The Office of Electronic Miniaturization completed and tested its first two batches of microelectronic devices in December. The batches had to pass a set of electrical tests with an 80 percent yield to be qualification lots; they exceeded 90 percent.

The year 2007--2008 has been declared an International Polar Year, during which scientists from around the world will conduct research to better understand Earth's polar regions. For more information visit http://dels.nas.edu/us-ipy/.

Flint Hills Resources donated $95,000 to UAF to establish a Flint Hills Resources endowed scholarship, support undergraduate and graduate research programs, upgrade training equipment for TVC's emergency services program and establish a tuition grant fund for part-time students.

CNSM's Advanced Instrumentation Laboratory is now managing a Pacific Nanotechnology Nano-R atomic force microscope, purchased with funds from EPSCoR. For more information about using the Nano-R contact Ken Severin at 5821 or fnkps@uaf.edu.

Alaska Sea Grant video clips, photos and a phone interview with a 1964 Valdez tsunami eyewitness were aired by CNN in a special about the tsunami in Asia.

SFOS exceeded its goal of raising $7,000 for United Way. The United Way Campaign is coming to a close, you can make a donation through February. For more information contact Chris Bennett at 2850.

Long-time Fairbanks attorney Roger Brunner has been appointed UA's general counsel. Brunner is replacing Jamo Parrish who recently announced his retirement.

John Kelley, IMS, was elected director of the scientific research society Sigma Xi Northwest Geographic Region. Kelley will serve a three-year term and will also serve on the Sigma Xi Board of Directors.

Mary Matthews, director of Student Support Services, retired Dec. 17. Elena Schlotfeldt is serving as acting director for SSS.

Kurt Byers, Alaska Sea Grant, is the chair-elect for the nationwide Sea Grant Communication Network Steering Committee. Byers will serve as chair in 2006.

Luke Hopkins has been appointed as the north campus manager. Hopkins is the initial contact point for all research, education and recreation activities that take place on the Fairbanks north campus. For more information e-mail lhopkins@fs.uaf.edu.

Ken Barrick, SNRAS, was recently chosen by Mayor Whitaker to serve on the borough's Wildland Fire Commission.

Summer Sessions and KUAC are hosting Bob Edwards, former anchor of NPR's Morning Edition, for a public lecture the week of June 13. Edwards will also be available for classroom visits. For more information contact Summer Sessions at 7021.

KUAC-TV 9 Alaska One is looking for volunteers to help with the 2005 TV pledge drive March 5--20. For more information contact Ann Dowdy at 1890 or fnajd@uaf.edu.

Late registration and fee payment end on Jan. 28. The last day to drop a class for a full refund is Jan. 28. The last day for student- and faculty-initiated withdrawals where the course does not appear on transcripts is Feb. 4. For more information check out the academic calendar at www.uaf.edu/catalog/.

The Academic Advising Center is hosting a series of Invest in Yourself workshops including Time Management Jan. 25 and Note Taking Feb. 1. Both workshops will be held in Gruening 409--410 from 1--2 p.m. For more information call 6396.

The 2005 Science for Alaska Lecture series presents "The Search for Water and Life on Mars" Jan. 25 and "Alaska's Caves: Unlocking the Secrets to Our Past" Feb. 1. All presentations begin with demonstrations at 6:40 p.m. and lectures at 7 p.m. in the Westmark Gold Room. For more information contact Amy Hartley at 5823.

The UAF Faculty Senate Unit Criteria Committee is holding a public meeting Jan. 26 at 9 a.m. in Brooks 108. For more information contact Gary Holton at 6585 or Sheri Layral at 7964.

The UAF Student Job Fair takes place Jan. 26--27 from 11 a.m.--2 p.m. in the Wood Center multilevel lounge. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/career/events1.html.

A general student club meeting to learn about new club policies, important dates and events will be held Jan. 26 at 9 p.m., Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. and Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. in Wood Center Conference Room E/F. For more information call 1170.

The Fairbanks Symphony Association presents a recital by pianist Fabio Bidini Jan. 27 and the Arctic Chamber Orchestra in concert Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall. For more information visit www.fairbankssymphony.org.

The Student Drama Association presents a staged reading of Come and Go Mad Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Salisbury Lab Theatre. For more information call 7751.

The Early Bird Visitor Industry Recruitment 2005 takes place Feb. 2--3 in Wood Center from 10 a.m.--3 p.m. For more information contact Alice at 7596 or visit www.uaf.edu/career/events1.html.

