This month is the 50th anniversary of passage of the Alaska Statehood Act in Congress. This month at UAA we received $110,000 from AT&T to help us continue our celebration of the 50th anniversary of statehood with the “Forum of Young Alaskans” scheduled for October.  We kicked off our celebration in April with a mock Constitutional Convention. $90,000 from the AT&T Foundation and $20,000 from AT&T Alaska will make it possible for the University of Alaska and our partners, Alaska Public Telecommunications, Inc. (APTI) and Koahnic Broadcasting to engage young Alaskans in an historic experience. The “Forum of Young Alaskans” will bring together university students and other young Alaskans from across the state to discuss important issues affecting Alaska both in person and through web technology. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer to the event and please suggest to young Alaskans that they participate.

At the June meeting, the Board of Regents approved our proposed plan for the Health Sciences Building, which was funded last session. The Health Science Building will be three stories, consisting of three educational and administrative wings around a central commons area and adjoining terrace. Future plans call for pedestrian walkways linking the Health Science Building to future buildings in the district, to the UAA main campus and to Providence Medical Center.  We plan to use sustainable design practices to minimize environmental impact and be energy efficient. This building will be the first of several buildings in the health science campus where we will consolidate the existing health science programs throughout campus into state of the art facilities in close proximity to one another in order to promote a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to health science education.

Thank you to all of you who responded to our request for ideas about how to use the UAA/APU “Books of the Year” -- Yuuyaraq: The Way of the Human Being by Yup’ik writer Harold Napoleon, Growing up Native in Alaska by Anchorage historian Alexandra J. McClanahan, and the companion reader, Do Alaska Natives Get Free Medical Care? (and other frequently asked questions about Alaska Native issues.) Your ideas were terrific and we passed them onto John Dede who is coordinating this year’s program. If you have other ideas for how to use these books, please send them to John at anjqd@uaa.alaska.edu. Thanks!

Please set aside August 13, 7p.m. and come to UAA for a free concert by the 44th New Mexico Army National Guard Band in the Wendy Williamson Auditorium. We are partnering with Anchorage First Lady Deborah Bonito’s Military Support Initiative to make sure that our community has an opportunity to hear this “fantastic” 40-piece full concert band. The band will be in Anchorage for Annual Training. Don’t miss this chance to hear great music, free!