|
| |
| University of Alaska Southeast Faculty and Staff Newsletter | July 16, 1999 |
I leave to accept new opportunities on the Fairbanks campus knowing UAS is strong, invigorated and healthy. We have established a realistic plan for the future that will capitalize on our location and our ability to respond rapidly to changing local needs while at the same time retaining our traditional strengths of outstanding faculty and staff, small class size and personal attention to students.
Over the last 12 years we have successfully worked through university restructuring, program assessment, accreditation and much more. Of course challenges remain for the future, and I know UAS is poised to successfully meet the challenges and excel.
The success will come because of our student's success. Throughout Southeast, UAS graduates working in every walk of life are advancing themselves and their communities. Because we provide higher education opportunities throughout the region, UAS is part of the basic economic foundation of each community we serve.
Although I will be working on the Fairbanks campus starting August 2, a part of me will always be here. Just this week, for example, as I was packing boxes in my office, I looked out my window at a flat calm Auke Lake. That mirror-like reflection will remain in my mind as a perfect memory of Southeast Alaska.
My best to the UAS family and my profound thanks to each of you for your support.
Sincerely,
Marshall Lind
July 15, 1999
Olga Pestrikoff, a teacher in Old Harbor near Kodiak, is taking two classes. "It's very invigorating with lots of information and a lot of work in a little bit of time." She is taking Native American Literature and Sustaining Indigenous Languages and will use the classes to help in efforts to revive Native languages in Old Harbor.
Judy Andree is one of three UAS faculty members taking Bread Loaf classes. "The discussions are wonderful. The classes are challenging. Every instructor is nurturing." She will use her Bread Loaf knowledge in the freshman seminar she is teaching in the fall. Sue Koester and Jo Devine are also taking the class. Several UAS adjunct faculty members attended a Bread Loaf workshop, Staging in the Class.
A free public reading series is taking place as part of Bread Loaf. The schedule includes: July 15, John Elder, "Literature, Education, and Environmental Stewardship;" July 22, Richard Nelson, "Celebrating the Wild in Southeast Alaska: Selected Readings;" July 27, Courtney Cazden, "Contributions from Indigenous Languages and Cultures to Education for All." All the readings take place at 7 p.m. in Egan Library.
On Aug. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Prospero and the Killer Whale will be presented in Egan Library. The production is a David Hunsaker adaptation of The Tempest and Tlingit legend.
UAS was named a permanent Bread Loaf site last fall and joins three other locations. Students take graduate classes and may work toward a master's degree in English from Middlebury College in Vermont.
Horst, who has been student government president on the Juneau campus the past year, will serve a two-year term as student representative to the 11-member board that sets policy and oversees finances for the statewide university system.
"Josh Horst has the experience and skill to make an excellent regent," Knowles said. "He is respected by students and represents them effectively with faculty and staff. Josh has a proven track record of leadership including his work with a new peer mentoring program at the Juneau campus and his help to establish a student ambassador program to assist with recruiting."
The regents meet six times per year and receive no monetary compensation.
Monday the students studied lab techniques with Randy Stahl and took Auke Lake water samples and measured water quality. On Wednesday and Thursday the students were in Berners Bay area, lead by Carl Byers, and camped in the state cabins.
Thursday and Friday Beth Mathews took the group on a marine mammal survey cruise to Icy Strait. "The students will be trained to use field methods similar to those used during actual vessel surveys for marine mammals," according to Mathews. The group planned to overnight in Gull Cove and also help former UAS student Shannon Crowley, now working for ADFG, establish his base camp on Lemesieur Island.
"The Institute is an opportunity for students to be exposed to a broad range of disciplines," Stahl said. "Students get a chance to acquire practical skills they would expect to be proficient in as they go to college." The institute concludes July 18.
Cathy Connor is currently teaching geology on the icefield.
Timi Hough will be working on the Universe Explorer from July 13-27 as an Elderhostel instructor/coordinator. The trip goes throughout SE, into Glacier Bay and on to Valdez and Seward.
John Pugh, Robin Walz, and Timi Hough attended the Noel Lovitz National Retention Conference in San Francisco, July 10-13.
Bill Brown's opinion column on the proposed cruise ship tax was published in the Juneau Empire on July 12.
Using scuba, Stekoll and Morris spent four days in June diving and quantifying fish living near the bottom of the water, invertebrates and seaweeds. In addition, underwater videos were made of the site. Paquette ran the UAS vessel "Kelp Pig," and Champagne worked as deckhand. Stekoll said he was pleased with the operation of the project and gave high praise to the work done by all the UAS students.
Courses cover hundreds of topics including Microsoft Office, web page creation, and more. Courses can be accessed directly on campus or downloaded to your home PC for fast off-line study. They will soon be available on CD-ROM for a nominal price. Anyone with technical difficulties should contact the UAS Help Desk in Juneau at 465-6400 or toll free at (877) 465-6400.
The research involves a survey of the walrus herds across the ice edge and determining their age and sex. Kelly received a grant from the North Pacific Marine Research Program to help cover the cost of the cruise and data analysis.
Last year Kelly and UAS students conducted research in September and determined the survival of juvenile walruses was lower than expected for at least the last three years. That was the first survey of walruses by age class in 15 years. The ice edge in July is expected to be smaller and the animals will be more concentrated.
Sunday, July 18
Thursday, July 22
Tuesday, July 27
Monday, Aug. 2