University of Alaska Southeast Faculty and Staff Newsletter November 7, 1997

Ketchikan receives grant

The First City Players in collaboration with the Ketchikan campus have received a $9,000 grant to establish a humanities conference in Ketchikan this spring. Out of town participants, most of them UAS students, will travel to Ketchikan for the February 27 to March 1 conference. Rod Landis and Ketchikan teacher Taylor McKenna wrote and developed the grant application.

Priscilla Schulte, Mike Dunning and Bill Trudeau will take part in seminars, workshops and panel discussions. Sandy Young from the Sitka campus is the keynote speaker.

New Housing Council

A governing council for student housing has been established on the Juneau Campus to give students more of a voice in housing issues according to manager Timi Hough. The council meets Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Meetings are open to all housing residents.

The council's first officers are co-chairs Marie McIntire and Amanda McCowan; Martha Hill, secretary; and Laura McCain, advertising representative. Recent activities include coordinating a Halloween housing decoration competition. Judges Theresa Windred, Lori Exferd and Scott Foster selected Banfield third floor as overall winner.

Hough said the council has also established a food service committee that meets monthly with food services manager Carol Wyatt. In other housing news, a new pool table has been purchased for student housing.

The closing activity for Senior Day used balloons as symbols for life pursuits.

Seniors at UAS for a day

More than 200 seniors from JDHS spent Oct. 24 on the Juneau campus. Nearly 20 different discussion topics were available to help the seniors prepare for life after high school. "The feedback we got was that it went smoothly," according to Greg Wagner.

Frank Coenraad, a JDHS counselor, said, "I've heard so many positive comments. The kids were beaming and saying they wished we could do more of this."

Halloween history told

A turnip was a symbol of Halloween before the pumpkin according to Michael Ciri. That fact and many more about the history of Halloween were shared by Ciri and Tom Thornton who appeared on the KINY radio Capital Chat program with host Chris Burns. Thornton said Halloween is a European and American holiday but other parts of the world have similar rites of reversing roles that use different symbols and occur at different times. Thornton said reversing roles allows people to act out fantasies in a healthy way.

Michael Ciri and Tom Thornton talked about the history of Halloween at KINY.

Leave deadlines

UA employees with more than 240 hours of accrued leave must use it before Jan. 31 or lose it according to Tom Dienst, personnel manager. New university regulations have extended the date for using leave before losing it to Jan. 31. Previously the leave had to be taken by the end of December.

"We get more questions about leave than any other subject," Dienst said. He encouraged employees approaching the leave limit to plan for using it while there is still time for flexibility in work schedules.

Halloween in Sitka

The Sitka staff, faculty and students dressed to impress on Halloween. Included on the "Best Dressed List" were a gorilla, a grandma, a good witch, a minor, a farmer, two ducks and eight pumpkins.! View the pictures at http://www.jun.alaska.edu/uas/sitka/halloween

Sitka halloween staff.

Ayagneq trip

The Sitka campus sponsored a trip for their students in the Ayagneq program. Billy Samato, Fred Otton, Tamsyn Croply, and Liza Mack traveled to Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau under the supervision of Luda Konshin, residence life manager & student activities coordinator. The trip was to familiarize students with other UA campuses and clarify requirements and procedures for smooth transfer.

Ketchikan reception set

A reception for the new Ketchikan librarian, Kelly Skogseth, will be held Friday, November 7 from 5-7 p.m. in the campus library. Ketchikan campus library services are being provided through contract with the Ketchikan City Library.

E-mail problem elusive

"If I knew what the problem was, I'd fix it," computer services manager Michael Ciri says of the recent e-mail difficulties. The search for the cause of the problem continues. He asks that e-mail users continue to let computer services know of problems. Ciri also said UAS is going to have a new e-mail server coming on-line for limited use spring semester and full use by next fall.

Avian grant available

An award of $15,000 is available through the Angus Gavin Memorial Bird Research grant for UA personnel. Proposals for research of any avian species found in Alaska are due Feb. 1, 1997. Contact Scott Foster, 465-6530, for an application.

Writing help available for students

Faculty can help students with weak writing skills. "Plug your students into using the resources available at the Learning Center," Jo Devine suggests. "We can help students work through all stages of the writing process before they submit it to you." Devine encourages faculty to remind their students that writing tutors are available at the Learning Center. Contact Devine at 465-6411 or Roya Ansari at 465-6348.

