Convocation 2007 and an ice cream social takes place Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. in Schaible Auditorium. Chancellor Jones will present his vision for UAF. For more information call 7581 or visit www.uaf.edu/chancellor/.
Read about the more than 20 UAF affiliated authors and others who participated in the first Alaska Book Festival held this summer in the latest online feature story at www.uaf.edu/news/featured/07/bookfest/.
Need information about possible campus closures due to weather or emergency situations? Call 474-7UAF (7823) or visit www.uaf.edu/news/ for updates and information.
UAF faculty can contact Career Services instead of canceling a class. Career Services staff can give your class a presentation on a variety of career-related topics at a moments' notice. For more information call 7596.
Daniel Robison, assistant dean of the College of Natural Resources and professor of forestry at North Carolina State University, is visiting UAF as part of the American Council on Education Fellows program. Robison will spend two weeks on campus in September and return after Thanksgiving.
Megan Damario, UAF alumna, is the new annual giving coordinator for the Development Office.
UA Statewide Human Resources is offering online training for employees. A three-month pilot program with SkillSoft Corp. covers business, management and desktop skills along with information technology and preparatory exams for certification. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/hr/training/e-learning/skillsoft.xml.
Wood Center staff offer large format printing for full color poster boards and banners. Space can be reserved to hang banners in Wood Center. For more information contact Becky Phillips at 6023.
Nilima Hullavarad, OEM, has achieved more than 100 citations on six of her publications in peer-reviewed international journals in the field of nanotechnology, devices and applications.
The University Women's Association presents a free contra dance Sept. 15 from 8 - 11 p.m. in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom. The dance will feature live music by Ice Jam and each dance will be taught by caller Lynn Basham.
The Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy is hosting teleconferences throughout the semester, including Climate Change Impacts in Alaska: The Weather Perspective by James Partain, National Weather Service, Sept. 18 from 10 - 11 a.m. For more information contact 7878 or visit www.uaf.edu/accap/teleconference.htm.
The Law School Consortium, sponsored by Career Services, takes place Sept. 18 from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. in Wood Center. Representatives from more than 15 law schools will be on hand. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/career/.
The UAF Staff Council will hold a public meeting Sept. 19 at 8:45 a.m. in Wood Center conference rooms C and D. For more information contact Kayt Sunwood at 6311 or kayt.sunwood@uaf.edu.
The IPY Visiting Author series presents Andrew Revkin, author and environment reporter for the New York Times, in an illustrated talk, "On the Front Lines of Climate Change: From the North Pole to the White House," Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. in Davis Concert Hall. For more information call 5479.
The 2007 Alumni Reunion takes place Sept. 20 - 22. The UAF Alumni Association will honor lifelong Fairbanksan and local philanthropist Bill Stroecker with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/alumni/.
Starvation Gulch is Sept. 21 - 22. Many events are planned including the annual bonfire competition with the lighting ceremony Sept. 22 at 10:30 p.m. in the Taku parking lot. For more information call 6029.
The Native American Arts Studies Association biennial conference, hosted by the UA Museum of the North, takes place Sept. 26 - 29. Faculty, staff and students can register at www.nativearts.org.
Theatre UAF presents No Exit by Jean Paul Sartre, directed by Ben Coffroth, Sept. 28 - 29, Oct. 5 - 6 at 8:15 p.m. and Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. in the Salisbury Theatre. Tickets cost $15, $12 for seniors, military and UAF employees, $7 for students with ID, and are available at Wood Center or the Theatre UAF box office in the Fine Arts complex. For more information visit www.uaf.edu/theatre/.
The Museum Saturday Family Program World of Insects takes place Sept. 29 at 9 a.m. The program is for children age 7 - 12 accompanied by an adult. The cost is $15 per child and registration is required. For more information or to register call 6948.
UAF is observing Banned Books Week Sept. 29 - Oct. 6 with a display at Rasmuson Library. It can also be viewed online at www.uaf.edu/library/.
