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Celebrate the Class of 2020 at virtual commencement
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All of UAF's Commencement 2020 activities and events are going virtual
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UAF will host its commencement ceremony online for the first time in the university's history. The online ceremony will feature many of the elements you've come to expect at a traditional ceremony, including remarks from leadership and alumni, as well as individual recognition of honors and achievements. Students will be recognized with an official slide that can be customized with a photo and personal message. The slide can be downloaded and shared on social media. Diplomas and honors cords will be mailed this summer.
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Help us celebrate our grads
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We're collecting videos, photos, words of advice and other congratulatory messages from alumni to share with the UAF class of 2020, our first class to graduate with an online ceremony.
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If you'd like to make a video, this can be done with your webcam or camera phone. Ideally, it would be 15-30 seconds long, composed horizontally. The content could begin with an introduction, your graduating year and include some words of congratulations or advice. Another option is to send a photo holding a congratulatory sign or some blue and gold items.
Please fill out this form if you would like to participate. We need your response no later than Friday, May 15.
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Thank you to the UAF community
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Please view this message from UAF Chancellor Dan White about the campus response to the unique challenges of weathering a pandemic in Alaska. Thanks to UAF faculty and staff for their monumental effort to convert courses, events and programs to remote delivery. And thank you to our students for their resilience and dedication.
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UAF still hard at work
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Most university employees are working from home to slow the spread of COVID-19, however UAF is still open for business. Thousands of students are taking online classes. The UA Museum of the North is coordinating virtual programs and other outreach programs. And important research continues on a variety of projects.
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Kyle Dilliplaine works inside the Alaska State Virology Laboratory on the UAF campus. Photo by JR Ancheta.
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The Alaska State Virology Laboratory is just one of the programs continuing to work on behalf of Alaskans to advance Arctic science. And it's run by one of our awesome alums. Jayme Parker manages the lab, where a dozen volunteers from UAF and the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital collaborate.
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“They have doubled our staff,” she said by email. “We couldn’t have done this without them.”
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What they have done is detect more than 100 cases of COVID-19 from Alaska. Other labs around the state are doing the same, but most results are now coming from the Fairbanks virology lab.
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Moving reunion to Nanook Network
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Although we have decided to cancel our in-person events for this year's all-class Nanook Rendezvous reunion, we are looking forward to meeting all of you in a new way.
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We are excited to announce Nanook Network, an online platform for alumni, staff, students and friends. Use it to connect with others, get event information, find UAF jobs and more. Stay connected to UAF. Meet up with your classmates and learn about mentoring opportunities.
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Look for your invitation, coming soon.
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NANOOK NETWORK: A place for #NanookNation to gather!
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- RECONNECT with classmates.
- BECOME A MENTOR to students and alumni.
- NETWORK for career opportunities.
All students, parents, friends and fans of UAF are welcome!
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UAFAA board update
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The UAF Alumni Association recently held elections for three open seats. The board is elected by current members of the organization. Congratulations to our newest board member. Rachel Panamarioff is an Alaska Native educator teaching second grade at Fred Ipalook Elementary School in Barrow, Alaska. She is from the community of New Stuyahok, which is located in the Bristol Bay region. She has her master’s degree from UAS as a K-12 reading specialist and received her bachelor’s degree from UAF in elementary education in 2006. She represents rural Alaska, Seat 1-A.
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Two other candidates are returning for their second terms. Mary Beth Loewen, Seat 2-A, is from a family of UAF alums, including her parents and two siblings. A graduate of Kodiak High School, she earned a bachelor's degree in natural sciences in 2002 and completed her master’s degree in fisheries in 2007. Forrest Kuiper, Seat 3-A, was born and raised in Soldotna. He came to UAF in 1997 to pursue an education in emergency services and worked as a student firefighter and is now a career fire captain with the University Fire Department.
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Both Loewen, secretary, and Kuiper, treasurer, are also members of the executive committee. The board voted for a new vice president, Tom Brice, and president, Cindy Wright. "It is my plan to uphold the mission and collective goals of this board," Wright said. "I want to encourage alumni support of UAF students while striving to enhance their college experience, to collaborate with faculty and staff in support of the university's mission, and to encourage the community to attend UAF sporting events and public celebrations, whether they take place in person or virtually."
