Fran Ulmer,

February 2008

PROGRAM SUCCESS CHANCELLOR’S MESSAGE UAA releases Phase 1 of election box security study Before we say goodbye to 2007, let’s take a Governor Sean Parnell and the Division of Elections requested the University moment to admire the work of faculty, students, of Alaska to analyze the State of Alaska’s voting technologies and staff and regents. We made a lot of progress at procedures used to count and tabulate ballots. The University was UAA last year! asked to review the current system and determine if there are security Here are just a few examples: we adopted problems that could jeopardize the results of elections. On Dec. 21st a new strategic plan, created a graduate school, UAA held a joint press conference with the Lt. Governor’s office established the Honors College, developed a new energy plan, graduated the largest to release the results of Phase I of the study. Phase II of the study, class in UAA history, doubled the number of which addresses recommendations for improvement and action, is WWAMI students, completed 25 percent of currently underway. the Integrated Science Building construction, and UAA’s ’s in Project Management UAA aviation development featured on “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” became one of only 13 programs accredited Last month “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer” featured a segment on new aviation world wide. technology that spotlighted Alaska’s role in developing and testing the new equip- Thanks to the energy and commitment of ment. Leonard F. Kirk, Deputy Director of the many, we start the new year with optimism and CAPSTONE program in UAA’s Aviation Technol- enthusiam. ogy Division was one of several aviation experts This semester is already shaping up to be a busy one. Student headcount and credit hours interviewed on-camera for the segment titled, are up at UAA over last year. Thanks to a new “FAA Tests GPS-based Air Traffic Control.” Kirk early registration process available for degree- “played a key role” in developing the new GPS- seeking students, many students went online to based system, according to reporter Tom Bearden. efficiently avoid lines and paper. Unfortunately, The versatile system provides navigation aids, weather data, surveillance, communica- due to demand, many Anchorage campus tions and flight information services. classes closed by the end of the first day of spring opening registration, particularly general New and improved energy policy for UAA education requirement courses. Less than UAA adopted a new energy policy “to minimize energy use, energy costs, environmental 48 hours after opening, nearly 6000 students impact of harmful emissions, and depletion of nonrenewable had registered for 66,959 course credit hours resources.” UAA is committed to achieving best practice standards and there were 260 closed or overcapacity in energy management and sustainability for higher education by courses. investing in energy efficient plants, projects and building design; by Our students continue to inspire pride in UAA. Undergraduate research is an exciting increasing campus community awareness and education; and by area of rapid growth. Students won more than procuring goods and services from organizations that demonstrate $30,000 in grants and stipends to conduct a positive commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability. original research this semester. And our student athletes are making us proud! Our basketball Ph.D. Program in Clinical-Community Psychology receives recognition teams are nationally ranked; women are 7th The UAA-UAF joint Ph.D. Program in Clinical-Community Psychology with Rural, and men are 12th nationally. Go Seawolves! Indigenous Emphasis received a certificate of recognition for Innovation in Workforce I hope you will join us for game or a tour Development, presented by the Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce. or a class. Our community partners are always welcome at UAA. The mission of the Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce is to build a national consensus on the nature of the workforce crisis and to promote improvements Fran Ulmer in the quality and relevance of education and training by identifying and implementing Chancellor change strategies. STUDENT SUCCESS UAA student to benefit from Two UAA leaders elected to training program prestigious posts UAA students win BP Alaska Honors student Beth Landon and Cheryl Easley have recently scholarships and Biology major been elected to prestigious professional Four students were Carly Craig has association posts. Beth Landon, director of selected as recipients been selected the Alaska Center for Rural Health (ACRH), of the BP Alaska to participate in recently won her election to become Scholarship Initiative to a 5-day training the president-elect of the National Rural take part in a 15-week program sponsored Health Association (NRHA). The NRHA is program internship by the Office a membership organization dedicated to with the Washington of Training and