June 2020 Archive

Beginning in Jult 5, 2020, both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Northern Lights Boulevard will be closed to traffic near UAA Drive. Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) work crews will be replacing a creek culvert that collapsed under the road. The road will be fully closed so that the creek can be diverted during construction.

This summer, UAA’s New Student Orientation, also known as Howl Days, went virtual. The New Student Orientation pivoted quickly to take a day-long event completely online with 16 virtual tours, including a self-guided one, as well as a YouTube channel with tips and tricks and a Facebook group page for incoming students.

As many of you are likely aware, Mayor Berkowitz recently signed Emergency Order EO-13 requiring masks or cloth face coverings be worn indoors in public settings or communal spaces outside the home. Since we have committed to remaining in Phase B and limiting on-campus activities through the fall semester, the implications of this emergency order are minimal for UAA. However, we will adhere to the order and have updated our policy guidance where necessary.

To help meet demand for contact tracers in light of increased COVID-19 cases, the State of Alaska Division of Public Health has partnered with the UAA College of Health to implement a contact tracer certification program.

UAA alumni find many ways to stay connected and give back to their community, including nursing grad Tisha Benson, public health and ambulatory care nurse at Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

I am pleased to announce that Shawnalee Whitney will be stepping into the role of associate vice provost, Wednesday, July 1. Whitney has served as director of UAA’s Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) since 2014. She has been recognized with the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2014), a Legislative Citation for contributions to Alaska higher education (2017) and a certificate of recognition from the Diversity Action Council (2019). Throughout her tenure at UAA, she has focused on supporting faculty to become more effective and confident professionals in higher education.

Join the Child Welfare Workforce in Alaska and Advance your Professional Development in Child and Family Services. The Alaska Office of Children’s Services (OCS) in partnership with the UAA School of Social Work extends its invitation to students in Social Work, Human Services, and Justice as well as other disciplines to apply for professional positions in child welfare now open in the State of Alaska.

For the past eight months, folks over at the Student Union have been working tirelessly to convert their online reservation system to 25Live! The Student Union has been using EMS (Event Management Systems) to manage room reservations for the past six years. The new reservation system in 25Live will be active and open for use starting in the fall 2020 semester.