Forty-Ninth State Fellows’ Meetings and Events

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In addition to the events available to University Honors College students, Forty-Ninth State Fellows have some required and optional events specific to their program.

Below is a general description of the types of events in which Forty-Ninth State Fellows will participate. All specific events will be listed on the Honors College Calendar of Events.

You may also download the Forty-Ninth State Fellows’ Spring 2006 Schedule and a full description of all events and expectations.

Rustication
The rustication of the Fellows is their first gathering as a class. It is held off-campus in a rural location in the summer before the fall term begins. The purposes of the rustication are to challenge the Fellows, to teach them more about Alaska and the new responsibilities they have taken on, and to allow them to get to know each other, the Forty-Ninth State faculty, and themselves.

Fellows’ Meetings
Regular weekly meetings of the Forty-Ninth State Fellows are scheduled each Wednesday in term time from 5.30 to 6.45 p.m., and will usually be held in the Consortium Library. Fellows should arrange their academic schedules accordingly.

The purposes of Fellows’ Meetings are for planning and organization of activities and events, to advance the Fellows’ education, and for the Fellows to get to know one another. Fellows will take turns presiding over the Fellows’ Meetings, the program of which will vary from week to week. Some meetings will include a meal or a guest.

Fellows’ Seminars
Special seminars are organized for Forty-Ninth State Fellows. These seminars enrich the Fellows’ formal education by giving them a chance to explore a subject as a group. Seminars are held every few weeks in term time.

Often short readings will be distributed to Fellows to be read in advance of a seminar. Fellows should come prepared to ask questions and are expected to participate actively in the discussion. Among the seminars are those held for Fellows before each Polaris Lecture and Anchorage Opera presentation. Fellows should wear business attire unless the schedule specifies otherwise.
Occasionally, seminars may be held outside term time or announced with very short notice.

Memberships

Alaska World Affairs Council. Forty-Ninth State Fellows are members of the Alaska World Affairs Council and are invited to attend its regular weekly luncheon meetings with a speaker, which are usually held downtown at the Anchorage Westward Hilton Hotel on Fridays at noon, without charge. They are also invited to attend other events.
Commonwealth North. Forty-Ninth State Fellows are members of Commonwealth North and are invited to attend its forums, many of which are held at the Hotel Captain Cook or one of the other downtown hotels at 7.00 a.m. They will be billed for their attendance and reimbursed by the Forty-Ninth State Fellows Program.

Anchorage Opera
The Forty-Ninth State Fellows Program has a special relationship with the Anchorage Opera, which presents several operas each season. In each case, the Fellows are guests of the Opera at a dress rehearsal and a behind-the-scenes tour. In addition, Fellows attend a seminar before each opera to help them understand it. The schedule for opera events is published to Fellows in advance. They are an integral part of the Fellows’ liberal education.

Democracy Forum
The Democracy Forum was formed in 2005 to organize the Forty-Ninth State Fellows Program and other programs of interest to students, faculty, and the general public. Among the programs of the Democracy Forum are the Polaris Lectures and special institutes and meetings for teachers and students.

Polaris Lecture Program: The Polaris Lectures, named for the North Star on Alaska’s flag, address a wide range of subjects in the liberal arts and are an integral part of the Fellows’ education.
Special Institutes and Meetings. The Democracy Forum, in association with collaborating academic departments and outside institutions, hosts special institutes for secondary school teachers. When such institutes have themes relating to history, politics and civic education, the Forty-Ninth State Fellows will be invited. In addition, the Democracy Forum organizes gatherings of Alaskan students attending colleges and universities Outside while they are home for the holidays, with Forty-Ninth State Fellows serving as hosts for those meetings.

Summer Internships and Experiences
Fellows are expected to participate in summer internships as follows:

Rural Alaska: Before beginning their sophomore year, Forty-Ninth State Fellows deepen their understanding of rural Alaska by having an opportunity to study the culture, history and people of rural Alaska and to experience life there.
Lower 48 and Washington, D.C.: Before beginning their junior year, Forty-Ninth State Fellows travel to historic sites in the Lower 48 and study the workings of American government through an internship in Washington, D.C.
Abroad: Before beginning their senior year, Forty-Ninth State Fellows travel and live abroad to gain an appreciation of a foreign country.

Information on the schedule for summer internships will be made available to Fellows well in advance. Fellows can expect that these experiences will last several weeks each summer.

Public Service
Forty-Ninth State Fellows, on account of their unusual talents, owe unusual service to their community and to the public. HNRS A310 Community Service: Theory and Practice, offers a formal opportunity for Fellows in their junior year to engage in public service and to reflect upon that experience.

Current Events
Fellows are expected to be familiar with current events, both in their own community and in the state, country, and around the world, as part of their education and to equip them for conversation. Fellows are advised to make a habit of reading the local newspaper and at least one serious national newspaper every day: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The
Wall Street Journal, or the Christian Science Monitor are examples of such newspapers, which may be read in their print versions or on-line.

Weekly newsmagazines or journals of opinion of various viewpoints, such as The Economist, The New Republic, Harper’s, The Weekly Standard, Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, Commentary, The Wilson Quarterly, The Claremont Review, etc., are also recommended.