UA Student Regent Cachet Garrett wants to hear your voice regarding the UA budget and structure. Monday, August 26, from 12 to 1:30 pm. Livestream will be available at https://media.uaf.edu with a recording shared afterward.

*UAS Press Release*

Endowment supporting UAS Alaska College of Education Surpasses $1 Million

When the University of Alaska Board of Regents voted to make the University of Alaska Southeast home for the statewide Alaska College of Education, it did so with confidence that UAS would continue making teacher preparation one of its top priorities. The need for quality Alaska-educated teachers has never been greater, and the mission of the Alaska College of Education is to grow that number significantly in the years ahead.

The decision of the Board of Regents was supported by a generous pledge from the City and Borough of Juneau creating the Teacher Excellence Fund (TEF) at the Juneau Community Foundation (JCF). With CBJ’s support and gifts from over 170 donors, a $1 million endowment has been raised to educate more quality Alaskan teachers, principals, and superintendents. Each year, the JCF plans to distribute approximately 5% of the fund’s earnings to underwrite UAS leadership in teacher preparation and educational leadership across the state. A Juneau-based advisory committee, which includes the mayor and city manager, works with the UAS Education dean to determine how best to use the funds. During its inaugural year, the fund is providing $25,000 to help grow the number of young Alaskans who choose to become teachers.

To learn more about education degrees available through the UAS Alaska College of Education, visit uas.alaska.edu/education or speak to an advisor at (907) 796-6076.

Read the full press release: https://loom.ly/QrsXntM

*UAS Press Release*

UAS Celebrates 2019 Faculty Excellence, Promotions, and Tenure

It is with great pride that the University of Alaska Southeast announces the recent promotion and/or tenure of our esteemed faculty, as well as the 2019 Faculty Excellence Awards. Please join UAS as we congratulate them.

⭐️ Dr. Heather Batchelder has been promoted to Associate Professor of Education with tenure in the Alaska College of Education on the UAS Juneau campus.
⭐️ Dr. Charla Brown has been promoted to Associate Professor of Human Resource Management with tenure in the Department of Business and Public Administration, School of Arts and Sciences at the UAS Juneau campus.
⭐️ Julie Hamilton has been promoted to Associate Professor of Accounting within the Department of Business and Public Administration, School of Arts and Sciences at the UAS Juneau Campus.
⭐️ Dr. Erica Hill has been promoted to Full Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences at the UAS Juneau campus.
⭐️ Dr. Alberta Jones was promoted to Associate Professor of Education in the Alaska College of Education at the UAS Juneau campus.
⭐️ Kitty LaBounty has been promoted to Associate Professor of Biology at the UAS Sitka campus.
⭐️ Colleen McKenna has been promoted to Full Professor of Information Systems in the Department of Business and Public Administration, School of Arts and Sciences at the UAS Juneau campus.
⭐️ Dr. Andrzej Piotrowski has been promoted to Full Professor of Mathematics in the Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Science at the UAS Juneau campus.
⭐️ Dr. John Radzilowski has been promoted to Full Professor of History at the UAS Ketchikan campus.
⭐️ Dr. Lora Vess has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Social Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences at the UAS Juneau campus.
⭐️ Emily Wall has been promoted to Full Professor of English in the Department of Humanities, School of Arts and Sciences at the UAS Juneau campus. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Literary Arts from the University of Arizona and holds two B.A. degrees from Maine’s Colby College, in English Literature and German.
⭐️ Dr. Alison Ziegler has been promoted to Associate Professor of Psychology with tenure at the UAS Ketchikan campus.

Read the full press release: https://loom.ly/39L6JhY

*UAS Press Release*

UAS and Sealaska Heritage Institute offer new scholarships for future Alaska Native teachers

The University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) and Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) are making new scholarships available to freshmen and sophomore Alaska Native students through the PITAAS program. PITAAS, short for Preparing Indigenous Teachers and Administrators for Alaska’s Schools, is a teacher preparation partnership between SHI and UAS in support of future Alaska Native teachers. The scholarship will cover up to 8 credits for qualifying courses at UAS.

