Gov. Palin made four appointments to the UA Board of Regents. Fuller Cowell II of Anchorage, Patricia Jacobson of Kodiak and Kirk Wickersham of Anchorage are new appointments to the board. Tim Brady of Anchorage was appointed to another term. Brady served on the board for two years after a former regent resigned. Board members are appointed to an eight-year term.
Poker Flat Research Range successfully launched four rockets for NASA's JOULE II project in January. The rockets were used to collect data on the aurora. Two more campaigns are scheduled to launch in February with an additional five rockets.
Michael Whalen, GI, recently traveled to Mexico as part of a team taking core samples of the Chicxulub crater to get a better understanding of how the Earth recovered from a massive impact millions of years ago.
Christine Coffman, CLA, recently published Insane Passions: Lesbianism and Psychosis in Literature and Film with Wesleyan University Press.
The United Way campaign incentive winners are: Sheri Layral, Governance Office: Carol Adamczak, Facilities Services; Tamara Lincoln, Rasmuson Library; Tom Bachert, ARSC; Phyllis Morrow, CLA; Deby Chapman, TVC; Robert Parr, TVC; Susan Grigg, Rasmuson Library; Helen Connor, Procurement and Contract Services; and Kerynn Fisher, Museum. To date, UAF has raised $54,635 for the United Way of the Tanana Valley!
Pia Kohler's, CLA, "Science, PIC and POPs: Negotiating the Membership of Chemical Review Committees Under the Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions" was published in the journal Review of European Community and International Environmental Laws, volume 15, issue 3.
Godwin Chukw, CEM, was invited by Chemical Week Conferences to deliver one of the lead papers at the Gas to Liquids and Methanol Conference in Houston in December 2006.
The UAF Bookstore wants to help you show your UAF pride. Every Friday UAF logo clothing is reduced 10 percent and blue and gold clothing is reduced 15 percent. Stop in the store on Fridays wearing UAF gear and receive an entry form to win a UAF hockey jersey, drawing to be held May 4. For more information call 1819.
The financial aid office is holding a workshop for faculty and staff, How to Complete the FAFSA, Feb. 6 at 11 a.m. and Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. in the Rasmuson Library Media Classroom. For more information or to register call 7256.
The Center for Health and Counseling is hosting the interactive program Find Your Passion, Live Your Dream! designed to help students identify what they love to do and find jobs that fit their personal profile. The program starts Feb. 6 from 4-6 p.m. in the Whitaker Building room 213. The cost is $10 and registration is required. The Office of Multicultural Affairs is offering coupons that reduce the cost to $1. For more information call Megan at 7043 or visit www.uaf.edu/chc/.
MyUA Portal training takes place Feb. 5 at 5 p.m. in the Rasumuson Library room 301, Feb. 15 at noon in Gruening 201 and Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. in the Rasmuson Library room 301. For more information or to register visit www.alaska.edu/oit/cts/myua/training_schedule.xml.
The Office of Information Technology is hosting several training opportunities throughout the semester, including Introduction to Blackboard Feb. 6, Blackboard Gradebook and Assessments Feb. 7, Blackboard Communication Tools Feb. 8 and Meeting Maker Feb. 15. For more information or to register visit www.alaska.edu/oit/training/.
The Science for Alaska Lecture Series, presented by the GI, takes place Tuesdays through Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Westmark Gold Room.. Lectures are free and open to the public. Upcoming topics include "A Different Season: People in a Changing Climate" by Lillian Alessa, UAA, Feb. 6 and "Understanding Belugas: When Scientists and Hunters Collaborate" by Lori Quakenbush, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Feb. 13. For more information call 7558 or visit www.scienceforalaska.com.
Career Services is hosting the Visitor Industry Job Fair Feb. 7 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in Wood Center. For more information call 7596 or visit www.uaf.edu/career/.
The Student Organizations Fair takes place Feb. 7 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in Wood Center. Stop by and check out the more than 112 active student and campus clubs.
The SRC is hosting free chair massages by certified massage therapists Joy Van Dyke and Lesile Call, Feb. 8 from noon-2 p.m. For more information call 356-2292.
The UA Museum of the North presents "Recording Culture: Ethnographic Film Past and Present" by Leonard Kammerlin. museum film curator, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. Admission is free. For more information call 7505.
