Chancellor and Judy Jones invite UAF students, faculty and staff to a holiday gathering Dec. 8 from 4-6 p.m. in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom. Come out and enjoy refreshments and meet Rip the reindeer from AFES. A shuttle will run between Wood Center and West Ridge until 6:30 p.m.

Joe Trubacz, associate vice chancellor of finance and business operations, has accepted the position of chief financial officer for the UA system at statewide, effective Dec. 11.

The UAF rifle team will host the 2007 National Collegiate Athletic Association rifle championships March 8-10 at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range in the Patty Center. Athletic Director Forrest Karr and Coach Dan Jordon are working to upgrade the range with an electronic scoring system that has been used at past championships.

IARC has launched a website that allows scientists to monitor sea ice movement in the Beaufort Sea. The site provides a near real-time map of six transmitters deployed on the sea ice this summer. For more information visit www.iarc.uaf.edu/sitii/.

Michael Thorne, GI and ARSC, co-authored "Core-Mantel Boundary Heat Flux and Postperovskite Beneath the Pacific," which will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Science.

The United Way Chili Cookoff is in need of cooks to show off their chili cooking skills. Each cook will receive a chef hat and apron and prizes will be awarded. The registration deadline is Dec. 11. Contribution forms need to be turned in by Dec. 20 to allow time for processing to be able to use the tax deduction in 2006. For more information or to register contact Chris Bennett at 2850 or chris.bennett@uaf.edu.

Coral Howe has been named CES's small business development specialist. Howe, who previously worked at LARS, began her new duties Oct. 9.

Mary Ehrlander, CLA, was invited to give a presentation on the northern studies program in leadership and civic engagement at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute conference hosted by Harvard University.

Judy Atkinson, Kelly Houlton, Debra Moses and Jane Weber, UAF developmental education, attended the 32nd annual American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges conference. Weber is the Alaska affiliate president.

Roger Kaye, CLA, recently published The Last Great Wilderness: The Campaign to Establish the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge though the UA Press.

Read about how the museum's school tours led by volunteer docents are valuable to teachers and part of growing up in Fairbanks in the latest online feature story at www.uaf.edu/news/featured/06/docent/.

The Office of Research Integrity is seeking input about topics to offer and the format for its upcoming Responsible Conduct in Research workshop scheduled for May 14-18. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/ori/Training/Workshops.htm.

Summer Sessions is offering gift certificates for the 2007 summer semester. This holiday season, give someone the gift of an educational adventure. For more information call 7021.

Professor Emeritus Rudy Krejci was featured in two articles in the Czech Academy of Sciences publication Odkaz.

David Stech, CLA, transcribed and reconstructed organ improvisations by the late French organist Marcel Dupré that will be featured at a solo organ recital in San Francisco on Jan. 7 at the Cathedral of St. Mary the Assumption.

The last day of classes is Dec. 11. Final exams take place Dec. 13-16, and Dec. 12 is a study day. The residence halls close Dec. 17 at noon. Final grades are due to the Registrar's Office by noon Dec. 20. The halls reopen Jan. 14 and classes begin for the spring 2007 semester Tuesday, Jan. 16.

Most campus offices will be closed for the holidays Dec. 25-Jan. 2, and Jan. 15 in observance of Alaska Civil Rights Day. For information on office holiday hours visit www.uaf.edu/univrel/holiday.html

The University Chorus, directed by Jaunelle Celaire, CLA, presents a holiday concert Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall. Admission is $10 adults, and $5 students, senior and military. Children 12 and under are free. For more information call 7555.

The Alaska Chamber Chorale's 15th and final Carols of the Ages holiday concert takes place Dec. 10 at 4 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall; a reception follows. Tickets are $10 adults, $6 students, seniors and military, and are available at The Artworks, College Floral and at the door. All proceeds benefit local charities. For more information call 7555.

The UAF Staff Council is holding a public meeting Dec. 15 from 8:45-11 a.m. in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom. For more information call 7056.

CRCD is hosting a holiday open house Dec. 15 from 1-3 p.m. on the 4th floor of the Brooks Building.