PITAAS was created in 2000 at UAS to address the shortage of Alaska Native teachers. It is funded by an Alaska Native Education grant from the U.S. Department of Education to SHI. Alaska is diverse, and so are its educators. PITAAS teachers are the face of Alaska.

For more information, contact Ronalda Cadiente-Brown at rcadientebrown@alaska.edu . Students can apply for the scholarship at www.sealaskaheritage.org/sites/default/files/TuitionScholarshipApplication_Fall2019.pdf

For more information about the PITAAS program, go to https://loom.ly/UdnqmX8

Read the full press release: https://loom.ly/Tor8hNQ

Take HIST 363 if you are interested in learning about the wild and very complicated worlds that people lived in about a century ago.

David Noon, UAS Professor of History, shares information about his course, HIST 363 United States History 1919-1950, offered this Fall 2019 semester on the Juneau campus.

The semester starts on Monday, August 26.
Register today at uaonline.alaska.edu.

Logan Holt and Daniel Piscoya are the first Alaskans to go through the Coast Guard’s College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative.

Logan is current student at UAS and Daniel is a recent alumnus. Congratulations, Logan and Daniel!

BIOL 108 Experiential Learning: Ecology of Southeast Alaska
Five week short course: Aug 27 to Sept 28.
Class meets Tues/Thurs (1:15-2:15pm) and Saturdays (9am-5pm)

BIOL 108 is aimed at students interested in a Biology, Marine Biology, Fisheries, or Environmental Science degree. It offers students co-enrolled in BIOL 105 an opportunity to sharpen their study skills, to start career building, and to get to know their faculty and local ecosystems.

Students actively engage with Biology and Environmental Science faculty in discussions and data collection in marine, estuarine, and freshwater ecosystems. This course exposes students to local research opportunities and they get to know BIOL and ENVS faculty on a first name basis. Students also get exposure to methods that will improve their success in college courses and they begin mapping a path toward their career goals.

Spike is packing for college—Are you?!

With Move-In 2019 coming up fast, Spike the Whale shares the Dos and Don’ts of packing and Pro Tips for Move-In Day.

Student Housing Move-In begins at 9 AM on Thursday, August 22. For more information about Housing Move-In 2019, visit the UAS Student Housing Website: www.uas.alaska.edu/juneau/housing/index.html.

Tie the past to the present with this special topics course offered by David Noon, UAS Professor of History.

HIST 375 Violence in U.S. History
Class meets on Thursday evenings from 5:30-8:30 pm.

Course description:
Examines specific episodes and themes in the history of American violence, including settler conquest; slave lynching; domestic violence; extremist violence; school shootings; and police brutality.

Learn more and register at uaonline.alaska.edu.

New ONLINE course offered this Fall 2019 semester!

MATH 152 Trigonometry with Jill Dumesnil
Course delivered online asynchronously (no scheduled meeting times) through Blackboard. The course is a GER satisfying either a math requirement or a requirement as a non-lab science.

"I'm excited to be able to teach this course and I'm confident it will be a good learning opportunity for students!" - Jill Dumesnil, Professor of Mathematics

Learn more and register at uaonline.alaska.edu.

Check out this course and other interesting offerings by viewing the Fall 2019 schedule at www.uas.alaska.edu/schedule/fall.html!

UAS alumna Andrea Durny shares her experience in the PITAAS program.

Learn more about PITAAS by visiting http://uas.alaska.edu/apply/programs/education.html.

“It’s a lovely day. It’s so wonderful to see all of you. It warms my heart to be the one to welcome you to my home land.” - Elder Marie Olson
💙
It’s a beautiful, sunny day on the Juneau campus for the 2019 UAS Convocation. Elder Marie Olson shared a warm welcome to all the UAS faculty and staff.

