Chancellor Rogers invites the UAF community to the Chancellor’s Holiday Gathering Wednesday, Dec. 17 from 4 – 6 p.m. in the Wood Center multilevel lounge. Stop in for some holiday cheer and goodies. A shuttle will run between West Ridge and Wood Center until 6:30 p.m. for this event.

Emily Drygas has been named acting director of UAF’s Development Office. Drygas has served at UAF for more than six years, two years as the senior development officer for Development and prior to that, four years as development director for the UA Museum of the North. She is also a UAF alumna.

Parking Services reminds the UAF community that if you are leaving your vehicle on campus during the winter break, then park in the Taku lot. Head bolt outlets will be on and UAF police will be monitoring the lot. Other lots may be closed for snow removal and other maintenance; vehicles in these lots may be towed at the owner’s expense. For more information call 474-7275.

UAF has accepted membership in the Federal Demonstration Partnership Phase V. UAF joins nine federal agencies and more than 100 other institutions around the country in the program. UAF’s institutional representatives are: Administration – Maggie Griscavage, Grants and Contracts; Faculty – Buck Sharpton, vice chancellor for research; Faculty Alternate – John Blake, ORI.

The UAF Police Department reminds the UAF community that while the holidays can be a time of celebration and revelry, the season may also present additional risks and opportunities for you to become the victim of crime. During the holidays it's a good idea to be aware of your surroundings and stay alert to suspicious people and vehicles. More tips on crime prevention and holiday safety are available online.

Work by David Mollett and Jessie Worth Hedden, CLA, is on exhibit at the Bowery Gallery in New York City through December.

Da-ka-xeen Mehner, CLA, is participating in the “Identity” exhibit at the Alaska House gallery in New York City through December. The exhibit is curated by the Alaska Native Arts Foundation.

Walkie Charles and Hishinlai’ “Kathy” Sikorski, ANLC, presented papers during the 2008 American Anthropological Association annual meeting in November. Charles presented “Critical Pedagogy: A Yup’ik Eskimo Perspective” and Sikorski presented “Interface of Ideology, Identity and Politics: Effects on Ancestral Language Learning.”

The UAF Women’s Center is starting a single-parent support group next semester. If you are interested in joining the group, send an e-mail with a time and date to meet that is best for you to fywoc@uaf.edu. For more information call 474-6360.

Marketing and Communications is seeking your input on options for the UAF telephone directory. Please take a few minutes to complete a short online survey by Friday, Jan. 9. Thank you for your assistance.

The Chancellor's Task Force on Sustainability is conducting a survey of existing projects and efforts that make UAF a more sustainable campus.  To have your sustainability project added to the list, e-mail uafsustainability@uaf.edu.

Alaska Sea Grant’s Advisory Committee met in Anchorage Nov. 20 – 21. Chancellor Rogers and Senator-elect Mark Begich met with the group. The committee provides advice and direction to Alaska Sea Grant’s statewide mission. A new public policy subcommittee was formed and will meet every three months.

Financial Services, including the Business Office, is closed every Wednesday from 8 – 10 a.m. for staff development. For more information contact Stuart Roberts at stuart.roberts@uaf.edu.

CRCD’s vice chancellor’s office will close at noon Wednesday, Dec. 24.

The UA Museum of the North will keep special hours during UAF's holiday closure: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily Dec. 26 – Jan. 4, including Sundays. The museum will be closed Christmas day.

Most UAF offices will be closed for the winter holiday from Dec. 25 – Jan. 4. Offices will reopen at 8 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5. Most offices will also be closed Monday, Jan. 19 in observance of Alaska Civil Rights Day.

The first day of instruction for the spring 2009 semester is Jan. 22. For more information visit the academic calendar.

The Office of Information Technology is hosting information sessions about the upgrades coming to Blackboard in January. The sessions take place Wednesday, Dec. 16 and Friday, Dec. 18, both in Wood Center conference rooms E and F from 2 – 3 p.m. Find out about the upgrade schedule, get a preview of some of the changes and enjoy refreshments. An Elive session will be held for those unable to attend otherwise, Friday, Dec. 19 from 2 – 3 p.m. If you have not used Elive before, visit the website to register one day before the meeting.

