Henry Springer was honored by the UA Board of Regents and the UA Museum of the North by dedicating the museum’s ornithology lab in his name. Springer has donated his time, expertise and bird specimens to the museum for more than 40 years.

Two UAF departments have officially changed their names. Summer Sessions is now Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning. The Department of Plant, Animal and Soil Sciences is now the Department of High Latitude Agriculture.

UAF researchers from the Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research Program participated in a forum about climate change and its implications for rural village and subsistence livelihoods in November. The forum took place in the village of Venetie where researchers are working on projects with villagers. The projects are expected to continue for at least the next three years.

Two papers by David Newman, CNSM and GI, were included in a special issue publication by the American Physical Society that contains abstracts of 221 highly cited papers which contributed significantly to the fundamental understanding of plasma physics.

Debra Moses, TVC; Sandra Wildfeuer and Shirley Kruger, Interior Aleutians Campus; and Jane Weber, Judy Atkinson, Kelly Houlton and Amy Keith, CRCD, attended the 34th annual conference of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges held in Washington, D.C. in November. Moses and Weber presented "Fast Track – Improving Placement/Retention in Developmental Math" and Wildfeuer and Kruger presented "Distance Ed and Equal Opportunities: Learning Math in Rural Alaska."

UAF’s Grapevine website is designed to dispel rumors, clarify misconceptions and clear up misunderstandings about UAF topics of a general nature. If you want to find out if something you’ve heard is true, submit your rumor and find out.

Departments with bank deposits handled by the Business Office should bring their locked deposit bag to the right side door of the Business Office for drop off beginning Monday, Dec. 8. The deposit receipt can be picked up the next day or sent back via inter-campus mail. For more information call 474-7384.

Alaska Sea Grant recently published the newest SEAgram, The Business of Fishing: Managing Finances, to help Alaska fishermen with financial advice. The publication is available as a free PDF download.

Alaska Public Lands Information Center is seeking help from UAF faculty, staff and students interested in giving a talk during the Explore Alaska lecture series in spring 2009. For more information call 459-3732.

Career Services is hosting the Student Job Fair Jan. 28 – 29, 2009. UAF departments will be able to advertise their student job openings. For more information call 474-7596.

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.

The last day of classes for the fall 2008 semester is Dec. 12. Final exams begin Dec. 15. For more information visit the academic calendar.

EEO training for non-supervisory personnel, presented by the Office of Equal Opportunity, takes place Tuesday, Dec. 9 from 9 – 11 a.m. in 401 Akasofu. For more information or to register call 474-6600.

The Health-Climate Change Initiative Retreat, hosted by UAA, takes place Tuesday, Dec. 9 from noon – 5 p.m. and will be available via videoconference at UAF in 212B Butrovich. For more information contact Melia Knecht at anmmk@uaa.alaska.edu.

The Humanities Research Colloquium presents Trina Mamoon, CLA, giving a talk, "Icon and Iconoclast: Theme and Genre in Liudmila Petrushevskaia” Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. in 405 Gruening.

UAF offers a Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology. Find out about the degree at an information session Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 5:30 p.m. in 209 Gruening.

The Office of Information Technology is hosting information sessions about the upgrades coming to Blackboard in January. The sessions take place Wednesday, Dec. 10 from 10 – 11 a.m. in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom; and Wednesday, Dec. 16 and Friday, Dec. 18 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 Center for Alaska Native Health Research presents “Smoking, Chewing and Cultural Identity: Prevalence and Correlates of Tobacco Use Among the Yup’ik” by Gerald Mohatt, CANHR, and Christopher Wolsko, CLA, Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. in 401 Akasofu. For more information contact Michelle Dondanville at 474-6230.

The UAF Jazz Band, directed by Daniel Cathey, CLA, presents Mingus et. al. Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. in Davis Concert Hall. Admission is $10 adults, $5 students, seniors and military. For more information call 474-7555.

The Annual Holiday Open House and Book Sale, hosted by Alaska Sea Grant, UA Press, and UAF Marketing and Communications, takes place Thursday, Dec. 11 from 2 – 6 p.m. on the second floor of the Wells Fargo Building at the corner of University Avenue and Geist Road.

The UAF Wind Symphony, directed by Karen Gustafson, CLA, presents Musicals, Musicals!, a concert with selections from West Side Story, Les Miserables, Fiddler on the Roof and others Friday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. in Davis Concert Hall. Admission is $10 adults, $5 students, seniors and military. For more information call 474-7555.

The University Chorus, directed by Jaunelle Celaire, CLA, and accompanied by Suzanne McBride, presents Christmas Around the World, Saturday, Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. in Davis Concert Hall. Admission is $10 adults, $5 students, seniors and military, and children 12 and under are free. For more information call 474-7555.

The UA Museum of the North presents the special exhibit Yuunganaqpiallerput – The Way We Genuinely Live: Masterworks of Yup’ik Science and Survival, Dec. 13, 2008 – March 22, 2009. Artifacts in this exhibit come from national and international collections and include 19th and 20th century tools, weapons, clothing, containers and watercraft. It is organized by the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center in partnership with the Calista Elders Council.

Chancellor Rogers invites the UAF community to the Chancellor’s Holiday Gathering Wednesday, Dec. 17 from 4 – 6 p.m. in Wood Center. 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.

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.

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.

Jeff Misel, TVC process technology student, received a Grainger Tools for Tomorrow Scholarship. The scholarship includes $2,000 and a Westward tool package upon graduation. Misel was one of 35 technical students nationwide to receive this award.

Mitch Robinson and Arna Isacsson were recognized by co-workers at the GI for their contributions to the GI and the Fairbanks community. Robinson was awarded the Outstanding Staff Performance Award. Isacsson received the Outstanding Community Service Award for her work establishing Project SNIP, Spay and Neuter Interior’s Pets.

Nanook hockey player Chad Johnson was named the CCHA Goalie of the Week for the second time for the week ending Nov. 30. The Nanooks were also ranked 20th on the national college poll, marking the first time since December 2006 that the team was ranked.

The Glacier Classic Men’s Basketball Tournament takes place Dec. 12 – 13 in the Patty Center. The Nanooks face off against St. Thomas Dec. 12 and Virginia State Dec. 13 at 8 p.m.

The Alaska Nanook athletic events scores from last week are: Away games – hockey vs Nebraska-Omaha, 0-0 and 1-1; men’s basketball vs Hawaii-Pacific, 71-82, vs Chaminade, 72-99 and vs Hawaii-Hilo, 90-95; rifle vs University of Texas, El Paso, 4612-4538, vs Air Force, 4638-4601.

Dec. 10, 2008: Submissions for the Dec. 15 Cornerstone are due. The Dec. 15 issue is the last issue of the semester. Publication will resume with the Jan. 20 issue, with submissions due by noon, Jan. 14. The spring 2009 Cornerstone schedule is posted online.

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

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

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