Restructuring update and hearing

Revised preliminary findings of the UA committee seeking changes in the statewide system office and campus administrative processes is available at http://info.alaska.edu/ua/bor The Planning and Development Committee of the BOR will hold an audio conference public hearing on the report Friday (Nov. 7) from 1 - 3 p.m. The hearing will be held in Juneau at Egan Library 210, in Ketchikan at Ziegler 110, and in Sitka on the main campus.

Scholarship packets ready

Students wanting to apply for scholarships in the 1998-99 school year may pick up the packets from the financial aid office on each campus. They are due March 1. The single application is good for all UAS and UA Foundation scholarships. Scholarships range from $500 to $5,500. About $350,000 in scholarships are available.

Accounting grads hired

Two recent UAS accounting graduates have been hired by the state. Sherry Hassell and Ed Lossett graduated in 1996 with a BBA in accounting and both passed their CPA exam last year. They have now been hired a junior auditors with legislative audit.

Graduates honored

Twelve recent graduates of the UAS early childhood endorsement and masters degree programs were honored during the recent conference of the Anchorage Association for the Education of Young Children. Two of those recent graduates, Susan Akaran of Kotlik and Margo Hanson of Copper Center, also made presentations at the conference.

Donations sought for holiday lights

A goal of $800 has been set to raise money to purchase holiday lights for the Juneau campus. Donations may be made at the bookstore. Linda Snyder and Tish Griffin are coordinating the volunteer efforts. The lights will be placed Nov. 15 by volunteers.

Photo tour on homepage

The UAS homepage now includes a photo tour with 60 different pictures showing the three campuses and Juneau campus details such as housing, food service, library, activities, seasons, downtown and more. The page was produced by Amy Carroll, Michael Ciri, and Melissa Nell and is available at http://www.jun.alaska.edu/uas/photo_tour/index.shtml

Holiday closures

Campuses will also be closed for Thanksgiving Nov. 27 - 30 except for some services such as housing and others as noted on each campus.

A new winter holiday schedule was developed for the three UAS campuses and publicized in mid-summer. As a reminder, the 1997-98 holiday closure will be from Dec. 19 (last day of work) to Jan. 5 (return to work.)

Egan Library news

Copier cards for the Egan Library's new double-sided copy machine are available for purchase at the circulation desk in $5, $10, or $20 amounts. Faculty and departmental cards may also be obtained at the Circulation Desk.

Faculty presentations

  • Marjorie Fields will be making a presentation at the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children on Nov. 13.
  • Jan Parmelee made a presentation at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Western Regional in Anchorage on Oct. 18.
  • Vickie Williams, Janet Dye and Wayne Roberts presented papers at the Conference for Allied Academies in Maui Oct. 14.
  • Richard Hacker presented a session entitled the "Virtual University" at the annual American Association for Paralegal Education conference held in Kansas City in mid-October. He also participated in the AAfPE Board of Directors meeting as the national secretary.

    CALENDAR

    Friday (Nov. 7)
  • Global Connections, Amelia Jenkins discusses Northern Ireland and Prague, 1 p.m., Lake Room
  • BOR audio conference public hearing on proposed changes to the System Office, 1-3 p.m. Egan 210.
  • Fisheries seminar, Fate of Salmon Carcasses, 3:30 p.m. Anderson Bldg., 221.

    Tuesday (Nov. 11)

  • Live entertainment, 7 p.m. Cafe Mourant.

    Wed. (Nov. 12)

  • Basic investing roundtable, noon, Lake Room.

    Friday (Nov. 14)

  • Faculty Friday presentation by Robin Walz, noon, Lake Room.
  • Fisheries seminar, Plankton Production in Prince William Sound, 3:30 p.m. Anderson Bldg., 221.

    Saturday (Nov. 15)

  • Volunteers hang holiday lights, campus.
  • Murder Mystery Dinner, sign up at Student Activities, 5 p.m., Lake Room.

    Tuesday (Nov. 18)

  • Biological seminar, Stream Monitoring in Southeast, noon, Anderson Bldg, 221.

    Thurs. & Fri. (Nov. 20/21)

  • Board of Regents meet in Anchorage.