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UAF alumni profiles
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Timing is everything for one alum
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Eric Metz’s timing could not have been better when he chose to seek a master’s degree in paleontology at UAF. Metz was interested in ancient marine reptiles, which led him to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study with Patrick Druckenmiller at the University of Alaska Museum of the North.
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In 2014, Metz was working on his undergraduate degree at Montana State University, the same place Druckenmiller earned his master’s.
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“I had made it known to the paleo faculty and some of the grad students that I liked marine reptiles,” Metz said. “And they were like, 'You should email this Pat guy.’”
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Druckenmiller helped Metz with his undergraduate thesis. “And after that I still wanted to study marine reptiles, so I moved on up (to Alaska).”
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Eric Metz examines a specimen in Italy. Photo courtesy of Eric Metz.
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This was three years after a startling discovery during a minus tide on a beach in Southeast Alaska. The fossilized remains of a new thalattosaur species were embedded in a rock. The rock was shipped to the collections at the museum, where Druckenmiller is the curator of earth science.
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Metz joined the team working on the specimen in fall 2014 as a new graduate student at UAF.
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UAF journalism alumna Qian Li '12 arrives at the Wuhan railway station on Feb. 5. Li said UAF prepared her to accept a position with a team documenting the novel coronavirus outbreak and response.
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Caught in the epicenter
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Qian Li ’12 was vacationing in China when news of the novel coronavirus started to circulate. Hired onto a documentary team, she departed for Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, on Feb. 5. Li and the team covered several stories, including the production and processing of COVID-19 tests and the disposal of medical waste.
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After testing negative for the virus three times, Li was able to leave Wuhan on April 8, as the city opened after 76 days of lockdown. She said her UAF degree prepared her well for this project, and she named Brian O’Donoghue, Rob Prince and Theresa Bakker as mentors.
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Alumni class notes and the e-Aurora
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Let us know what you are up to! Send us photos of your latest accomplishments, news of your career, details about your next steps. We are currently gathering photos, snippets and stories for the next edition of the online Aurora magazine.
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UAF alumni invited to participate
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UAF joined forces with schools, hospitals and nonprofits nationwide to celebrate
#GivingTuesdayNow on May 5 — but it’s not too late to participate. This global day of giving and unity is one of numerous different efforts at your alma mater to
help our students during the unprecedented interruption of normal life due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Many alumni have already responded, helping us raise thousands of dollars this year for the Student Support Fund, the UAF Food Pantry and the many scholarships offered to our students at UAF. Thank you for your generosity!
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If you haven’t yet made a gift, simply click on the UAF crowdfunding page. Then, help spread the word using #GivingTuesdayNow and #NanookNation, or take a selfie with your UAF gear (or even a homemade sign) and post it to social media. Tag a few of your fellow alums.
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If you have any questions, contact the UAF Development office at 907-474-2619 or email uaf-giving@alaska.edu.
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The benefits of UAFAA membership
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Membership in your UAF Alumni Association helps support student scholarships, alumni outreach, programs like Nanook Network, and events such as the Blue and Gold Celebration, Grad Bash and many other projects.
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UAF alumni membership rates:
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One-year membership = $50
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Three-year membership = $140
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Lifetime membership = $1,000
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As a UAFAA member, you are also eligible for discounts on your Geico insurance policy. You get savings, and the alumni association earns rewards. Visit them at geico.com/alum/uafaa to find out how much you can save.
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Members also have access to Polar Perks, which provide discounts and deals at restaurants and businesses all over the country. Check it out at UAFAA Polar Perks. Another deal offered to UAFAA members is the discount on admission to the UAF Student Recreation Center. Check out the rates for members at the SRC's website. Once you have your membership card, you also have access to campus libraries, career services and all the fun the Wood Center has to offer.
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Questions or comments? Please contact us at:
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UAF Alumni Association
201 Constitution Hall
P.O. Box 750126
Fairbanks, AK 99775-0126
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Phone: (907) 474-7081
Fax: (907) 474-6712
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