Nancy Tarnai
907-474-5042
9/9/11

Registration is now open for the annual Geographic Bee for fourth- through eighth-graders in Alaska schools and homeschool associations.

School bees are held from November through January and the Alaska state bee is March 30th. One winner from each state gets to attend the national meet in Washington, D.C. in May 2012.

Visit www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/ for more information and registration instructions. The deadline for early registration is Oct. 15th.

The Alaska Geographic Bee is sponsored by the UA Geography Program and the Alaska Geographic Alliance.

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Brian Rogers

Marmian Grimes
907-474-7902
9/9/11

University of Alaska Fairbanks Chancellor Brian Rogers will address staff, faculty, students and community members Tuesday, Sept. 13 at fall convocation. The presentation will take place at 1 p.m. in the Charles W. Davis Concert Hall on the UAF campus.

Rogers will highlight the university’s recent accomplishments and offer a glimpse of the path ahead as UAF moves toward its centennial in 2017. He will speak about the university’s upcoming accreditation site visit and strategic planning process, as well as give an overview of his capital and programmatic priorities.

Students, staff, faculty, alumni and the public are invited to attend. Rural sites can listen via audioconference. The event will also be available via webcast at www.uafnews.com/webcasts. The link will also be available at the chancellor’s website at www.uaf.edu/chancellor/. An ice cream social in the Great Hall will immediately follow the event. The chancellor’s office will also sponsor ice cream socials at rural campuses and centers.

Following convocation, the chancellor’s remarks will be available online at www.uaf.edu/chancellor/.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Copies of Rogers’ convocation address, as well as dial-in information for reporters in remote locations, will be available from Grimes on Tuesday morning.

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Sylvester Neal

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Alumni Association will honor the President of Kiwanis International Sylvester Neal with the 2011 Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Neal will receive the award Sept. 23 during the annual alumni awards luncheon at the Princess Riverside Lodge. The event is part of the UAF Alumni Association’s annual reunion, scheduled for Sept. 22 – 24.

Neal, the sixth of nine children, was born and raised near Austin, Texas. In 1978, he graduated from UAF with an associate degree in police administration and in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in justice.

Neal’s career has been marked by his service as a member of the Kiwanis Club. During his tenure at Kiwanis Club of Fairbanks, Neal served as club secretary, club president and lieutenant governor of the Alaska Yukon. He is currently a member of Kiwanis Club of The Valley in Auburn, Wash. He served as governor of the Pacific Northwest District for Kiwanis in 2002-03 and then quickly ascended the Kiwanis International ranks, serving as trustee, vice president and president-elect. In June 2010, at the 95th Annual Kiwanis International Convention in Las Vegas, Neal was elected president of the 600,000-member Kiwanis International organization. Kiwanis International is a service club founded in 1915 that serves children and youths through activities that promote health, education, leadership and service.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award was first given in 1962 and recognizes service to UAF, business or professional accomplishments and distinguished human service.

The association will also honor seven other alumni during the awards luncheon.
The 2011 Alumni Achievement Awards for Business and Professional Excellence will go to Anchorage businesswoman and UA Foundation board member Jo Michalski,’ 76, and co-owner of Kohler, Schmitt & Hutchison, CPAs, Garry Hutchison, ’75 .

The Alumni Achievement Award for University Support will go to director of the UAF Graduate School and Interdisciplinary Programs Laura Bender, ’80 and ’82, and Tony Gasbarro, ’79, director of the UAF Peace Corps International Master’s Program.

The Alumni Achievement Award for Community Support will be awarded to Acoustic Adventures co-owner Trudy Heffernan, ’87, and UAF Athletic Hall of Fame member and high school teacher Milo Griffin, ‘70.

The William R. Cashen Service Award will be presented to UAF staff member and alumni volunteer Barbara Day. The award recognizes outstanding service to the alumni association.

Doug Colp, ‘40, founder of University of Alaska’s Mineral and Petroleum Technology associate-degree program, will be the recipient of the Lenhart J.H. Grothe Resource Award. The Grothe Award posthumously honors an alumnus for contributions in the resource, mining or agricultural fields.

The Awards Luncheon is just one of many activities scheduled as part of the 2011 alumni reunion. Other events include the chancellor’s welcome reception, alumni night at The Pub, the UAF Athletics Hall Of Fame Brunch and the lighting of the Starvation Gulch bonfires. For a full schedule and to register or to purchase luncheon tickets, visit www.uaf.edu/alumni/reunion/ or call 907-474-7081. The deadline to reserve a seat at the luncheon is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Joe Hayes, UAF Alumni Association director, at 907-474-7081 or via email at [email protected].

ON THE WEB: www.uaf.edu/alumni/reunion/

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Theresa Bakker
907-474-6941
9/7/11

The University of Alaska Museum of the North will host Collection Connection Family Day, Saturday, Sept. 17 from noon to 4 p.m.

What kinds of rocks, insects, plants and other items from the natural world do you have at home? Are there dolls or artwork in your family that you’ve always wondered about? Ask our curators about items you’ve discovered and learn about the museum’s collections. Please do not bring items, but photographs are recommended.

