July 10, 2015
Hundreds of people from around the state celebrated the university’s 100-year history Monday, July 6, during rededication of the original cornerstone from the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines. The celebration began at Troth Yeddha’ Park, near the University of Alaska Museum of the North, where university officials and Alaska Native leaders led a blessing of the future site of the indigenous studies center. The Troth Yeddha’ Legacy initiative is one of the three centennial fundraising campaigns.
The Rasmuson Library celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Alaska and Polar Regions Collections and Archive on July 7. The celebration featured the official naming of the Paul H. McCarthy Research Room. In 1965, Paul McCarthy, a librarian at the University Library, and Ted Ryberg, university librarian, established the archives in a small classroom of the Bunnell Building.
The International Arctic Research Center’s Hajo Eicken and Olivia Lee of the Geophysical Institute led a workshop on energy and resource issues on the North Slope in June. Participants included indigenous North Slope residents, industry representatives, nongovernmental organizations, academics, and local, state and federal agency representatives. They explored past and future implications of resource development. IARC's Douglas Cost and Nancy Fresco, along with UAF Resilience and Adaptation Program graduate students, played an essential role in the workshop.
Elena Sparrow, an IARC researcher and education/outreach program director, led a professional development workshop for educators through the Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment program this summer. The worldwide hands-on environmental science program working in close partnerships with NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation, gathers students, teachers and scientists to investigate local environments and the Earth system.
The Research Vessel Sikuliaq has arrived in Dutch Harbor and on it’s first summer science cruise.
After six weeks of challenging academics, community service and hands-on learning, 59 rural and Alaska Native high school students were commended during the Rural Alaska Honors Institute graduation ceremony July 9. Kathy Milligan-Myhre, an '89 RAHI alumna from Kotzebue, was the ceremony’s keynote speaker. She earned her undergraduate and doctorate degrees in microbiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since UAF created the program in 1983 at the request of the Alaska Federation of Natives, RAHI has prepared hundreds of rural and Alaska Native high school students to adjust academically and socially to college life.
UAFSMOKE program tracks nearly 300 active wildland fires in the state of Alaska. The map was created by the Geophysical Institute’s Martin Stuefer, a research associate professor, and research assistant Christine Waigl.
UAF Fire Chief Doug Schrage was featured in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner June 17 spotlight.
Vice Chancellor Evon Peter appeared on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” on June 2 in a piece on the effort to rename Mount McKinley. To view the segment, visit http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/vbp8i5/living-in-denali/.
UAF will implement a comprehensive, accessible training program where all training is available in one easy-to-find place online. The site will have clearly defined pathways for employees, from initial onboarding through career development, and improved tracking and reporting so employees can easily tell what they need and when they need it. Visit www.uaf.edu/training/ for more information.