Eduard Zilberkant, CLA, has been named President's Professor of Fine Arts. Zilberkant is the seventh president's professor in the state, and one of five from UAF.

Larry Hinzman, WERC, has been named deputy director of IARC. Hinzman will be preparing to take the helm at the center when founding director Syun-Ichi Akasofu retires in 2007.

Shirish Patil, CEM, was chosen as the 2005 Alaska Society of Petroleum Engineers Engineer of the Year. Patil and UAF were featured in the "Spotlight on Research" in the Fall 2005 issue of Fire in the Ice, a newsletter of the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Is the Cornerstone meeting your needs? University Relations is conducting a survey about the Cornerstone faculty and staff newsletter. Please take a few minutes to fill out a survey online at www.uaf.edu/cornerstone/cornerstonesurvey.html. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Read about how researchers at UAF worked with other scientists to conduct the first comprehensive study since the Cold War of radioactive residues remaining at the site of America's largest underground nuclear test in the latest online feature story at www.uaf.edu/news/featured/06/amchitka/.

The Chancellor's Report for February 2006 is now available online at www.uaf.edu/chancellor/.

Dianne Milke, UA general counsel's office, has accepted the position of assistant to the chancellor. Milke will join the chancellor's office Feb. 20.

Tammy Tragis-McCook joined KUAC on Feb. 6 as the new marketing and communications professional. Tragis-McCook will assist with KUAC brand identity and community outreach, among other duties.

R. Dale Guthrie, IAB emeritus professor, recently published The Nature of Paleolithic Art. Guthrie advances fascinating and controversial interpretations of late Pleistocene cave drawings.

Todd O'Hara, IAB, will present "Apex predators: biomagnification and pathways of contaminants in Arctic food webs" Feb. 18 at the American Academy for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in St. Louis.

Steffi Ickert-Bond, UA Museum of the North, CNSM and IAB, is the new herbarium curator and assistant professor of botany. Ickert-Bond comes to UAF from The Field Museum in Chicago.

Mary Beth Leigh, IAB and CNSM, is a new assistant professor of microbiology. Leigh is a molecular microbial ecologist from Michigan State University.

The 2006 Summer Session catalog is now available, with more than 300 course offerings. Registration begins Feb. 20. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/summer/.

The Tanana Chiefs Conference is one of 50 finalists in the Alaska Marketplace Entrepreneurial competition. TCC is seeking assistance from UAF students to help develop a business plan, create marketing materials and pitch its concept for creation of an Alaska Native Artisans Cooperative to the marketplace jurors in April. For more information contact Margaret Matthew at 452-8251, ext. 3438.

The Faculty Senate is seeking nominations and holding elections for senate seats and a variety of committees. If you are interested in serving on the Faculty Senate or any committee, contact your dean's office or Sheri Layral at 7964 or fysenat@uaf.edu.

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

Outdoor Adventures is sponsoring spring semester trips including dog mushing II Feb. 18, Denali Winterfest Feb. 24-25, the spring UAF Trails Day March 4, and a ride to Skiland March 5. For more information call 6027 or visit www.uaf.edu/outdoor/.

A renewable energy clinic will take place Feb. 18 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Pearl Berry Boyd Hall, 201 Natural Sciences Facility. Learn about solar and renewable energy sources for Interior Alaska.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival takes place Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall. Tickets are $8 students, $10 general admission in advance and can be purchased at Wood Center or Beaver Sports. Tickets will be $2 more at the door. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/activity/.

The Academic Advising Center is hosting a series of Invest in Yourself workshops including Stress Management Feb. 21 and Career Choices March 2 in Gruening 409 at 1:05 p.m. For more information or to register visit www.uaf.edu/advising/.

The Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra presents Colin Carr in a solo cello recital Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. and with the Fairbanks Symphony in concert Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall. For more information visit www.fairbankssymphony.org.

The UA Museum of the North presents a Saturday family program on ice carving Feb. 25 for ages 7-adult, ages 7-14 must be accompanied by an adult. Registration is required and the cost is $15, plus materials fees. For more information call 6948.

The UAF Wind Symphony and local middle schools present a concert Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall.

The Festival of Native Arts takes place in the Davis Concert Hall, the Great Hall and Wood Center March 2-4.