the improvement of health care services in Center. Fall interns were Lindsey Heiserman, Diversity, the Division of Intramural Research, rural areas. Cheryl Easley, dean of the UAA the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious a senior majoring in Business Administration, College of Health and Social Welfare, was Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institutes of who served as an intern with the Department recently elected president of the American Health. This program includes scientific lectures of Treasury as a Special Events Assistant and Public Health Association (APHA), the Severin Randall, a junior majoring in Philosophy, and participation in informal discussions with researchers within the various NIAID oldest, largest and most diverse organization who interned with the Center for the Study of public health professionals in the world. of the Presidency. Cami Woolam, a senior laboratories; tours of the NIAID laboratories; Easley will be the first Alaskan elected majoring in Economics, and Natasha Udovyk, a one-on-one interviews with NIAID principal president of APHA. senior majoring in Economics, will be assigned investigators seeking to fill training positions. internships during the spring semester. DEVELOPMENT NEWS Students’ business plan judged a FACULTY & STAFF • Famed Alaska gardener winner ACHIEVEMENTS bequeaths $1 million to UAA Two UAA students,Tracey Wood and Julia Martin, Lenore Hedla made her name as the were among winners in the 2007 Alaska Pacific UAA researcher finds better odds “grandmother of Anchorage gardeners” Business Plan Competition, results of which asteroid will strike Mars and worked for more than 40 years on were announced last month. Wood and Martin On Jan. 2 Dr. Andy her extensive South Anchorage gardens. finished in 5th place for their plan for a proposed Puckett, a Post-Doc At age 91, Hedla died last year. Her company, ReFeathering, a home-and-office at the University of staging and design business. College students bequest to UAA of $1 million, which Alaska Anchorage was received last month, will support as well as community members competed for (UAA), increased accounting professors, faculty and students money and the honor of being judged the odds that an in College of Business and Public Policy.. to have the best business plans for the year. asteroid will collide with Mars to 1-in-28. Some two weeks earlier, before Puckett’s discovery, • The Rasmuson Foundation Student wins the odds were nearly three times as remote. has committed $2 million as a travel grant The asteroid WD5 has great timing in that it challenge grant for ANSEP UAA Theatre and arrives at the right moment for the Astronomy The Rasmuson Foundation has contributed Dance student program at UAA. Travis Rector, Puckett’s a $2 million challenge grant to fund the Josh Lee was colleague at UAA, recently won a $500,000 creation of an Endowed Chair position for awarded a travel grant from the National Science Foundation the Alaska Native Science and Engineering grant to attend to develop a new physics and astronomy Program (ANSEP). The endowed ANSEP the American College Dance Festival in March curriculum that can be used nationwide; one Chair ensures a permanent advocate 2008 in Irvine, California. Lee will perform with of his first acts was to hire Puckett because of for Alaska Natives and other Indigenous the UAA Dance Ensemble was well as take a his expertise with the Kuiper Belt, a region in Americans in higher education, and provides variety of workshops from nationally recognized the outer Solar System rife with comets and ongoing stability for the program. choreographers. asteroids.

Community Campus News Mat-Su adjunct makes a movie KPC professor to be featured on BBC Kodiak staff member wins Grant Olson, Dr. Cathryn Pearce, associate professor An article entitled “Improving Supervision Mat-Su College of History at Kenai of Part-Time Instructors,” written by Evelyn adjunct faculty, Peninsula College, who Davidson, Coordinator of Developmental produced, wrote was awarded her PhD Studies, Kodiak College, has been selected by and directed in Maritime History from the National Association of Developmental the new movie the Greenwich Maritime Education as an Outstanding Article for the “Jack and Jill”. The Institute this past summer, Journal of Developmental Education. Davidson’s PG-13 romantic was interviewed for the -winning BBC article addresses an extremely important comedy about life, love, lies and larceny included documentary series, “Timewatch.” Pearce topic for both developmental education and scenes shot on the Palmer campus. The world- will be featured on the maritime wrecking higher education in general. The award will premiere of the movie was featured as a part special. The BBC used footage of Cathryn be formally presented at the association’s of the free 50th anniversary Mat-Su College and her wrecking research throughout the annual conference in Boston, MA in February. Winter Festival on Saturday, January 26th. documentary that will air in in January.