Gov. Murkowski on Feb. 4 announced a university land grant bill to transfer 260,000 acres of state land to UA. President Hamilton encouraged state lawmakers to pass the governor's bill. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is trying to pass legislation to transfer 500,000 acres of federal land to UA. Though the university currently owns and manages about 182,000 acres across the state, it has the third lowest land grant of universities in the U.S.

Terry Vrabec, UAF Police Department, was selected as Alaska's representative to participate in the final leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run to open the 2005 Special Olympics Winter Games in Nagano, Japan Feb. 26--March 5.

Sarah Comstock, Wood Center, was recently elected as region 14 director for the Association of College Unions International. Comstock's term begins in March. This is the first time anyone from UAF or Alaska has been elected.

Robert Arundale, CLA, will present a plenary lecture on "Politeness: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Language and Culture" at the University of Nottingham, England in March.

The UAF Faculty Senate is seeking nominations for four open seats on the Committee on the Status of Women. Nominations are due by March 11 to fysenat@uaf.edu.

The Division of Computing and Communications activated Proofpoint, an anti-spam solution that quarantines spam before it gets to your inbox, on Feb. 15.

UAF students in the GI's planetary science group are investigating the terrain of Mars. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/news/featured/05/mars/.

A committee has been organized to review the University of Alaska Fairbanks mission statement and to develop a new strategic plan. Meetings take place Thursdays at 1 p.m. in the Hess Rec Center at the M-B-S complex and are open to the public. For more information contact Kellie at 7317.

Freshman progress reports are due Feb. 25. For more information check out the academic calendar at www.uaf.edu/catalog/.

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The Visiting Writers Series presents free readings by Mary Helen Stefaniak Feb. 18 and Pam Houston Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in the UA Museum of the North. For more information call 7193.

The UAF Women's Art Group presents The Vagina Monologues Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall and Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. at the Blue Loon. You must be 21 to attend the Feb. 19 performance. Tickets are $14 for students, $16 for general admission and are on sale at Wood Center, Hoitt's or at the door. For more information e-mail fbwag@uaf.edu.

The Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival's ACS Winter Edition presents Motown Review and Cabaret, featuring Jaunelle Celaire, UAF, along with Gospel signers Bobby Lewis and Eustace Johnson, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall. Tickets are $20 at the door. For more information visit www.fsaf.org/winter.htm.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival takes place Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall. Tickets are $8 for students, $10 for general admission and are on sale at Wood Center and Beaver Sports.

The Academic Advising Center is hosting a series of Invest in Yourself workshops including: Creating a Four-Year Plan, Feb. 22; Math Anxiety, March 1; and Note Taking, March 3. All workshops will be held at 1 p.m. in Gruening 409. For more information call 6396.

Ed Carmack, the Institute of Ocean Sciences in British Columbia, presents "The Physical Environment of the Polar Oceans, with Emphasis on the Arctic" lecture series Tuesdays and Thursdays through March 10, at 3:40 p.m. in Elvey 214. The next lecture is Feb. 22. This lecture series is sponsored by Norbert Untersteiner, Sydney Chapman chair in physical science.

The 2005 Science for Alaska lecture series presents "Diving with Alaska's Steller Sea Lions" by Jennifer Burns, UAA, Feb. 22 with demonstrations at 6:40 p.m. and lecture at 7 p.m. in the Westmark Gold Room. For more information visit www.scienceforalaska.com.

UAF human resources presents Recruitment Training Feb. 23 from 9--11 a.m. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/uafhr/Train.html.

Chuck D, leader and co-founder of rap group Public Enemy, will speak Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. at Hering Auditorium. Tickets are $10 for students, $15 for general admission and are on sale at Wood Center and Hoitt's.

The UAF Women's Center hosts the Single Parent Support Group every two weeks on Thursday from 5--6 p.m. The next meeting is Feb. 24. For more information call 6360.

The UAF Student Drama Association presents the spring 2005 Winter Shorts One Tennis Shoe, Sorry and Come and Go Mad with shows at 8:15 p.m. Feb. 25--26 and March 4--5, and at 2 p.m. Feb. 27 and March 6 in the Salisbury Lab Theatre. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/theatre/.

Slam Poet Jerry Quickly will perform Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom, sponsored by the ASUAF Concert Board and UAF student activities.