The activities are included with regular museum admission. For more information, call 907-474-7505 or visit the museum online at museum.uaf.edu.

ON THE WEB: http://www.uaf.edu/museum/calendar/

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Marmian Grimes
907-474-7902
9/6/11

The University of Alaska Fairbanks will host Byron Mallott for a free public lecture Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 4 p.m. in the Wood Center Ballroom on the UAF campus.

Mallott will discuss the history of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The event will be webstreamed live at www.alaskalivestream.com.

Mallott was born and raised in Yakutat, Alaska. He was elected the city’s mayor at age 22. He went on to serve under every Alaska governor since statehood and was the state’s first commissioner of the Department of Community and Regional Affairs. In addition to his service in state government, Mallott served as the mayor of the City and Borough of Juneau, a term as president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, and co-chair of the Commission on Rural Governance and Empowerment. He is the founding president of the First Alaskans Institute and has served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards.

Mallott’s talk is part of a series of public lectures and presentations hosted by the UAF Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Kay Thomas, Alaska Native Studies, at 907-474-6528 or [email protected].

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Shelbie Umphenour
907-474-2417
9/6/11

Travel writer and essayist Lawrence Millman will give a free public reading Friday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Wood Center Ballroom on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

Millman’s books include “Last Places,” “A Kayak Full of Ghosts,” and “Lost in the Arctic.”

Millman’s reading kicks off the 2011-2012 Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series, sponsored by the UAF English Department.

For more information, including a full schedule of visiting writers, visit the events calendar at www.alaska.edu/english.

ON THE WEB: www.alaska.edu/english

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Marmian Grimes
907-474-7902
8/30/11

TheatreUAF will host open auditions for its fall productions Saturday, Sept. 3 starting at 1 p.m. in the Salisbury Theatre on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

This fall’s productions include “The Messenger,” which is a film and stage production, and three short plays for the season’s “Winter Shorts.”

Auditions are open to all. Actors do not have to be UAF students.

For more information, contact the UAF theatre department at 474-6590 or visit them online at www.theatreUAF.org.

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Theresa Bakker
907-474-6941
8/26/11

The University of Alaska Museum of the North is looking for volunteer docents for its school tour programs this semester. Docents receive free training in how to use the museum’s exhibits and hands-on collection to teach students about science, culture and art. No experience is necessary.

Docents commit to leading elementary school class tours one morning a week. Credit is available through the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

For more information or to register for the training, call 907-474-5360 or email [email protected].

ON THE WEB: http://www.uaf.edu/museum/calendar/

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UAF photo by Maureen McCombs
Freshmen jump in front of the UAF time and temperature sign during the scavenger hunt as part of student orientation.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks will welcome more than 800 new students starting this weekend at the kickoff of new student orientation activities. The four-day event, which runs Sunday, Aug. 28 through Wednesday, Aug. 31, will include workshops and activities for new students and their families, as well as opportunities for students to connect with the Fairbanks community.

Orientation will officially kick off at 7:45 p.m. at Beluga Field with a dedication of the campus’ new Outdoor Education Center. Students will have the chance to meet their orientation leaders and members of their orientation group. Highlights of this year’s new student orientation events include workshops on making sound financial choices in college, a college-life game show, a city tour, sessions with tips for academic success, a disc golf tournament, a special late-night shopping event at West Fairbanks Fred Meyer and a mixer for family members at the Pub Sunday evening. A full schedule of events, as well as information on how to register for orientation, is available online at www.uaf.edu/orientation.

Campus residence halls will open for students to begin moving in at 8 a.m. Sunday Aug. 28. Student move-in includes “Rev It Up” activities in Hess Recreation Center in the Moore-Bartlett-Skarland complex from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is designed to be a one-stop resource for incoming freshmen, but is open to any student. It includes representatives from a wide variety of student services departments on campus who provide information on academics and student life. Residence Life staff members, community volunteers and UAF staffers will be there to help students move into their new homes. This year, more than 1,400 students will live in campus residence halls.

The weekend’s events will also include family orientation on Sunday, Aug. 28. Student services offices will be open after Rev It Up from 3-5 p.m. Classes begin Thursday, Sept. 1.

CONTACT: Damien Snook, new student orientation coordinator, at 907-474-2760 or [email protected].  Jamie Napolski, residential freshman coordinator, 907-474-1885 or [email protected].

ON THE WEB: http://www.uaf.edu/orientation/

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Michelle Renfrew
907-455-2833
8/22/11

The UAF Community and Technical College will host an open house and registration event Wednesday, Aug. 24 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the newly renovated building at 604 Barnette Street.

The event is open to all new and returning students, as well as people looking for more information about the many degree programs available.

Students will be able to speak with program advisors, register for UAF classes, pay fees, apply for financial aid and more, all in one night.

For more information about the open house and registration event, visit www.ctc.uaf.edu or call 907-455-2800.

ON THE WEB: www.ctc.uaf.edu

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