News briefs

Submitted by Marmian Grimes
Phone: 907-474-7902
03/03/09

UAF renames agriculture department
The Department of Plant, Animal and Soil Sciences in UAF’s School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences has a new name: High Latitude Agriculture. The department provides statewide education, research and outreach in agriculture, soils, revegetation, and bioremediation at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm, Georgeson Botanical Garden, the Palmer Research and Extension Center, the Matanuska Experiment Farm, the Delta Junction Field Research Site, Nome, the Seward Peninsula and other locations across the state.

UA Press publishes new book of Alaska poetry
The University of Alaska Press has made its first foray into publishing Alaska poetry with the recent release of "The Rising and the Rain," by Alaska Writer Laureate John Straley. Straley, known for his many Alaska mystery novels, is a criminal defense investigator for the Alaska Public Defender Agency. In 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from UAF. A Sitka resident, his first book of poetry pays homage to his home in the Pacific Northwest and is infused with humor and delicate details. It is available from the UAF bookstore and online at http://www.uaf.edu/uapress/flurry.html

Political scientist named to Polar Research Board
Associate professor Amy Lovecraft has been appointed to a three-year term on the Polar Research Board. The Polar Research Board is a unit of The National Academies and provides independent analysis for the federal government on science and technology research needs, environmental quality, natural resources and other issues in the Arctic, the Antarctic and cold regions. Lovecraft is a faculty member and an accomplished social scientist in the political science department of UAF’s College of Liberal Arts.

Faculty members’ art on display in New York gallery
Artwork by UAF faculty members and artists David Mollett and Jessie Worth Hedden was recently exhibit at the Bowery Gallery in New York City. The exhibit featured paintings and prints by Mollett and paintings and collages by Hedden.

Rebekah Lodge donation establishes new scholarship
The Golden North Rebekah Lodge, which was established in 1913, donated $50,000 this fall to establish a new scholarship for UAF students pursuing degrees in a variety of disciplines, including northern or Alaska studies, women’s studies, anthropology or history. The lodge is a civic and social organization. Members recently decided to shift their focus to supporting scholarship as a way to inspire future generations to give back and work hard. The scholarship will make two $1,000 awards each year. This year’s recipients are freshman social work major Ariel Blankenship and senior political science major Jennifer Grieve.

TVC welding program receives occupational endorsement
Welding students at the UAF Tanana Valley Campus can add a new credential to their resume. Chancellor Brian Rogers and the UAF Faculty Senate recently approved an occupational endorsement for entry-level welding. Fairbanks is a hub for industries such as petroleum and mining and qualified welders and fabricators are in high demand. The TVC program covers welding basics as well as more advanced pipe and metal-plate fabrication and provides and opportunity to weld for certification. The 21-credit program consists of seven courses taught in five-week increments. The courses are held Monday-Friday for approximately four hours each night. Courses are available year-round and start every six weeks.

Professor’s work included in climate-change book
The work of Glenn Juday, UAF professor of forest ecology and expert on the relationship of tree growth to long-term climate change, is included in a recently published book that seeks to explain climate change to children and young teens. "How We Know What We Know about Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming," by Lynne Cherry and Gary Braasch compiles a wide range of scientific study relating to the environment and presents the work in short vignettes. Juday, who has been a faculty member at UAF’s School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences since 1981, specializes in forest biodiversity, climate change assessment, climate change and forest growth and old-growth forest ecology. The section of the book about his work details his involvement with rural Alaska high school students, who assisted Juday in taking tree core samples and tree growth measurements with a goal of understanding how boreal forests respond to climate change. The book can be previewed at www.howweknowclimatechange.com. It is a finalist in the AAAS/Subaru Best Science Book Award and has won numerous other national awards.

CONTACT: Marmian Grimes, UAF public information officer, at 907-474-7902 or via e-mail at marmian.grimes@uaf.edu.

MLG/3-3-09/117brfs-09