*UPDATED SURVEY LINK*

We need your input to assist the University of Alaska to develop both short-term and long-term plans in response to our reduced budget. Data from the survey will serve an important role in the Board of Regents consideration of how the university will continue meeting the state’s needs for higher education in a constrained financial environment. The Board plans to make decisions on university structure and programs in September, so please respond right away.

Here is a link to the survey: https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5155807/University-of-Alaska-Board-of-Regents-Stakeholder-Survey-consent

Your participation in the survey is voluntary. All responses will be kept confidential -- only combined results without identifying information will be reported. The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Thank you in advance for your input at this critical time.

WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION —TUITION ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE
Up to $2200 in assistance per student

Tuition assistance for women interested in trying construction classes or joining the Construction Technology Program here at the UAS Juneau downtown campus. Tuition assistance will help pay for courses in construction which lead to degrees such as Occupation Endorsements, Certificates and an Associate’s degree.

Application for tuition assistance is easy. Contact: David Sheakley-Early: 907-796-6128 - david.sheakleyearly@alaska.edu or Robin Gilcrist: 907-796-6141 - regilcrist@alaska.edu

Check out a list of construction courses offered this FALL 2019: https://loom.ly/UtLuoM8

Spread the word: share this post or the flyer in the comments with friends!

Scholarships available!

Sealaska Heritage Institute has scholarships for people who want to enroll in the Northwest Coast art classes:
Scholarship application: https://tinyurl.com/y39b882g
Scholarship application deadline: Aug. 14

For help enrolling or more information, contact Davina Cole at drcole3@alaska.edu.

*UAS Press Release*

UAS researchers investigating harmful algal blooms in Southeast Alaska

University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) researchers Dr. John Harley and Dr. Matthew Pawlus have been studying shellfish toxicity to help create a safer environment in Southeast Alaska. Shellfish like mussels and clams have been an abundant food source in the region, however recent harmful algal blooms (HABs) have increased the likelihood that consumption could be unsafe.

To address this, ACRC postdoctoral researcher John Harley is collaborating with the Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research (SEATOR) group to create a database to help map and predict paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) events. There are 17 tribal partners included in the network, a map of which can be found at seator.org/seatt.

Related research is being done by Professor Matthew Pawlus, working with student Shane Bennett, at the University of Alaska Southeast in Ketchikan to explore alternatives to current shellfish toxin testing methods. It was announced last month that Dr. Pawlus was awarded the 2019 Spike Award for Best UAS Invention Disclosure for the Nematode Biosensor for Shellfish toxin home kit, from the Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization (OIPC) at UAF during its 2019 Invention Disclosure and Entrepreneurial Activities (IDEAS) award ceremony.

Photo: John Harley and undergraduates Mollie Dwyer and Elizabeth Bryson.
Photo Credit: Molly Tankersley

Read the full press release: https://loom.ly/QrW-di8

“It was an honor to attend the gathering. It truly felt like home by the warm welcome, the spirit of all present, and grace that guided each day.”
- Ronalda Cadiente Brown, Associate Vice Chancellor of Alaska Native Education

Earlier this summer representatives from UAS attended the Alaska-Hawaiʻi Conference 2019 in Honolulu, HI. The conference represents a continuation of a long relationship between Alaska and Hawaii. Several Southeast Alaska organizations also attended and participated in the conference including Sealaska Corporation, First Alaskans Institute, Tlingit and Haida Central Council, Yakutat Tlingit Tribe, Woosh.ji.een Dance Group, and Goldbelt Heritage Foundation.

Ronalda shared a few photos from the experience. Thank you, Ronalda!

Read the full press release about this opportunity by visiting https://loom.ly/-GIqXIY.

