SNRAS is a partner in the newly formed Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center. Associate dean Mike Sfraga represents SNRAS and UAF with the center.

Influenza, including H1N1, is spread when someone coughs, sneezes or touches an object which has the virus on it and then touches their mouth or nose. It’s important to know what the symptoms are and how you can protect yourself. Visit UAF on Alert for more information.

Roy K. Bird, professor of English and director emeritus, died of heart failure Aug. 14, 2009, at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. He was 61. A blog has been set up in remembrance. E-mail your thoughts to RIPDrBird@gmail.com.

Ruth Evern, CRCD lead registration coordinator, died on Aug. 27, 2009. A memorial service will be held Monday, Aug. 31, at 3:30 p.m. at the David Salmon Tribal Hall, 111 Clay Street in Fairbanks.

The UAF Weekly Science Calendar has resumed regular publication for the academic year. Send information to cgc@iarc.uaf.edu by noon on Wednesday the week before your event. For more information call 474-5818. The calendar is sponsored by the Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research as a service to the UAF community.

Students enrolled in nine or more credits who pay fees or set up a payment plan by Sept. 3 will be entered to win an Alaska Airlines ticket, $250 in Bear Bucks or a backpack filled with goodies. UAF student employees are eligible to win, but not UAF employees.

The UAF Business Office is no longer distributing refunds as cash. Refund checks will be mailed to your current mailing address or deposited directly into your account.

The UA Museum of the North is seeking volunteer docents for its school tour programs. Training takes place Monday, Aug. 31 – Friday, Sept. 11. Volunteers commit to three hours one day a week. For more information contact the museum at 474-5360 or museum.education@uaf.edu.

The UAF Annual Giving program raised nearly $215,000 from more than 450 donors in FY09 for scholoarhips and other projects.

The latest issue of the Statewide Voice includes information about the Board of Regents' search for a new UA president and TechFest 2009.

Most UAF offices will be closed Monday, Sept. 7, in observance of the Labor Day holiday.

The UAF Toast of Alaska Toastmasters Club holds meetings Tuesdays from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in 201 O'Neill. The next meeting is Sept. 1. For more information contact Mary Sue Dates at 474-7596 or fbtoast@uaf.edu.

Gary Laursen, IAB, and Ron Seppelt, authors of Common Interior Alaska Cryptogams published by UA Press, offer a free public lecture and photo presentation, A Season UnderFoot: Mushrooms and Blooms, Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m. in Schaible Auditorium.

The IAB and IMS present a free public lecture on hibernation by Gerhard Heldmaier, the 2009 Irving-Scholander Memorial Lecturer, on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 8 p.m. in the UA Museum of the North. A reception will follow the lecture.

Theatre UAF auditions for the 2009 – 2010 season fall productions take place Saturday, Sept. 5, at 10 a.m. For more information call 474-6590.

The UAF Student Job Fair (PDF), hosted by Career Services, takes place Wednesday – Thursday, Sept. 9 – 10, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Wood Center. For more information or to register for a department table call 474-7596.

The Center for Research Services is hosting an undergraduate research fair Friday, Sept. 18, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the Wood Center multilevel lounge. Departments are invited to host a table. For more information contact jenn@alaska.edu.

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

UAF Annual Giving’s Young Alumni flash movie received the bronze medal in the creative uses of technology and new media category, and the grand gold award in the video fundraising category in the 2009 National CASE Circle of Excellence Awards. Annual Giving Coordinator Megan Damario was selected to present in Boston at the Creating a Culture of Student and Young Alumni Philanthropy conference on the strategies behind this project.

Phil Younker made a $10,000 gift to the Younker Family Scholarship. This scholarship benefits non-traditional, sophomore students who are married with one or more children.

Edward and Alene Christiansen recently made a gift of $50,000 to the Edward K. and Alene R. Christiansen Music Scholarship for junior or senior music students at UAF.

Sportsmedicine Fairbanks, Alaska's Nanooks official team sponsor, made a $10,000 gift to the Athletic Department's Nanook Fund in support of areas of greatest need.

NAPA Auto Care Centers pledged a gift of $5,050 in support of the newly established NAPA Auto Care Centers Scholarship. This is the first scholarship of its kind designated specifically for the TVC automotive technology program. The NAPA Auto Parts Stores of Fairbanks and North Pole have agreed to match the gift with an additional $5,050 to support auto tech students.

University Chevron pledged a gift of $5,050 in support of the Mike and Troy Thomas Auto Technology Scholarship for Tanana Valley Campus students.

John duPont made a gift of $10,000 to the UA Museum of the North's ornithology fund. The Friends of Ornithology fund provides support for small projects and student research.

The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation made a $10,000 gift to the Museum Exhibition Enhancement fund in support of the Last Polar Bear exhibit.

The 2009 Auto Service Company Nanook Classic volleyball tournament takes place Friday – Saturday, Sept. 4 – 5, in the Patty Center gym. The Nanooks play at 8 p.m. Sept. 4, and 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sept. 5.

The Alaska Nanook athletic event scores from last week are: Home games – volleyball, Blue vs. Gold, 3-2 (Blue), and vs. Alumni/Flyers, 3-1; cross country women vs. Central Washington, 15-41 and 16-42; cross country men vs. Central Washington, 29-29 and 28-29. Away games – volleyball vs. Cal Poly Ponoma, 0-3, vs. Cal State Los Angeles, 0-3, vs. Cal State San Bernardino, 0-3, and vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills, 3-0.

Sept. 4: Updates to your information in the UAF directory are due. Please review your information online (PDF) and make any needed changes in EDIR. For help with EDIR contact the OIT Support Center at 450-8300, 800-478-8226 or helpdesk@alaska.edu.

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