The 2005 UAF Alumni Wine Tasting takes place Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. in the Pub. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. For more information call 7081.

The Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra is holding a concert Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. in the Davis Concert Hall. For more information visit www.fairbankssymphony.org.

The High-Latitude Ecological Observatory is holding an open meeting Feb. 28 from 8:30 a.m.--5 p.m. in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom. Preregistration is required by Feb. 20 at www.hleo.org.

The Festival of Native Arts takes place March 3--5 from 6 p.m.--midnight in the Davis Concert Hall and Wood Center. For more information call 7181.

IAB and the UA Museum of the North are hosting Evolution 2005, joint conference of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Society of Systematic Biologists and the American Society of Naturalists on campus June 10--14. For more information visit www.evolution05.uaf.edu.

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The UAF ROTC program was recognized as the Best Small School program in their brigade, putting them in the top 15 percent of programs nationwide.

Ginger Stock-McKenzie, president and CEO of WebWeavers Technology Group, has been selected as the Associated Students of Business Leader of the Year. Stock-McKenzie will be presented with the award at a banquet March 24. For more information contact 7253 or fnfmh@uaf.edu.

UAF's United Way prize winners are: John Fellerath, Richard Collins, Phyllis Morrow, Margaret Kellogg, Roberta Greenlee, Tom Moyer and Stuart Chapin.

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Feb. 25, 2005: Applications for the Global Change Student Research Grant Competition are due. For more information visit www.cgc.uaf.edu.

March 4, 2005: Submissions for the Technology Advisory Board competitions for innovative technology and education, and departmental/specific-use lab support are due. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/tab/.

March 4, 2005: Nominations for the 2005 student commencement speaker are due. For more information contact Patti Picha at 7596 or fnplp@uaf.edu.

March 4, 2005: Abstracts for oral and poster presentations are due for the 23rd Lowell Wakefield symposium, Biology, Assessment and Management of North Pacific Rockfishes. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/seagrant/Conferences/.

March 10, 2005: Nominations for the 2005 Make Students Count Awards are due to the UAF governance office. For more information call 7964.

March 11, 2005: The deadline for commencement faculty robe rental is March 11. If purchasing a gown, do so now as it takes approximately eight weeks to tailor custom regalia. Commencement is May 15. For more information contact Jennifer Vetsch at fnjdv@uaf.edu or 474-6212.

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HR Consultants

Human resources departments have changed significantly over the past decade. Many organizations are finding they get a better return on their investment when traditional and non-traditional HR duties are performed by someone with a general, overall knowledge of most HR-related issues, with specialized assistance from an HR team.

With this in mind, UAF human resources recently completed a comprehensive review of the services they provide and the way those services are delivered. As a result, UAF HR has restructured to form consultative management teams, composed of an HR generalist supported by a personnel and a payroll technician, to meet the personnel and payroll needs of specified areas of the UAF campus, community campuses and extended sites.

Each HR consultant is both a generalist, in the sense that they are familiar with and can guide departments through routine HR functions and procedures, as well as a specialist in their own field. The HR consultants will not replace the essential services that the department personnel/payroll assistant (PPA) delivers. Rather, it is expected that they will complement PPA services by providing personalized guidance and assistance to achieve department objectives. As time permits and your consultant becomes more familiar with the specific and individual needs of your area, he or she will identify training needs, succession planning for their assigned departments and provide one-on-one attention to help individual employees advance through their career with the university.

The HR consultants are: Jenna Young, recruitment and staffing specialist; Cindy Wild, employee benefit specialist; Susan Miller, employee and organizational development specialist; and Jessie Carter, HR systems specialist and back-up to any of the other consultants in their absence. Additionally, Wanda Peros, UAF HR business manager, is a member of the HR management team along with Yvonne McHenry, assistant director, and Carolyn Chapman, director. Each member of the management team serves as a back-up to directly respond to inquiries or to redirect the inquiry to the appropriate staff member.

By linking a department's personnel and payroll needs to a management team, departments can expect to receive more consistent, timely responses to routine questions and issues, in part by eliminating the confusion that occurs when employees and supervisors are not sure who to call. If you have questions about this reorganization, or would like to know which consultant is assigned to your department, please contact your PPA.

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