The UA Museum of the North's special exhibit, "On the Edge: Forging New Directions in Alaska Native Art," runs through Sept. 30. The exhibit features the work of 23 contemporary Alaska Native artists who honor their cultural heritage with works that diverge from traditional expressions. For more information call 7505.
UAF Engineering Career Week, hosted by Career Services, takes place Oct. 1 - 5. For more information call Alice at 6936 or visit www.uaf.edu/career/.
The Office of Information Technology is hosting training opportunities throughout the semester, including Banner Navigation Sept. 19 and Query Builder Reader and QMenu Oct. 11. For more information or to register visit www.uaf.edu/oit/training/.
The Arctic Energy Summit Technology Conference, an IPY event, takes place Oct. 15 - 18 in Anchorage. For more information and to register contact the Institute of the North at 907-771-2444 or visit www.arcticenergysummit.org.
The Cold Climate Housing Research Center is hosting the circumpolar housing forum, Sustainable Northern Shelter in a World of Diminishing Resources, Oct. 28 - 30. Registration is due by Sept. 30. For more information visit www.cchrc.org.
Adrienne Orr, UAF alumna, was awarded the Porter Physiology Fellowship. Orr received a bachelor's of science degree in chemistry from UAF in 2002 and currently attends Stanford University.
Dan O'Neill, UAF alumnus, received the 2006 Outstanding Alaskana of the Year Award from the Alaska Library Association for his latest book A Land Gone Lonesome: An Inland Voyage Along the Yukon River.
The UAF Development Office hosted Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Program Officers Lydia English and Cally Waite Sept. 3 - 9. Their visit was related to the $40,000 grant the office received in July. The funds will be used to create a program to increase the number of Alaska Natives earning Ph.D. degrees.
Alaska Nanook runner Anna Coulter was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's Runner of the Week for Aug. 27 - Sept. 2.
Nanook women's volleyball takes on Montana State University Billings Sept. 20 and Seattle University Sept. 22. Both games are at 7 p.m. in the Patty Center gym. For more information call 5977 or visit www.alaskananooks.com.
Nanook hockey's blue and gold scrimmage takes place Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Patty Center ice arena.
Oct. 15, 2007: All application materials for December 2007 graduation are due. Applications can be found at www.uaf.edu/reg/forms/graduation.pdf. For more information call 7523.
Nov. 7, 2007: Proposals for the Harold T. Craven Professorship are due. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/foundation/grantsandawards/.
Nov. 15, 2007: Applications for the Angus Gavin Migratory Bird Research Grant for the 2008 field season are due. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/foundation/grantsandawards/.
Dec. 1, 2007: Nominations for the Edith R. Bullock Prize for Excellence are due. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/foundation/grantsandawards/.
Improving Freshman Success Rates
I am looking forward to this new academic year, my first as provost. If past patterns hold true, we will welcome about 900 new degree-seeking students in Fairbanks and at our community campuses across the state, along with nearly 9,000 returning and non-degree-seeking students.
For many of our students their first semester is the most challenging. Most meet the challenge and ultimately succeed in reaching their educational goals. Unfortunately, however, about one-third of our degree-seeking students get off to a rocky start, with a first semester GPA below a C. Most of these students aren't retained into the next academic year and few graduate within six years. There is no single reason why these students don't succeed and no easy remedy, but a variety of strategies have improved student success at other institutions. We've discussed these strategies with student success experts Vincent Tinto and George Kuh, who visited UAF this year. During the next two years, UAF faculty and staff will be implementing several of them.
Dana Thomas, assistant provost, is planning to work with instructors of core classes with historically low pass rates to identify students who are not attending or who are not performing satisfactorily at the three-week mark. Once we know who needs help, he'll work with advisors to contact students and develop improvement plans. We'll also continue offering a supplemental instruction pilot program. The program, which began last spring, employs a student who has already successfully completed a course as a study group facilitator for the next group of students enrolled in the course.
In addition, Student and Enrollment Services chose to participate in the 2006 National Survey of Student Engagement to gather information that will aid in further refining our student success initiatives. We welcome your ideas as we continue to try out new approaches.
