The UA Board of Regents met in Anchorage Sept. 20-21. The board raised the age for tuition waivers for senior citizens from 60 to 65. The regents agreed to grandfather in students eligible under the old policy as of Sept. 21, 2005. Other actions by the board included approval of a 10 percent increase to tuition for the 2006-2007 academic year, construction of the Cold Climate Housing Research Center at UAF and the SFOS Lena Point facility, and upgrades to the UAF Physical Plant. Regents deferred action on a seven percent tuition increase for the 2007-2008 academic year. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/bor/.

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Alaska Native Studies is hosting three elders-in-residence this semester. Delbert Hayward, originally from Metlakatla, Edith Nageak from Barrow, and Nick Alokli from Kodiak will work with students in the cultural knowledge of Native elders class. For more information contact Oscar Kawagley at 6604 or frok@uaf.edu or Graehl Brooks at 7181.

Freshman progress reports are due Oct. 7. For other important dates visit the academic calendar at www.uaf.edu/catalog/.

UAF was selected as one of the Best Western Colleges by Princeton Review. For more information visit www.princetonreview.com/college/research/regional/.

Karen Peterson, CES, co-authored an article titled Prince of Wales Island: Hotbed for Small Sawmill Operators Bent on Value-Added Commodities published in the August issue of Alaska Business Monthly.

Donna Anger, International Programs, was recently elected chair of the Northwest Council on Study Abroad.

John Kawula, Rasmuson Library, recently hosted the annual meeting of the Western Association of Map Librarians.

UAF Internet2 Day is March 26, 2006. Internet2 is the next generation global network being developed. The event will showcase groups and individuals at UAF who are using Internet2 in their work. For more information contact Scott Deal at 1873 or scott.deal@uaf.edu.

The UAF Science Education Outreach Network, a searchable database of all science education outreach programs and resources available through UAF, is now available at www.scienceoutreach.uaf.edu.

Parking Services is now offering silver decal parking in the South Bunnell lot. Silver decals guarantee a parking space in the specified lot rather than a specific spot. Regular decal holders are not permitted to park in the South Bunnell lot. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/fs/parkingservices.html.

The Northern Schools Federal Credit Union UAF branch is now offering lending services including consumer and real estate loans and credit card services.

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

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IAB's Life Sciences Seminar series presents Herbivores and Pathogens on Boreal Plants: Will They Ameliorate or Exacerbate Effects of Global Climate Change Sept. 30 at 3:30 p.m. in 214 Elvey Building. For more information visit www.iab.uaf.edu.

Starvation Gulch activities include the Bust-A-Gut comedy show, sponsored by the Student Activities office, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Salisbury Theatre. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the American Red Cross to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. The bonfires will burn Oct. 1 from 10 p.m.-midnight in the Taku parking lot.

Engineering Week, hosted by Career Services, takes place Oct. 3-7. Engineering firms will be on campus for information sessions, interviews, a mini-job fair and other activities. For more information contact 7596 or fycsc@uaf.edu or visit www.uaf.edu/career/.

The Study Abroad Fair takes place Oct. 5-6 from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. in Wood Center. A UAF faculty reception welcoming international program and partner institution representatives will be held Oct. 5 from 5-7 p.m. in The Pub.

The Academic Advising Center is hosting a series of Invest in Yourself workshops including Math Anxiety Oct. 11 and Time Management Oct. 13. Both workshops are in 409 Gruening at 1:05 p.m. For more information or to register visit
www.uaf.edu/advising/.

The UA Museum of the North is hosting a free lecture at Hering Auditorium Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. featuring Kevin Avery, Metropolitan Museum of Art, discussing the museum's current special exhibit Light Motifs: American Impressionist Paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For more information call 7505 or visit www.uaf.edu/museum/.

The UA Museum of the North Gala Celebration takes place Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. with hors d'oeuvres, sparkling drinks, music and dancing. Attire is black tie optional and tickets are $75. Call 5484 to RSVP by Oct. 7; tickets will also be available at the door.

The Alaska Native Film Festival, sponsored by the UA Museum of the North in conjunction with the Alaska Federation of Natives convention, is being held Oct. 16-17 from 6-10 p.m. and Oct. 19 from noon- 4 p.m. and 6-10 p.m. in Pioneer Park Theater. Admission is free. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/museum/.

