John Walsh was recently appointed director of the Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research and the Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research. He will continue his duties as president's professor of climate change and chief scientist at IARC. Walsh began his duties Sept. 1, taking over from Gunter Weller who retired in August.

M. Wayne Marr is the new dean of the School of Management and began his duties Sept. 1. Marr comes to UAF from Computer Sciences Corporation in Texas where he specialized in performance measurement, transitions and strategic modeling. Marr earned a master's in economics and a Ph.D. in finance and statistics from Texas Tech University.

Eric Madsen, UAF alumnus, is the new dean for the School of Education. Madsen graduated from UAF with a master's in cross-cultural education and earned his Ph.D. in education from the University of Oregon. He began his duties in July.

Chancellor Jones invites you to visit his website and take a look at Musings, where he shares some of his thoughts and ideas, at www.uaf.edu/chancellor/musings/.

The Aurora Color Television Project is celebrating 20 years of photography and study of the aurora. The program uses a suitcase-size camera developed 20 years ago, with help from GI employees, that continues to outperform more modern technology with its extreme low-light sensitivity. While most cameras use film with sensitivity from ASA 25 to 1000, the ACTP camera has a sensitivity equivalent to ASA 2 million.

Several new privately funded scholarships have been established at UAF over the summer, bringing the total to 280, including 237 endowed scholarships. Two new scholarships include the Jack Distad Memorial Scholarship for mathematical science students with a GPA of 3.14, or Pi, and the Quinton Costello Memorial Scholarship established by family and friends of Costello, a UAF graduate and employee, who died while conducting research in April. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/giving/.

The Northwest Campus in Nome graduated a class of 18 students in June who completed training to become certified nurse assistants. The certification gives the students a marketable job skill and is required by for admission to most nursing schools.

The UA Press recently published The Whales, They Give Themselves, an oral biography of Harry Brower, Sr., an Inupiaq whaling captain who helped protect native subsistence whaling and served as a consultant to scientists at the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/uapress/.

The last day for faculty- and student-initiated drops where the course does not appear on the student's transcript is Sept. 17.

The UA Foundation is accepting applications for the 2005 Angus Gavin Memorial Bird Research Grant. The grant is open to UA faculty, research associates and graduate students studying bird species found in Alaska or its coastal waters. Grants up to $15,000 will be awarded. Proposals are due Nov. 1. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/uafound/.

The UAF weekly science calendar has resumed for the 2004-2005 academic year. Submit information about science-related events on campus by noon the Wednesday before the event to cgc@iarc.uaf.edu. For more information call Barb Hameister at 5818 or visit www.cgc.uaf.edu.

UAF logo information is available online along with downloadable versions. Download the logo file specific to your computer platform and intended use at www.uaf.edu/univrel/guide/logo/. Find information on trademark issues and the AA/EO and accreditation statements. Links include information on web guidelines and an editorial style guide for UAF publications.

Show off your Nanook pride! Replace that worn out desktop image with a free UAF downloadable desktop available at
www.uaf.edu/univrel/desktops/.

The last day for a full refund of tuition and fees, to add classes and pay fees is Sept. 10. For more information check out the academic calendar at www.uaf.edu/catalog/.

Employee notice, protection for whistleblowers: Any employee may in good faith report to testify before a public agency concerning: a violation of federal, state or local law; a danger to public health or safety; gross mismanagement; a substantial waste of funds or clear abuse of authority; or a matter under investigation by the state. Employee protections and obligations regarding reports of these matters of public concern are fully stated in Alaska statutes 39.90.100 through 39.90.150, which are available for review at UAF University Relations, 201 Eielson Building.

UAF safety and crime statistics are available online at www.uaf.edu/police/crime.html.

Water Stealers, an interactive DVD, will be shown Sept. 3 at 8:15 p.m. in the Salisbury Theatre. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/theatre/.

The School of Management is hosting a welcome back barbecue Sept. 7 from 4-6 p.m. in front of the Bunnell Building. Come out, meet the new dean and enjoy free food.

