For Immediate Release
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008

The University of Alaska Board of Regents meets Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 1 and 2, 2008, in Fairbanks to address a short list of action items, including schematic approval on the long discussed Arctic Health Laboratory Revitalization project and electrical system upgrades at UAF, an adjustment to the master campus plan for UAA to include the newly funded Health Sciences Building, and formal approval for the UA system's six-year capital improvement plan.

Public testimony will be taken 10 a.m. Monday and at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Status reports, informational items and routine matters dominate the two-day meeting. However, regents will attend two noteworthy events.

At 5:30 p.m. Monday, regents and invited guests will attend a sneak preview of an upcoming documentary on E.L. "Bob" Bartlett, produced by KUAC/AlaskaOne. The reception at the UAF museum is expected to draw several dignitaries, including Alaska Constitutional Convention delegates Jack Coghill and Vic Fisher; and Bartlett's daughter, Doris Ann, who also worked as staff at the convention.

The festivities are part of the university's Eight Stars of Gold project, honoring Alaska's 50th statehood anniversary. The late Bob Bartlett is known as "the architect of Alaska statehood." He served Alaska for over two decades in Washington, D.C., first as a territorial delegate and, following statehood, as a senator.

At the invitation-only reception, former state Senator and Lt. Gov. Coghill will present a commemorative 49th star flag to the university, featuring autographs from living Constitutional Convention delegates. The flag is a gift from Coghill's son, state Rep. John Coghill. Former Revenue Commissioner and Fairbanks attorney Mary Nordale, whose mother, Katherine Nordale, was a convention delegate, will present university officials with an original Alaska Constitution signed by the 55 convention delegates. Other convention participants and dignitaries are expected to attend as well.

At the reception, KUAC/AlaskaOne will show several video clips from the upcoming documentary, which will air on statewide public television in January. For more details on Bob Bartlett's illustrious career, please visit:
http://www.alaska.edu/creatingalaska/StatehoodFiles/whoswho/alaskans/bartlett.xml.

On Tuesday, regents will attend a 2 p.m. dedication of the Henry Springer Ornithology Laboratory at the museum. Springer is perhaps best known in Alaska's engineering and construction circles, having had a long and successful career at the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and having served as head of Associated General Contractors. Lesser known, however, is Springer's longtime devotion to the study of birds. He's been associated with the UA Museum of the North for over 40 years, and has donated numerous specimens to the museum. He's also served as a research associate in the museum's Department of Ornithology.

Following the lab dedication, guests will visit the new ornithology laboratory and tour the museum's research facilities. The dedication is open to the public and press.

The December meeting marks the last for board members Mary K. Hughes of Anchorage and Michael Snowden of Sitka, whose terms expire in February. Regents are expected to approve resolutions of appreciation for both Hughes and Snowden in recognition of their service to the 16-campus UA system and the 30,000-plus students it serves.

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For more information, please call Jeannie Phillips, at 907/450-8010. To view the complete agenda, go to www.alaska.edu/bor.

NR17-08