On behalf of the staff, faculty and students of the University of Alaska system we'd like to extend our welcome to Patrick Gamble as he begins his work as president on June 1. Welcome to the university, we look forward to working with you!

Congratulations to everyone who received a degree or certificate this year, including a few statewide employees. Good work and good luck in all your future endeavors!

• Tabitha Johnson, Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in General Management
• Josh Michie, Petroleum Engineering degree
• Dustin Bawcom, Bachelor's in Japanese Studies

Commencement photo gallery from UA campuses all around the state. VIEW

SAA sponsored a farewell potluck for Mark and Patty Hamilton on May 6, 2010 to thank them for 12 years of service to the University of Alaska. Click HERE for photos from the event.

The Board of Regents held a reception for the Hamiltons at the Museum of the North. Members of staff, faculty, business leaders, elected representatives, community members and other longtime friends were invited to share their memories and thank the Hamiltons for their service. After UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers, Cynthia Henry of the board of regents, Randy Pitney of the alumni association, friends Chick and Carolyne Wallace, UA Vice President Wendy Redman and UAF history Professor Terrence Cole spoke about Hamilton’s service, he said a few words of his own to the audience at the museum. MORE...

A Quicktime slideshow highlighting Hamilton's 12 years at the university can be viewed HERE.

The University of Alaska will recognize two steadfast supporters of mining and petroleum industry training and education by naming a Kenai Peninsula College building in their honor Saturday May 22, 2010.

The husband and wife team of Dennis and Ginger Steffy have nearly 70 years of service between them in support of vocational-technical education in Alaska’s mining and petroleum industries. Since the founding of UA’s Mining and Petroleum Training Service, or MAPTS, in 1979, the Steffys have helped train an estimated 100,000 students in everything from underground mine safety training to oil and gas drilling technology. MORE...

The polls have closed and votes have been tabulated. Congratulations to this year's members and alternates!

Voting Members 2010-2012:
Anchorage:
� Erica Fitchett
Fairbanks:
� Betty Dupee
� Jeff Holloway
� Izzy Martinez
� Bess Rounds
� Lisa Sporleder����

Alternates 2010-2011:
Linda Hall
Rita Murphy

For a complete overview of the last SAA meeting and a review of upcoming events please ready the SAA Highlights. HERE...

Staff at Kenai Peninsula College are the latest to receive Community Emergency Response team training through UA Risk Services. Skills taught during the two-day workshop include basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

The local food movement expresses itself in many ways: farmers’ markets, the slow food movement, community supported agriculture, community gardens, urban farms, guerilla gardening, and so on. In Alaska, the national groundswell in small, sustainable local farming has developed in recent years as a dramatic increase in the number of farmers’ markets, CSAs, and small startup farms. The cost of petroleum; concerns about malnutrition, climate change, and the security of our food supply; and interest in green practices are combining to create this resurgence of interest in Alaska agriculture. The major university campuses, UAA, UAF, and UAS, are all involved in sustainability efforts—some of which are directly related to using locally grown food.� MORE.....

You may have heard or read about tuition increases being proposed by the University of Alaska. Some news stories have been accurate; some haven’t been. HERE’s the scoop....

The UAF Police Department is implementing a new community information service designed to deliver important and timely information to campus constituents in our community using the latest technology.� As a result of the training this past November, the Butrovich Building is one of the first sites where we are testing the system.� This service, Nixle, is capable of delivering important campus/community-level public safety and community event notifications instantly to you by cell phone text message, email and webpage.
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There is NO spam or advertising. Nixle is available at no cost (standard text message rates apply for cell phone subscribers who do not have text plans with their cell phone providers). The service is simple to use and and reliable. You decide what information you want and whether you want it sent to your cell phone, email, or just simply over the web.
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Register now and learn more at www.nixle.com.

Social media is a rapidly growing means of communication and outreach. If you are on Facebook we would like you know about some of the different UA departments, campuses and groups that you can join.

University of Alaska System

UA College Savings Plan

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Tanana Valley Campus

Freddie Fish (FAFSA Frenzy)

University of Alaska Museum of the North

University of Alaska Anchorage

There are many more out there for specific colleges, student groups, bookstores and more. Please take a moment to become a "Fan" of the University of Alaska and put another great avenue of communication at your fingertips.