April 2009

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

This is an historic moment. UAA received a $6 million gift from an anonymous donor for scholarships. This gift will be the basis of an endowment to provide needs-based scholarships to students. Over the years, this will mean hundreds more students will have access to higher education at UAA. We also received $1 million in unrestricted money from the generous anonymous donor. We will use this one-time gift to help open the ConocoPhillips Integrated Sciences Building (CPISB) on schedule this fall. We are very grateful for these unrestricted funds. When the legislature provided half the money needed to open and operate CPISB, we considered several options including a delayed opening. This anonymous gift will enable us to open CPISB on time which will make a tremendous difference to our students, staff and faculty. Thank you!

The end of the semester is a very busy time, not only with papers and tests but also wonderful arts and entertainment opportunities provided both by students and faculty. "Fallen" and "New Dances" really showcased UAA creativity. The University Wind Ensemble performed "Dancing at Stonehenge," a program of music at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. UAA's Opera Ensemble's "Viva Zarzuela" was the first partnership presentation by UAA and the Anchorage Opera. Jazz, poetry readings and the UAA Brass Quintet are a few of the many wonderful arts events this month. There's lots of talent at UAA!

Governance groups organized and sponsored a very successful UAA Day of Service, "UAA@Beans Cafe," on April 11. Thanks to all who participated in our first day of service and may it be the first of many more to come! We had more volunteers than could be put work! To those who wanted to serve but were unable because of the high volume of response, I encourage you to check out UAA FUSION. Each semester "For Unity and Service in Our Neighborhoods" (FUSION) provides student volunteers to organizations such as The Food Bank, Catholic Social Services, The Alaska Rescue Mission, Kids Corp, Providence Horizon House, and Anchorage Parks and Recreation. To learn more about FUSION and to get on the list to volunteer please go to www.uaa.alaska.edu/orientation/uaa_fusion.cfm.

Thank you to all who helped with Clean Up Day. Many cigarette butts as well as lots of gum, paper wrappers, cans and other trash were collected by an enthusiastic group of students, staff and faculty. This service to the campus dramatically improves our image: look at the difference!

A final note on the legislature's funding of UAA this year. The University of Alaska system received a $12.9 million increase -- 4.1 percent over the current fiscal year ($4.7 million short of the system's full fixed costs). The budget includes $922,000 to support UA's health training programs and $950,000 for energy related programs at UAF. The capital budget included $3.2 million to maintain UA's existing facilities. The Regents had requested $50M for this category. There are no capital funds for new facilities (including Engineering or the Sports Arena).

We invite all of UAA's friends and colleagues to come to Commencement this Sunday, May 3 at 3p.m. at the Sullivan Arena where 2200 UAA students will receive their degrees! On behalf of all of us at UAA, congratulations graduates! We wish you much success, health and happiness in the years to come. Keep in touch and please keep a little bit of UAA in your hearts.

Q: What award did Dr. Herb "Ilisaurri" Schroeder receive?
A: Dr. Schroeder will receive the 2009 Founder's Award from the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME). The award will be presented at NACME's 35th Anniversary Awards Dinner and Celebration in New York City on Sept. 29, 2009. NACME, established in 1974, created the Founder's Award to recognize individuals who showed exemplary commitment and service in support of NACME's mission. The award comes with a $10,000 gift to be given to a non-profit of Dr. Schroeder's choice.

Q: How are we reducing our use of electricity on campus?
A: For the last five years we've been installing LED lights on campus to replace existing lightbulbs. UAA's research team, funded by AUTC, submitted the economic analysis of LED lighting systems at UAA to Cree. We are a leader among LED universities in the world.

Q: What prize did UAA student Mary Lochner win?
A: Mary won a Vern McCorkle Award for Best Business Reporting prize at the Alaska Press Club Awards for her story, "Growing energy demands, a cold reality for Manokotak," published in The Bristol Bay Times.

Q: By how much did David Registe break his own school record in the long jump at the Long Beach Invitational in April?
A: More than a foot and set a conference record in the long jump with a leap of 25-10 3/4. He added 13 inches to his NCAA Division II automatic qualifying mark and is just the second athlete in GNAC history to long jump 25 feet. At the end of April David's performance leaves him tied for 16th in the world and sixth among Americans. In the process David claimed his second GNAC Athlete of the Week honor. Congratulations!

Q: Will we have to pay for parking this summer?
A: The decision to implement a summer parking fee was approved to help fund the new Parking Garage for the ConocoPhillips Integrated Sciences Building. Summer parking enforcement will begin the first day of summer classes, May 18, 2009. Permits are available from www.thepermitstore.com and range from $25 to $50. If you have an annual parking permit, an additional summer permit is not required. You also do not need a permit if you ride the bus or your bike instead of driving a car -- two good ways to help us reduce our carbon footprint! The U-Pass Program is available through summer and allows students, staff, and faculty to ride the People Mover for free by showing a valid Wolfcard. In addition, the UAA Bike Club and Parking are working together to install more bike racks around campus and are planning to have covered bike storage available by mid-summer

Q: What special award did the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) give Professor of Public Health Betty Buchan?
A: Dr. Buchan received the 2009 Meeting Champion of the Year at the ACVB 29th Annual Seymour Awards Banquet held earlier this month at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center. The Meeting Champion of the Year is bestowed upon an individual or local organization that has helped bring a large piece of national or international convention business to Anchorage. Dr. Buchan, a member of the International Epidemiological Association, has been instrumental in working with members of ACVB's Convention Meetings Sales and Service (CMSS) team to book the World Congress of Epidemiology, anticipated to bring anywhere from 2,500 to 3,500 people from more than 50 countries to Anchorage in October 2014, and worth an estimated $2.3 million for the local economy. Congratulations!

Q: How much did our student phonathon callers receive in pledges to support UAA?
A: UAA Alumni donated more than $100,000 in pledges. Thank you for all your work, callers and thank you to donors!

Did you know:

In Athletics:

• Junior track & field star David Registe was named the 2008-09 UAA Athlete of the Year at the Athletic Dept.'s 25th annual end-of-year awards banquet
• Sophomore gymnast Leah Wilson became the 10th Seawolf gymnast to compete at the NCAA West Regional Championships
• Senior Rebecca Kielpinski (women's basketball), senior Jeremiah Trueman (men's basketball), junior Paul Crowder (hockey) and sophomore Leah Wilson (gymnastics) received their respective team's MVP award.

As always, thank you for all you do to make UAA a great university!