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John Haines, Honors Program, is the recipient of the first WILD Wilderness Writing Award. Haines will be presented with the award at the 8th World Wilderness Congress in Anchorage Oct. 4. Haines has also been invited to read from his work at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Dec. 8.

Shiway Wang, SFOS graduate student, received the Nellie Johnson Baroody Award for Best Student Presentation at the 123rd meeting of the American Ornithologists Union held in Santa Barbara, Calif.

The Pythian Sisters established the Alexis M. Buskirk Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship will help UAF students with epilepsy purchase textbooks.

Beaver Sports contributed $10,000 to continue building the Beaver Sports Whisenhant Ski Scholarship endowment.

Summit Consulting Services gave $10,000 in support of the Alaska Native Science Engineering Program at UAF.

Usibelli Coal Mine donated $75,000 in support of the engineering program and $125,000 for the Usibelli Honors Scholarship at UAF.

Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Company donated $9,000 in support of the Kennecott Minerals Co. Recruiting Scholarship at UAF. For more information on this and other scholarships visit www.uaf.edu/giving/scholarships/.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Fairbanks established its fourth endowed scholarship for UAF students touched by mental illness. NAMI contributed $12,500, which will be matched by unrestricted funds from the Chancellor's Legacy Fund. This newest fund will benefit rural campus students, including those attending the Tanana Valley Campus.

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Nanook volleyball takes on UAA Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Patty Center Gym. For more information visit www.gonanooks.com.

The UAF swim team makes its debut with the inaugural Blue/Gold meet at the Patty Center Pool Oct. 8 at noon. For more information visit www.gonanooks.com.

Nanook hockey faces off with the University of Windsor in an exhibition game Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Carlson Center. For more information visit www.gonanooks.com.

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Oct. 7, 2005: Faculty and staff submissions for the Technology Advisory Board competitions for innovative technology and education and departmental/specific-use lab support are due to department head offices. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/tab/.

Oct. 14, 2005: Student submissions for the Technology Advisory Board competitions for innovative technology and education and departmental/specific-use lab support are due to ASUAF. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/tab/.

Oct. 15, 2005: Applications for Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research are due. Grants of up to $1,000 are awarded, with $2,500 available for the fields of astronomy and vision. For more information visit www.sigmaxi.org.

Oct. 17, 2005: All application materials and fees for December 2005 graduation are due. Applications can be found at www.uaf.edu/reg/forms/. For more information call 7523.

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Energy Conservation

As school gets underway and the price of fuel continues to climb, UAF faces increasing energy costs in much the same way individuals are facing higher energy costs.

UAF's power plant (operating 24 hours per day, 365 days per year) generates all the electricity and heat for campus. Electricity is created by turbines that run primarily on coal, an economical fuel source, and use oil as a secondary fuel source. Steam is a by-product of this process and is used to heat the buildings on campus. In the summer, steam is released through the cooling tower, which also makes the airplanes on the roof of the power plant spin. The power plant currently burns the maximum amount of coal possible, as oil costs are six times that of coal. The cost of oil alone is estimated to increase approximately $2.3 million for FY06, far higher than envisioned and budgeted for just a few short months ago.

In order to help reduce these budget shortfalls, Facilities Services has already taken steps to stabilize energy use on campus by installing brighter, non-full-spectrum bulbs that use less energy, using variable frequency drives that conserve energy by slowing the fan motors for the campus HVAC system, and using cyclical electrical plug-ins for parking lots on cold winter days.

There are several ways students, faculty and staff can reduce energy use and alleviate the burden of high energy costs with little overall impact to daily routines. The easiest way to conserve is to turn off lights when conference rooms, copy rooms and offices are not in use. Installing motion sensors to help keep lights off is also a simple and helpful action. Interior space heaters, both in vehicles and in offices, should not be used as they pose a fire risk, use additional energy and have a negative impact on building heating systems. Turning off computers, printers and copiers at night, as opposed to leaving them in sleep mode, also conserves energy. When upgrading technology, it is important to consider a flat screen computer monitor, as flat screens use fewer watts than the older monitors. In addition, when upgrading older break room appliances such as microwaves and coffee makers, purchasing newer energy conserving models helps alleviate costs.

As UAF continues to grow, there is no easy solution to the rising costs of energy. However, recognizing budget shortfalls and actively conserving in order to help alleviate the cost burden is better than waiting until we no longer have the choice.

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