July 2014

UAA's summer conferences and festivals celebrating visual, literary, and dramatic arts include the  Mat-Su College's Machetanz Art Festival, Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Kachemak Bay Writers' Conference and this month's Northern Renaissance Arts & Sciences Reading Series.

Dear UAA Community,

UAA’s first E-Catalog is live and ready for use at catalog.uaa.alaska.edu. Thanks to the leadership of our Office of the Registrar, faculty, staff and students have early access to next year’s academic bulletin. For information on the catalog see the email from Lora Volden, University Registrar

Thanks to our Title IX team and to you, more than 500 employees have completed Title IX training at UAA. For those who did not have a chance to attend one of the 28 training sessions in June, watch for future Title IX trainings. There is no better way to stop sexual harassment and misconduct than to be informed and educated.  I am asking all faculty and staff to attend this important training.

Yesterday, Prioritization Taskforces provided a review of their processes and general overview of their findings to Chancellor’s Cabinet and Prioritization Steering Committee. The Taskforces also delivered confidential reports to cabinet for review. We will review the reports over the next couple of weeks and release them to our campus community shortly thereafter. A post-process timeline, venue for reading and responding to findings, and other details will soon become available. As we continue this process, we are committed to strengthening and aligning UAA's mission and goals to make us the best institution possible.

Thank you to the teams who have worked so hard on this process and thank you to our UAA community for your investment of time and energy. This is a worthy endeavor that will make us stronger.

Student note

UAA students placed fifth in the American College of Sports Medicine Student Bowl. The national academic competition for undergraduate student in kinesiology-related majors operates in a Jeopardy-style format to test knowledge of exercise science.

Athletic note

UAA is partnering with Global Spectrum, an industry leader in arena and stadium management, to operate the new Alaska Airlines Center. Global Spectrum is a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment firm Comcast-Spectacor. Two other subsidiaries of Comcast-Spectacor, New Era Tickets and Front Row Marketing Services will also provide support.

     

Development notes

Dean note

Bart Quimby is the interim dean for the College of Engineering. Bart has served as Chair of the Civil Engineering Department, Associate Vice Provost for Curriculum & Assessment and Associate Dean in Engineering.

Bonnie Nygard is the interim dean for the Community and Technical College (CTC). Bonnie has served as Associate and Interim Dean for CTC and Assistant Provost for Workforce Development & Career Pathway Planning.

   

Diversity note

Faculty and staff completed the latest National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) Social Inclusion and Equity Workshop on June 20.

Since UAA became an NCBI affiliate in 2008, 27 workshops have been delivered across UAA’s campuses, with more than 400 faculty, staff and student participants.

Faculty and staff notes

Diane Hirshberg was elected to serve on the International Arctic Social Sciences Association council at the recent International Congress of Arctic Social Services at the University of Northern British Columbia. More than a dozen UAA faculty, graduates and students attended the conference.

     

Writers conference note:

The 13th annual Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference drew 150 registrants from around the state and across the country with 40 percent return attendees. The three-day “Festival of Literary Readings” open to the public drew hundreds more.

Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference

   

Publication note

The Center for Community Engagement & Learning, with support from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Engagement and Academic Support, published "Teaching Excellence in an Engaged University," recognizing outstanding faculty and student participation in community engaged teaching in disciplines including Biology, Geography, Civil Engineering, Accounting, Theatre and Political Science.

   

International note

UAA signed an agreement with Nankai University in Tianjin, China, providing Nankai students from the master of economics programs to be considered for admission to MBA programs in UAA's College of Business and Public Policy.  UAA will charge full non-resident graduate tuition and fees.

     

Have a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July weekend!

Best regards,

Tom Case