The Student Leadership Coffee Chat takes place Feb. 3 from 1--3 p.m. at the Alaska Coffee Roasting Co. Space is limited. For more information or to register call 1170.

The Leadership Program and Outdoor Adventures present Leadership in Action: Cabin, Soak and Leadership Feb. 5. Enjoy snowshoeing and a soak in Chena Hot Springs while practicing leadership skills. The trip costs $35 for students and $50 for faculty, staff and alumni. For more information or to register call 1170.

Managing Fisheries--Empowering Communities, a conference to help understand the impacts fishery management regulations can have on coastal communities, takes place April 21--23 in Anchorage. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/MAP/workshops/.

Doyon Limited donated $42,000 in December to begin funding a distinguished visiting faculty chair in the Department of Alaska Native and Rural Development.

The Interior-Aleutians Campus won a five-year, $2.5 million grant for the bridge to Troth Yeddha' project from the U.S. Department of Education, bringing the project's total grant awards to $3 million.

The Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce recently presented the 2004 Golden Heart Awards. Eduard Zilberkant received the award for the UAF employee and Cary Keller was the Fairbanks recipient.

J. Leroy Hulsey, CEM, was listed in the Who's Who Among America's Teachers. Hulsey was nominated by students in the civil engineering program.

Scott Lemley has been named the Nanook women's swimming coach. The swimming program will begin competition in fall 2005. Lemley began his duties Jan. 4.

The Nanook hockey team faces off with Ferris State Jan. 21--22 and Lake Superior State Jan. 28--29 at 7 p.m. at the Carlson Center. For more information visit www.gonanooks.com.

UAF skiers take on UAA at the Alaska Nordic Cup Feb. 5. at the West Ridge and Birch Hill trails.

Jan. 28, 2005: Department's fall 2005 schedule proofs are due to the Registrar's Office by 5 p.m.

Feb. 7, 2005: Deadline to submit nominations for emeriti. For more information contact Hild Peters at 5178 or fnhmp@uaf.edu or visit www.uaf.edu/provost/Emeritus/.

Feb. 15, 2005: Nominations for the Marion Boswell Award, the Joel Wiegert Award and the Gray Tilly Memorial Award are due. Nomination forms are available at the Wood Center front desk. For more information contact Sarah Comstock at 7037.

Feb. 15, 2005: Nominations for ARSC postdoctoral fellowships are due. For more information visit www.arsc.edu/misc/jobs/fellowsprogram.html.

Feb. 17, 2005: Nominations for the Usibelli Distinguished Teaching, Research and Service awards are due. For more information call Hild Peters at 5178 or visit www.uaf.edu/provost/usibelli/.

Sometimes the obvious appears slowly from the fog of first impressions and information overload. Perhaps the obvious should have struck me when the moving company told us last summer that Fairbanks is considered an international move. The obvious is that UAF in a truly unique university. Our "international" location certainly contributes to our unique identity. Beyond that, we are unique owing to an unusual identity paradox.

On the one hand, we are the most comprehensive single university on the planet! No other university has this breadth of dimensions: degrees from GED to Ph.D.; our Fairbanks research intensive campus on the hill; our urban-focused Tanana Valley Campus; the College of Rural Alaska, with five rural campuses and multiple learning centers; the Cooperative Extension Service; and numerous research installations across the state (and on the ocean).

Now comes the paradox. Even as we are this unique, fully comprehensive university, we are perhaps the most focused university on the planet. Think about it--no other university is more connected to PLACE than UAF. Consider the areas where we excel: northern indigenous peoples; high-latitude fisheries and ocean sciences; arctic biology; seismology and volcanology; the Arctic as an indicator of global climate change; boreal forests; cold climate engineering; mineral and petroleum engineering; and the list goes on.

Like most Alaskans, our university is PLACE-committed. Our location and the Alaska SPIRIT that derives from it, give us incredible strength and huge competitive advantages. We must take advantage of those strengths to attract and retain world-class faculty; recruit the best and brightest students from the state, the U.S. and internationally to our Fairbanks campus on the hill; secure accelerated grants and contracts focusing on the North--and spurring economic development across the state; and to sustain the momentum toward international recognition for our university.

Capitalizing on our strength of PLACE and the Alaska SPIRIT will enable us to sustain our move from GOOD to GREAT.

Opportunities abound for our university in the Golden Heart of Alaska. I look forward to an exciting and promising 2005 for UAF.