only afford the cost of a latté or lunch out this month, any level of participation will illustrate our collective commitment to this school. The percentage of support from faculty, staff and student employees is a direct reflection of the bond between UAF and those who work and go to school here.

You should have already received information from the steering committee, which is made up of employees who believe in this university, on how you can help or you can visit www.uaf.edu/giving/pride/. Please consider joining them to show our Power and Pride from Within!