• Owen Guthrie, vice chancellor of student affairs and enrollment management

    Friday Focus: Commencement!

    May 03, 2024

    Commencement is one of my favorite days in our annual calendar. I love the gathering of our community and the celebration that fills the great cement hall of the Carlson Center. The whole academic year culminates in this wonderful afternoon. The Nanook Ice Hockey arena, normally floored in a sheet of ice, is filled with celebration and warmth. All the months and years of work by our students and their support teams, and all the work by our staff and faculty from the months gone by come together in this wonderful, uplifting exhalation of collective joy. It is great. I hope to see you there! (1 p.m. in the Carlson Center.) It recently occurred to me that commencement refers to both a beginning and an end. I don't know why I never thought of this before, but it struck me as being so appropriate for our special day of celebration. For our students, commencement IS both. It is the day when we celebrate the completion of their great journey with us and their moment of a new beginning. It is a great stepping off into the next chapter of their lives.
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  • Volunteers find treasures while setting up for the Really Free Market in 2023.

    Volunteers needed for 2024 Really Free Market on May 18

    May 03, 2024

    This is a call for volunteers for the 15th annual Really Free Market, the ultimate freecycling event, on Saturday, May 18. The event is held on the 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø Campus in the Lola Tilly parking lot. As in past years, drop off is from 8-10 a.m. and cleanup usually begins about 11:30 a.m.
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  • URSA bear logo

    URSA announces Summer 2024 Student Project Award recipients

    May 01, 2024

    The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity congratulates the individuals and groups who received an URSA Summer 2024 Student Project Award.
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  • Annual building and window washing

    May 01, 2024

    Our annual window and building washing contract is kicking off a few days early this year. Please see the scheduled dates, times and service for each building.
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  • Volunteers find treasures at the Really Free Market in 2023.

    The Really Free Market is coming soon

    May 01, 2024

    The Really Free Market is the ultimate freecycling event! Bring items to the parking lot adjacent to the Lola Tilly Commons on May 18, from 8 to 10 a.m. At 10 a.m. the market opens and will run for one hour.
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  • 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø faculty pause for a photo with Provost Prakash before a commencement ceremony.

    Academics: Celebrations and gratitude

    May 01, 2024

    As we wrap up one more academic year and celebrate the successes of our graduating students during 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø's 102nd commencement, I want to recognize the tremendous amount of work that goes on to provide a quality education and experience to every student. Every individual's work at the university, directly or indirectly, contributes to the powerful academic engine that, in turn, contributes to student success.
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  • Spring 2024 Travel Award recipients

    URSA announces Spring 2024 Travel Award recipients

    May 01, 2024

    The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity congratulates undergraduate students who received a Spring 2024 Travel Award to actively participate in a gathering of their professional peers this semester.
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  • Dr. Johannes Erritzoe and Helga Erritzoe stand in front of a shipping container loaded with the Erritzoe bird collection headed for the 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø.

    Danish bird collection comes to 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø

    May 01, 2024

    The University of Alaska Museum of the North is delighted to announce the arrival of an invaluable gift — the Erritzoe collection from the House of Bird Research in Denmark.
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  • May training spotlight: Performance management, evaluation

    May 01, 2024

    As we navigate performance evaluation season, and in response to the 2023 UA Employee Feedback Survey, UA HR's Talent Acquisition and Development team is highlighting development resources available to you for coaching, setting goals, supervising diverse teams (including remote and hybrid team structures), and conducting evaluations for this month's training focus.
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  • Apply now for SOTL Summer Writing Residency

    May 01, 2024

    In this summer writing program, faculty and staff are invited to prepare scholarship of teaching and learning work for academic publication. Participants can join at any phase of the writing or research process. The program will include collaborative work, as well as individual writing time.
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  • Attendees participate in a 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø New Employee Welcome event. 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø photo by Carla Browning

    New employee checklist available

    April 29, 2024

    There is a new employee checklist available along with other resources to help your new hires keep track of basic onboarding tasks. Please share it with them and encourage them to attend the New Employee Welcome event when they receive their invitation.
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  • Canvas Procrastinators Bazaar

    April 29, 2024

    Summer 2024 Is the time to transition to Canvas LMS from Blackboard. Haven't made the switch yet? No worries! The Center for Teaching and Learning is hosting a Canvas Procrastinators Bazaar from May 6-17 full of training sessions to help you make the move.
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  • Reminder: Butrovich Data Center outage on May 11-18 to impact internet access

    April 26, 2024

    51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø Facilities Services will conduct a planned maintenance power shutdown in the Butrovich Building to integrate a maintenance bypass switch for the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for the Butrovich Data Center (BDC). The switch will ensure a seamless and continuous power supply to the BDC in the event of a UPS outage or during annual maintenance on the UPS. The BDC electrical system must be temporarily powered down to ensure the safety of technicians doing the work.
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  • Chancellor Dan White