Career Services is hosting a student job fair Sept. 8- 9 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in Wood Center. For more information call 7596 or visit www.uaf.edu/career/.

The University Women's Association is hosting a welcome tea at Patty Hamilton's home Sept. 12 from 2-4 p.m. Please R.S.V.P. by Sept. 10. For more information or to R.S.V.P. contact Nancy Klammer at 457-4647 or tklammer@gci.net.

The Law School and Health Sciences Consortium is being held Sept. 15 from
10 a.m.-4 p.m. in Wood Center. For more information call 7596 or visit www.uaf.edu/career/.

The Borealis Brass ensemble is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a concert Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall. This concert begins an Alaska tour marking the anniversary.

The Grant Institute is holding Grants 101: Professional Grant Proposal Writing Workshop at UAA Sept. 27-29. This course offers an intensive and detailed introduction to the process, structure and skills needed for professional proposal writing. For more information visit www.thegrantinstitute.com.

The 22nd Wakefield Fisheries Symposium, Sea Lions of the World: Conservation and Research in the 21st Century, takes place Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in Anchorage. For more information contact Sherri Pristash at 6701 or fyconf@uaf.edu or visit www.uaf.edu/seagrant/conferences/.

The Center for Global Change and Arctic Systems Research and IARC, along with the Alaska Sea Grant College Program and the Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research, have announced 14 awards to give though the 2004 Global Change Student Research Grant Competition. For more information and a list of the awards visit www.cgc.uaf.edu.

Matt Emmons, UAF alumnus and former rifle team member, took gold at the Olympics in Athens Aug. 20 in the men's prone rifle competition. For more information visit www.usashooting.com.

The UAF volleyball season has begun. Come out and cheer for the Nanooks at the Auto Service Company Nanook Classic Sept. 4 at 11 a.m. in the Patty Center. The team faces Western Oregon Sept. 10 and Humboldt State Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Patty Center. For more information visit www.gonanooks.com.

Oct. 1, 2004: Proposals for the Faculty Cross-Campus Collaboration Award are due to the CRA dean's office. The award, available to all regular UAF faculty, encourages collaboration between CRA campuses and the Fairbanks campus or other UAF units. For more information contact Richard Caulfield at 5573 or ffrac@uaf.edu.

After being here on campus since only late July, I'm not sure I have license yet to officially welcome anyone back to campus, but please accept my hope that your summer has been one of relaxation, purpose and renewal. Judy and I are certainly pleased to be here, and we are geared for the total immersion in UAF that begins with the return of our students. Please know that we are overwhelmed by the sense of privilege we feel in being selected to lead this university in its service to you, to our students, to Alaska and the world beyond. We're thrilled to be part of the UAF community, and we are eager to become more familiar with the university and its faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends and stakeholders, and with this wonderful state of Alaska.

We're fortunate to follow in the footsteps of Marshall and Lois Lind, who led this university with passion, vision and total commitment leaving the university on such solid ground. Chancellor Lind's impressive legacy serves as inspiration for where we go from here. Before hinting at where we go from here, allow me to suggest what we have:

• A committed and excellent faculty and staff team.
• A student-centered university.
• An engaged, land-, sea- and space-grant university serving businesses, industry, communities and families across a very large state.
• The world's premier northern region research university.
• The nation's most comprehensive single institution of higher education, integrating a community college network with a research-intensive university, offering education products ranging from certificates to bachelor's degrees to Ph.D.s.
• An engine of economic development for Alaska and beyond; preparing tomorrow's
  workers, citizens and leaders; generating new knowledge and technology; and developing scientific breakthroughs that will fuel economic growth and development.
• A center for advancing diverse cultures and promoting the arts.

Where do we go from here? A month on the job does not provide a sufficient platform from which to offer a precise destination, but I will suggest that the initial mileposts will include accelerated fund raising, expanded research and a revised strategic plan for enabling UAF to transition from good to GREAT!