The museum store holiday sale continues through Dec. 24. All handmade Alaska Native dolls and baskets will be 20 percent off and all other store merchandise will be
10 percent off. The museum will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, and will be open from noon-5 p.m. Dec. 26-31. Enjoy the Sparktacular fireworks Dec. 31 with hot cocoa and cookies before and after the celebration. For more information call 7505.

Career Services is hosting a student job fair Jan. 17-18 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Wood Center. For more information about hosting a booth call 7596 or visit www.uaf.edu/career/.

Visit UAF's online calendar at www.uaf.edu/events/ for information on UAF events or to publicize an event.

KUAC took top honors at the Alaska Broadcasters Association annual awards ceremony with first place wins for The 49th Star in the Public Affairs category and Anywhere, Alaska in the Uniquely Alaskan category.

Len Kamerling, UA Museum of the North's film curator, received an Alaska Humanities Forum grant of $8,600 for the Saving a Priceless Alaska Native Oral History Collection project.

RAHI has received a $50,000 donation from Wells Fargo to support adding a business class to the program's curriculum in 2007.

The UA Museum of the North recently received donations from several private groups including: $60,000 from the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, $25,000 from Wells Fargo to support military appreciation events and $10,000 from Holland America.

The 2006 BP Top of the World Classic was won by Utah State who beat Weber State to take the championship in an all-Utah final.

The North Star Invitational was won by Henderson State, who beat the lady Nanooks 74-55 to take the win. UAF junior Kari Reabold was named to the All-Tournament team. For more information visit www.alaskananooks.com.

Nanook hockey takes on UAA in the final games of the Governor's Cup in Anchorage Dec. 29-30. The Nanook's next home game series against Michigan takes place
Jan. 19-20 at 7:05 p.m. in the Carlson Center.

UAF women's basketball takes on Southwest Minnesota State Dec. 16 at 5 p.m., Notre Dame De Namur Dec. 30 at 7 p.m., Western Washington Jan. 11 at 5:30 p.m. and Seattle University Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. All games are played in the Patty Center gym.

The Nanook men's basketball team takes on Central Washington Jan. 4 at 7 p.m., Seattle Pacific Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. and Northwest Nazarene Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m. All games are in the Patty Center gym.

The Nanook swim team takes on California Baptist Jan. 13-14 at noon in the Patty Center pool. For more information visit www.alaskananooks.com.

Dec. 22, 2006: Applications for the Leadership Program's Alternative Spring Break are due. The program is sending people to New Orleans to assist Habitat for Humanity with Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.

Jan. 5, 2007: Submission for the AlaskaOne 2007 poster design competition are due. For more information visit www.kuac.org.

Feb. 15, 2007: Applications for the UA Foundation privately funded scholarships are due. Scholarships are available to students attending any UA campus. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/uafound/.

Feb. 23, 2007: Applications for the 2007 Global Change Student Research grant competition are due. For more information call 5415 or 5818 or visit www.cgc.uaf.edu.

What is the true value of the academic research conducted at UAF? We rightfully boast of the six-to-one leveraging of the state's research investment through various federal grants and contracts awarded to our UAF faculty members. But is that an adequate measure of the economic value of our research? Of course not.

Consider the following for a start: Our federal research awards, which routinely total over $100 million annually, go principally towards supporting faculty, technical staff and graduate students. Given that U.S. Department of Labor statistics indicate that each payroll dollar circulates through the local economy five times on average, research at UAF returns several hundred million dollars directly to the treasury of Alaska. That's not a bad return on the state's $16.2 million dollar investment in UAF research!

Still, we have only addressed the most conspicuous and easiest to quantify aspects of research's value. Over 85 percent of the research we conduct at UAF is of direct relevance to Alaska and its peoples. But what dollar value should we place on research that helps us understand our past, document our current status and predict what the future holds so that we can chose pathways that will sustain us and future generations economically and socially? How do we determine the true worth of research that leads to more efficient and affordable housing and transportation, a healthier and safer lifestyle, sustainable management of our resources and environment, preservation of our cultural diversity, and a wealth of other social and economic benefits?

As a scientist, I struggle here. A precise and reliable dollar value for these contributions eludes me. Yet, I submit for your consideration the following: the few hundred million dollars of direct economic return described above pales in comparison to the long-term inherent value of the research activities conducted at UAF.