Welcome back

January 21, 2012

LJ Evans

Welcome back from the winter break, and welcome to the new year and a new semester.

The spring semester is always an exciting one as it culminates with our biggest event of the year, commencement. Behind every student who makes it to that pinnacle moment in their life, there are faculty members and staff who helped them get to that point. I thank you for all you do to help our students be academically successful.

A few items of note:

This month we will see the result of the tremendous amount of work that faculty and staff put into preparing for our institutional accreditation evaluation. Provost Susan Henrichs, Vice Provost Dana Thomas and I met with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities board of commissioners last week. They interviewed us on UAF’s report and we're now eagerly awaiting the final outcome of their decision this week. We will inform the campus community as soon as know UAF’s status.

A new legislative session begins next week. For UAF the primary focus is funding for deferred maintenance. A majority of our facilities were built between 1958 and 1972. Our capital budget request of $98.325 million is necessary to preserve the state’s significant investment in UAF’s infrastructure.  We’ve had tremendous success the last two years with moving expeditiously on deferred maintenance projects, and we look forward to working with our state leaders to keep that momentum going.

I want to remind everyone that the deadline for nominations for the Chancellor’s Cornerstone Award is Feb. 15. I encourage all employees to help me recognize staff members who have shown outstanding commitment to UAF this year. The criteria and nomination form are online at www.uaf.edu/chancellor/awards/.

The days are getting longer and eventually, the weather will get warmer. Onward to spring, and thank you for all that you do for UAF.