*UAS Press Release*

The Spirit of Ho’oilina: Rekindling Indigenous Traditions of Alaska and Hawai’i

In late May 2019, a select group of University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) students, faculty, and staff joined members of the Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities for a conference in Honolulu entitled Ho‘oilina: Empowering Our Traditions of Exploration. In the Hawaiian language, “Ho’oilina” means ‘legacy.’ The conference explored ancient navigation and wayfinding traditions, the advancement of Indigenous languages, solutions to protect the Pacific Ocean, and ways to heal Indigenous communities in body, mind, and spirit.

The UAS contingent was part of a larger group of Alaskans, which included representatives from the Sealaska Corporation, First Alaskans Institute, Tlingit and Haida Central Council, Yakutat Tlingit Tribe, Goldbelt Heritage Foundation, and the Woosh.Ji.Een Dance Group. Yakutat participants brought with them a traditional Tlingit canoe that was used in ceremonial gatherings. Members of the UAS Wooch.een student club attended and performed with the Woosh.Ji.Een dancers at various venues in O’ahu throughout the duration of the conference.

Declarations of unity and kinship were the highlight of the conference, with the two groups agreeing to work in solidarity to support Indigenous education. "The Ho'oilina Conference was an exceptional model of the purpose and the possibilities of engaging Indigenous wisdom in higher education, “ said UAS Associate Vice Chancellor for Alaska Native Programs, Ronalda Cadiente Brown. “We joined in an important conversation with our Hawaiian neighbors of continued growth and development for learning experiences that reflect the diversity and exemplify high standards and meaningful engagement for our learning communities.”

Photo: "Ho'oilina Conference Welcome on May 28", courtesy of Jacob Chinn.

Read the full press release: https://loom.ly/-GIqXIY

In case you missed last week's UAS Budget Update with Chancellor Caulfield you can view the recording on the UAS YouTube Channel.

*UAS Press Release*

University of Alaska Southeast Joins Open Textbook Network in Support of Affordable Course Content for Students

The University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) has joined the Open Textbook Network (OTN), an organization which assists universities and colleges to promote the use of open textbooks and practices. OTN maintains the Open Textbook Library, “the premiere resource for peer-reviewed academic textbooks,” according to their website. Textbooks and materials through this service are free, licensed openly, and complete, promoting both academic freedom and student success.

Using the service enables faculty to choose which course materials are appropriate for their students. The OTN provides faculty ratings and comments for their content to help with the selection. The service results in significant savings for students by decreasing the need to purchase books and other materials. For the most part, the books are delivered and used online, however faculty reserve the option for printing at a significantly reduced price compared to traditional textbooks. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of textbooks has risen more than 1,000 percent between 1997 and 2015, and 87.5% since 2006.

For more information about Open Educational Resources at UAS visit uas.alaska.edu/library/oer.

Read the full press release: https://loom.ly/H4Q1DSo

We can't wait to welcome you HOME!

Housing applications for Fall 2019 are available online and accepted throughout August.

Apply for UAS Student Housing by visiting www.uas.alaska.edu/juneau/housing/apply.html. Not sure how to apply? View this video for step-by-step instructions.

*UAS Press Release*

Accreditation Renewed For University of Alaska Southeast

The University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) is pleased to announce that the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) has reaffirmed its accreditation.

In the accreditation report, UAS received five commendations. The university was lauded for its recognition and inclusion of Alaska Native languages, arts, and cultures in its curriculum, working with partners like Sealaska Heritage Institute and Tlingit and Haida Central Council. The Commission recognized the important work underway to make UAS campuses places of cultural safety and equity. UAS was commended for its success in optimizing online education opportunities across vast geographic areas, providing student access to strong programming, as well as providing meaningful experiential learning opportunities across all three campuses.

Chancellor Rick Caulfield commented, “The University of Alaska Southeast exists to support our students, improve the economic vitality of our communities, and build a future workforce for all of Alaska. As Chancellor, I’m especially appreciative of the strong community support UAS receives: from employers who hire our graduates, business leaders who serve on our community advisory councils, donors who contribute scholarship funds that make college affordable, and partners who support UAS leadership statewide.”

Read the full press release: https://loom.ly/uKs78Ek