    Friday Focus: The value of a degree

    April 26, 2024

    A week from tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year, Commencement! It is inspiring to shake the hands of 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø graduates as they walk across the stage and receive the degrees they have worked so hard for. As students wrap up their finals and offices across the university prep for one of the biggest events of the year, I am thinking about the value of the degree that 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø students receive. A college diploma itself is just a piece of paper, but it symbolizes the achievement of a journey that started with a decision. A decision based on an analysis of puts and takes, or in other words, return on investment (ROI). For the past decade or so, there has been a national conversation about the value of a college degree. People from all different perspectives and backgrounds have been asking, is a college degree worth it? Before I answer that (spoiler alert - I am going to say YES), I need to know how you (or they) define "worth it."
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  • Robin Masterman standing in front of artwork of salmon

    BLaST celebrates Robin Masterman as April 2024 Scientist of the Month

    April 24, 2024

    BLaST Scholar Robin Masterman is the BLaST Scientist of the Month for April 2024! Masterman is a fourth-year BLaST Scholar and a senior in 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø’s Biological Sciences BS program. Her mother is from Togiak, Alaska, and her father is from Maine. Masterman plans to apply to medical school and return to Alaska to practice as a family physician in rural communities.
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  • Looking out from a plane flying over the Lynn Canal region while conducting aerial imaging. Photo courtesy of Martin Stuefer.

    Alaska EPSCoR 2024 Spring Travel Awards

    April 24, 2024

    Alaska NSF EPSCoR is offering travel funding for the 2024 spring and summer seasons. Awards of up to $3,500 are available to support University of Alaska affiliates traveling domestically to STEAM-related conferences, workshops, presentations, meetings, training, or education activities prior to Aug. 31, 2024. Apply by April 26 at 5 p.m.
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  • Graduation regalia available at the bookstore

    April 24, 2024

    Please stop by the Bookstore to purchase your graduation regalia. No preorder is necessary, we have them in stock! We will also be open extra hours before Commencement if you are coming to Fairbanks just for the event.
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  • Structural realignment of 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø Advising Services

    April 24, 2024

    Effective July 1, 2024, First Year Advising, Student Support Services, and several individual positions in the Center for Teaching and Learning will move from the Office of the Provost to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
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  • Image by Christina Shintani showing a map of permafrost extent in Alaska.

    Permafrost Discovery Gateway Palooza

    April 24, 2024

    Join us May 7-8 for a two-day smorgasbord to learn about the Permafrost Discovery Gateway. This online tool provides researchers, planners, policymakers, educators and the public with timely monitoring of permafrost thaw and its implications.
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  • Alaska 529 Common Questions

    April 24, 2024

    In this edition of Alaska 259 Common Questions, we review the options available when a child doesn't use all the funds in their Alaska 529 account.
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  • University firefighters receive the EMS service of the year award at the Interior Region Emergency Medical Services awards banquet on April 5, 2024.

    University Fire Department recognized as Emergency Medical Service of the Year

    April 22, 2024

    The University Fire Department was recognized as the EMS Service provider of the year by the Interior Region Emergency Medical Services at its 2024 awards banquet on April 5.
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  • Birch Dinner hosted by OneTree Alaska and Sustainability

    April 22, 2024

    The 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø Office of Sustainability and OneTree Alaska will host a birch-themed dinner experience in The Pub on Tuesday, April 30 at 5 p.m.
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  • Students encouraged to submit FAFSA by April 30

    April 19, 2024

    Students are encouraged to submit their FAFSA applications before the end of April so the 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø Financial Aid Office can get their aid offers sent for the 2024-2025 year in May.
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  • Provost Prakash (right) and her husband Rudi Gens (middle) dancing with students and community members during the 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø Holi 2024 celebrations.

    Friday Focus: Let go and let be

    April 19, 2024

    During a daily phone conversation with my mother, who lives in India, she remarked, "It is hot like in summers. It feels like spring is long gone." I looked out of my window, and snowflakes were coming down. In Alaska, seasons have a whole different meaning. Here, I can still talk about the idea of welcoming spring for a long time! Last month, students of the 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø Namaste India club organized a free-for-all event to celebrate Holi - the exuberant festival of colors that marks the beginning of spring in India. A group of 50 or so students, faculty, staff, and community members of all ages came together on a Saturday morning to be a part of this joyous festival that celebrates the diversity of our communities.
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  • Summer Sessions to offer day camps for adults

    April 19, 2024

    This year Summer Sessions not only is offering 88 children's day camps but we also will have summer camps for adults. These camps are designed for individuals who would like to have fun learning this summer.
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