The Nanook traditions winter carnival will be held March 3-5. Check out the fun outdoor events to beat the winter blahs. For more information contact Student Activities at 6026.

Summer Sessions and KUAC present Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know Show in a live broadcast July 7. Tickets are $20 and go on sale Feb. 27 at Hoitt's, Artworks, New Horizons, Alaska House and the Fairbanks Symphony Association.

The following UAF faculty were awarded professional development travel grants from the Office of Faculty Development for spring and summer 2006: Cheng-fu Chen, CEM; Jodie Anderson, Peter Bierman, Candi Dierenfield and Marla Lowder, CES; James Bicigo, Gerri Brightwell, Karen Callahan, Christine Cook, Mary Goodwin, Karen Grossweiner, Kraig Hays, Joel Irish, David Mollett, Terry Reilly, Mike Schuldiner, Todd Sherman, Sabine Siekmann, Kim Stewart, Siri Tuttle and Tim Wilson, CLA; Todd O'Hara, CNSM; Theresa John and Sarah McConnell, CRCD; Richard Collins and Javier Fochsetto, GI; Eva Wicklund, SNRAS; Janne Lillestol and Tony Strange, SOE; and Yijiang Zhao, SOM. The travel grants are funded with assistance from United Academics.

Jim Lund, Wells Fargo district president for northern Alaska, has been selected as the SOM Business Leader of the Year. Lund will be presented with the award at the 30th annual SOM Business Leader of the Year banquet March 23. For more information contact Faith Henry at 7253 or fnfmh@uaf.edu. **Note date change**

Jessie Hedden and Kate Wool, TVC, along with graduate students Daka-xeen Mehner and Inari Kylanen, and alumni Anne Duffy, Nancy Burnham and Valerie Cline, had works of art featured in the All Alaska Juried Exhibition XXXI.

Thomas Oommen, a graduate student, received the Outstanding Student Paper Award from the Earth and Science Informatics Focus Group during the American Geophysical Union's Fall 2005 meeting.

Feb. 24, 2006: Proposals for the TAB competition are due from students to ASUAF. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/tab/.

Feb. 24, 2006: Applications for the 2006 Global Change Student Research grant competition are due. The guidelines for the 2006 competition have been revised significantly from previous years. For more information call 5415 or 5818 or visit www.cgc.uaf.edu.

March 1, 2006: The UAF Faculty Senate is seeking nominations for three open seats on the Committee on the Status of Women. Submit nominations to fysenat@uaf.edu.

March 1, 2006: Applications for the IARC Summer School 2006: Arctic Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems are due. For more information visit www.iarc.uaf.edu/education_outreach/.

March 20, 2006: Applications for the People's Endowment funds are due. For more information call 6402.

April 1, 2006: Applications for IPY postdoctoral fellowships are due. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/swacad/postdoc/.

In 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed making publicly traded companies more accountable for their actions to stockholders and the public. While the immediate impact was in the corporate world, the concept of increased accountability has affected all institutions.

The Ad hoc Committee on Accountability and Sustainability (ACAS) was set up several years ago at UA to devise ways to minimize the impact of potential budget cuts through increased productivity and efficiency efforts. Accountability protects the instructional, research and service obligations of this institution. ACAS initiatives have helped to ascertain areas of consolidation, reduction and opportunities to decrease costs and reduce dependence on state funds.

In a similar spirit, Performance Based Budgeting (PBB) was implemented several years ago at UAF. UA's primary goal in implementing PBB is the creation of a robust tool to help communicate, drive and measure progress toward strategic priorities. As our Strategic Plan 2010 is finalized, PBB will become increasingly ingrained into UAF management and progress as we move toward common goals--within our walls, within the system and within the state.

At the state level, a Senate oversight committee was formed within the last month to review the general direction of the university system and provide greater accountability. While UAF has reported statistics through the "Missions and Measures" report for several years, the formation of this committee now stands as an opportunity to show how UAF is meeting the needs of the state of Alaska.

At UAF we all have a role in enhancing the value of this institution and showing our stakeholders that we are efficient, effective and worthy of their investment in both time and money. As a public institution, accountability is a concept we should eagerly embrace in order to display and demonstrate the units and programs we are so proud of. It is through this accountability and measurable achievement of goals that UAF will truly be able to shine.