February 2009

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The legislature is in session and the February meeting of the Board of Regents was held in Juneau giving the Regents, President Hamilton and all of the University of Alaska Chancellors an opportunity to speak with legislators about our priorities this year. The USUAA Advocacy team, staff, faculty and community supporters also traveled to Juneau this month to talk with legislators about funding for the university. Thank you to all who made trips to Juneau or plan to make trips in the future. And thank you to those who are sending messages to legislators. Your voices make a difference to legislators and are the best way for us to let them know of all the wonderful things we are accomplishing at UAA.

You can find one-pagers on our legislative requests and information about UAA on the Chancellor's Web site at http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/chancellor/legislative-advocacy-2009.cfm. We will provide updates at this site as well.

One important request involves our Integrated Sciences Building, slated to be completed in fall '09. We will need $2.1M to open and operate the building. The Governor has $1M in her budget which leaves us $1M short. The House Finance Subcommittee's version of the budget released yesterday does not include any of the ISB money.

This week I met with students at our first Chat with the Chancellor organized by Cristina Gaina and USUAA's Student and Academic Affairs Committee. About 50 students joined us along with Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Bruce Schultz and Glenna Schoening, UAA's new Director of Parking Services.

The questions ranged from parking to advising to sustainability. Look for the answers to some questions we didn't have time for in this FAQ and later FAQs.

Thank you to Cristina and USUAA for sponsoring our Chat with the Chancellor. I hope that you will continue to send me your questions at chancellor@uaa.alaska.edu. I look forward to hearing from you!

Q: How will the new ConocoPhillips Integrated Sciences Building (CPISB) expand the science department in terms of majors offered and will there be more sciences classes offered? (from Chat with the Chancellor)
A: There will be additional sections of several existing science classes that are currently limited by laboratory availability, but there are not currently plans to create additional degree programs. The new building will also increase the quality of instruction by allowing science demonstrations during lectures and by allowing laboratory experiences currently unavailable to students at UAA.

Q: What was Rep. Anna Fairclough doing on campus?
A: Rep. Fairclough took a tour of the Integrated Sciences Building and also met with students for a Brown Bag lunch put on by Journalism and Public Communications. It was great to have an opportunity to show Rep. Fairclough our new state-of-the-art sciences building and to talk with her about how we are preparing students for Alaska's workforce needs. Thank you for coming to campus!

Q: What kind of dance will Provost Mike Driscoll do on the floor of the Sullivan Arena Saturday night?
A: Mike promises to do the Chicken Dance at the Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup hockey game on Saturday, February 28 if we get 50 new gifts to the Seawolf Athletics Legacy Scholarship. We have 31 gifts -- just 19 to go before the deadline of noon on Friday, Feb. 27. Your gift, regardless of size, will count. You can make your gift online, by phone or via payroll deduction (minimum gift amount applies). Go to www.uaa.alaska.edu/giving and click on 'Make a Gift Now' or call (907) 786-1211 for more information. The Legacy Scholarship Endowment will provide scholarships for future student-athletes. Make a gift, help our students and make our Provost dance!

Q: Where do you want to be Saturday night?
A: Helping pack the house at the Governor's Cup. The Seawolves have won the Governor's Cup the past two years and are prepared to defend it again as they take on UAF this weekend. UAA students, employees and alumni with a valid WOLFcard can receive up to 4 free tickets for the game. Free tickets are available through Friday at the Student Union desk for students and employees and in ADM 236 for alumni. You can also enter to win a round-trip ticket on Alaska Airlines, our sponsor. Entry forms are available when you pick up your tickets. The winner will be announced during the game and you must be present to win. For more information please contact either Athletics at (907) 786-1211 or Alumni Relations at (907) 786-1941.

Q: What theatre and music events should you make sure to catch?
A: This is the last weekend of "The Women of...", a thought-provoking and timely play written and directed by David Edgecombe. Check out the Chugach Brass the first week of March and Jazz Week also in March. And bravo to UAA's Symphony of Sounds, Feb. 21-22, which featured the University Sinfonia, UAA Jazz Ensemble, UAA Percussion Ensemble, University Guitar Ensemble, our Opera Ensemble and University Singers. Congratulations to all musicians on your great performances!

Q: What did our Construction Management students win in Reno?
A: Second place in the Associated Schools of Construction Student Competition. The UAA Construction Management/Associated General Contractor Student Chapter team competed in the commercial construction category for Region 6 of Associated Schools of Construction (the Rocky Mountain Region) and came in 2nd place out of 13 teams finishing just behind Colorado State University. Congratulations!

Did you know?

• UAA set the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) record this month for most hockey players making the academic all conference team -- 14 of our 26 players made the team. The most in the 50+ year history of the WCHA!
• For the first time ever, the Alaska Anchorage ski team qualified a full team to compete at the NCAA Championships. The Seawolves are one of only three teams in the west that will bring the maximum 12 skiers to the championships on March 11-14 at Newry/Rumford, Maine. Denver and Utah also qualified a full team. Go Seawolves!

As always, thank you for all you do to make the University of Alaska Anchorage a great university!