The IAB Large Animal Research Station winter open house takes place Sunday, Dec. 21 from noon – 3 p.m. at the station on Yankovich Road. Come out and take a behind-the-scenes tour of the station’s muskoxen and reindeer facilities, enjoy hot chocolate, cider and door prizes. For more information call 474-5724.

Cooperative Extension Service is hosting a holiday sale through Wednesday, Dec. 23. The CES cookbook Collecting and Using Alaska Wild Berries and Other Wild Products is on sale for $7. The CES Tanana District Office is located in the University Park Building. For more information call 474-5211.

The UA Museum of the North store holiday sale continues through Dec. 24. All Alaska Native baskets, whalebone sculptures, ties and scarves are 25 percent off, and all other merchandise is 10 percent off.

The 19th annual Sparktacular fireworks event is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. Thompson Drive from Geist Road to the roundabout will close at 7 p.m. to provide access for emergency vehicles; the roundabout will remain open. Alaska Railroad officials request that spectators, both pedestrian and those on snowmachines, remain clear of the railroad tracks for safety reasons. The UA Museum of the North will serve free hot cocoa and cookies. The museum galleries will be open from 7 – 9 p.m. with free admission. The show is sponsored by Mike’s University Chevron, UAF and Fairbanks community groups and businesses. Updated information will be posted in UAF’s Newsroom closer to the event.

Theatre UAF is holding auditions for the spring production of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Saturday, Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. in the Salisbury Theatre.

The spring 2009 supervisor training calendar is now available at the UAF HR website. If you register online, make sure to print a copy of your confirmation. For more information call 474-7557.

Check out the UAF Weekly Science Calendar, sponsored by the Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research, for science-related events happening at UAF.

Visit UAF’s online calendar for information on UAF events or to publicize an event.

UAF received a $3 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation to offer an interdisciplinary graduate program in marine ecosystem sustainability.

Theresa John, CRCD, and Jordan Lewis are the first recipients of the Mellon Dissertation Fellowship. The fellowship program was established through a $700,000, five-year pledge to UAF from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support Native students in the dissertation-writing phase of their doctoral programs. John’s dissertation reviews the results of her ethnographic research on Yup’ik dance in Southwestern Alaska. Lewis’s studies focus on gerontology and circumpolar health issues in rural Alaska.

Kasper Kowalewski and Trudi Hallet, seniors in petroleum engineering, led teams that won second and third place at the education week competition hosted by the International Petroleum Technology Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Dec. 3 – 5.

Nanook men’s basketball takes on Saint Leo Thursday, Dec. 18, Central Washington Thursday, Jan. 8, Northwest Nazarene Saturday, Jan. 10, and UAA Wednesday, Jan. 14. All games take place at 7 p.m. in the Patty Center gym.

Nanook hockey faces off with Western Michigan Friday – Saturday, Dec. 19 – 20 and Nebraska-Omaha Friday – Saturday, Jan. 16 – 17. All games take place at 7 p.m. at the Carlson Center.

Nanook women’s basketball goes up against Kuyper College Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. and Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 6 p.m.; and against UAA Saturday, Jan 17 at 3 p.m. All games are held in the Patty Center gym.

The Alaska Nanook athletic events scores from last week are: Home games – men’s basketball, Glacier Classic Tournament, vs St. Thomas Florida, 71-63, vs Virginia State, 77-73.

Jan. 10, 2009: Applications for the spring semester 2009 Space Grant Undergraduate Fellowship Scholarship program are due.

Jan. 19, 2009: Project Seed Grant program proposals are due.

Jan. 20, 2009: NOAA Fisheries Sea Grant Fellowship applications are due.

Feb. 15, 2009: Applications are due for the Marine Ecosystems Sustainability in the Arctic and Subarctic Ph.D. fellowships. For more information contact Ginny Eckert at 796-5450 or g.eckert@uaf.edu.

Feb. 20, 2009: Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship applications are due.

March 6, 2009: Applications are due for the 2009 Global Change Student Research Grant Competition. For more information call Susan Sugai at 474-5415.

Cornerstone banner photo by Todd Paris, UAF Marketing and Communications.