The museum film festival Culture on Film: The Best of the Society for Visual Anthropology takes place Feb. 9-11, free with museum admission and discounted admission for evening shows. For more information call 7505 or visit www.uaf.edu/museum/.
The Nature and Art of Collections, a museum special exhibit, runs Feb. 10-April 29. The exhibit highlights each of the museum's research collections from dinosaur fossils to contemporary art.
The financial aid office is celebrating February Financial Aid Awareness Month by participating in College Goal Sunday, Feb. 11 from 2-4 p.m. at Lathrop High School. The program is designed to help families fill out financial aid paperwork The office is hosting financial aid workshops throughout the month. For more information call 7256 or visit www.uaf.edu/finaid/.
The UAF Alumni Association Wine Tasting fund-raiser takes place Feb. 10 from 6-8 p.m. at the Wood Center Pub. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. You must be 21 to attend. For more information call 7081.
The Office of International Programs presents the Study Abroad Fair Feb. 12-13 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. in Wood Center. Come talk with representatives and students who have participated in the program. For more information call 7192.
The UAF Staff Council is holding a public meeting Feb.14 at 8:45 a.m. in Wood Center Conference Rooms C and D. For more information call 7056.
The Volunteer Fair, sponsored by the Leadership Program, takes place Feb. 15 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in Wood Center. Check out volunteer opportunities from more than 25 different organization. For more information call 1170.
The 2nd annual Career Tech EXPO will be held Feb. 17 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Hutchison Institute of Technology. The EXPO is for middle and high school students and their parents to explore career and technical education. For more information contact 2833 or fnmmr@uaf.edu.
The University Women's Association 2006-2007 scholarship award winners are Holly Beck, Natasha Larry, Laura Thompson, Katie Schollenberg and Andrea Williams. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/uwa/ .
The Georgeson Botanical Garden won the All-American Selections Exemplary Category 1 Award for its AAS display garden.
Candice Smith, Museum, was selected for the Kay Paris Memorial - Willis Fellowship by the Registrar’s Committee of the American Association of Museums.
Feb. 7, 2007: Nominations for emeritus status are due to the Office of the Provost, attention Hild Peters. For more information visit
www.uaf.edu/provost/.
Feb. 14, 2007: Applications for the Job Shadow program are due. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/career/.
Feb. 15, 2007: All application materials for May 2007 graduation are due. Applications can be found at www.uaf.edu/reg/forms/graduation.pdf. For more information call 7523.
Feb. 15, 2007: Applications for the UA Foundation privately funded scholarships are due. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/uafound/.
Feb. 15, 2007: Applications for UAF privately funded scholarships are due. Applications can be submitted through http://uaonline.alaska.edu. For more information call 5372.
Feb. 19, 2007: Nominations for the Usibelli Distinguished Teaching, Research and Service awards are due. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/provost/.
Feb. 23, 2007: Applications for the 2007 Global Change Student Research grant competition are due. For more information call 5415 or 5818 or visit www.cgc.uaf.edu.
Feb. 23, 2007: Applications for the Alaska EPSCoR Summer 2007 undergraduate research awards are due. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/epscor/.
March 1, 2007: Graduation with Leadership Honors applications are due. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/leadership/rec/.
UAF's Ambassadors
Okay, folks--time for one last pop quiz, Who are UAF's ambassadors? If you answered that they are a group of great UAF students who are part of our admissions staff, that's a good answer. You get a "B." If you answered, "All of us," that's a great answer. You get an "A."
We're all ambassadors for UAF, and now is an especially important time for us to act that way. On the national scene, the quality of higher education is being questioned; we can justifiably feel like we're under attack. Within the state, we must convince a new governor and a new legislature that we need and deserve adequate funding. On the student front, we have to reverse our recent dip in enrollment. I am convinced that we can address these issues simply by telling the world about the great things that are happening at UAF.
We don't have to pretend that we're perfect, but we do have great stories to tell. Have you told anyone that one of our graduate students just won the nation's most prestigious doctoral dissertation award? Which of your neighbors knows that Academic Analytics recently ranked the scholarly productivity of UAF's faculty fifth in the country among small research universities and ninth among all U.S. colleges and universities in both environmental science and atmospheric sciences? Have you told anyone that Princeton Review rated UAF among the "Best in the West" for undergraduate students? Who knows what we will hear next week? Make yourself a crib sheet to help you remember our long list of accomplishments. Become informed and then share what you know. This is one test we can't afford to fail.
