| | Congratulations graduates! Coverage of Commencement celebrations in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau comprise the first five mentions today.
Also in today's news: the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band played at the UAS campus and around Juneau raising the visibility of Indigenous people; the state is rolling out a new drone program designed to provide remote communities with additional emergency response capabilities; and a cool May is delaying spring planting - although the long-term forecast suggests a warmer than usual summer.
Email mmusick@alaska.edu to suggest people to add to this daily news summary. |
| | | The UAA class of 2023 commencement is one to remember | Published May 8, 2023 by Lex Yelverton University of Alaska-Anchorage held its 2023 Spring commencement ceremony as graduates, educators, and families gathered for the momentous occasion.
It’s a once in a lifetime experience for some and an achievement for those choosing to pursue higher education and complete their degree program. On Sunday, UAA graduates were awarded degrees and certificates at the commencement ceremony held at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The 2023 graduating class has faced obstacles along the way, dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the first year that everything has reopened. Tuan Graziano, the undergraduate commencement speaker, says that’s part of the reason why graduating now is so special.
“It’s exciting that this is what it’s supposed to feel like,” said Graziano. “This was what was worth all those endless zoom meetings, all those online classes, online classes we had to go through, all the social distancing. We get to finally enjoy in-person with other people and feel that human connection and human energy that you can only really feel when you’re in person together.” | | | Readership | 338,035 | Social Amplification | 0 |
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| | Who were awarded honorary doctorates at UAF this weekend? | Published May 8, 2023 by Suzanne Downing At the 101st graduation ceremony at the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, two Alaska Natives were singled out for honorary advanced degrees.
Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson of Juneau received an honorary doctor of laws degree.
Helen (Dick) MacLean received an honorary doctor of education degree.
Joan Braddock, Carl Benson, Jason Gootee and Ron Inouye received Meritorious Service Awards, which recognize service to the university or an Alaska community.
1,088 awards conferred on approximately 1,023 students | | | Readership | 56,498 | Social Amplification | 17 |
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| | | | News at 10 | Published May 7, 2023 by KATH One thousand, twenty three, students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, some receiving more than one degree, were honored today for the graduating class of 2023.
It is UAF's 101st commencement ceremony, which was held earlier this afternoon at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.
Today's ceremony included graduates from summer and fall of 2022 - and spring of 2023.
There were also 18 retiring staff and faculty who were granted emeritus status - a title given to those who served the university with distinction for at least 10 years.
Paul Layer, university of alaska vice president academics, students and research: "Graduates, I hope you are as proud of this accomplishment as everyone who supported you through your academic journey, because we're ecstatic. As you turn the page to your next journey, don't forget to take the time to enjoy and bask in this moment."
University of Alaska's vice president for academics, students and research, Paul Layer, says today's class joins the "ranks of more than 100,000 UA alumni."
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| | Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band brings visibility to Indigenous people through jazz | Published May 7, 2023 Juneau Jazz & Classics and Áak’w Rock Music Festival partnered to jointly present the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band this weekend.
They played their opening performance Friday night at the Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
They also had two more performances Saturday, with a show at the University of Alaska Southeast's Noyes Pavillion for students, and at the Crystal Saloon.
Keefe is a nationally acclaimed and award-winning jazz vocalist, actor, activist, and educator currently based in New York City. She is Nez Perce. It was her first time in Juneau, and she said she loved flying over the mountains.
She explained that they bring awareness to Indigenous artists by lifting them up the way they know how-through music.
"So much of what we do is about bringing visibility to Indigenous issues anyway. The Indigenous presence in jazz not only historically but in a contemporary standpoint, being able to be there and to be amongst relatives who have lost relatives," she said. "Members of our own band, we all have intimate knowledge of this issue, honoring those people who have lost loved ones but also to honor those who have been lost. We bring visibility to Indigenous people, as a whole."
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| State launches drone program designed for rural emergency response | Published May 5, 2023 by Staff report Alaska plans to roll out a new drone program designed to provide rural or remote communities with additional emergency response capabilities, according to an Alaska Department of Public Transportation news release.
The Alaska Rural Remote Operations Work Plan (or ARROW) will provide unmanned aerial system (UAS) tools to 10 communities to be selected in order “to respond to natural and man-made disasters, protecting critical infrastructure and ensuring the safety of residents in these remote areas.
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| | Cool weather delays planting; farmers worry about poor harvest | KUAC | Published May 5, 2023 by Tim Ellis Facing a May 25th target date to get barley in the ground, farmers say ‘We’re a long way from planting this year’
Cool temperatures during April has delayed breakup and greenup, and that in turn will delay Alaska farmers from getting their crops in the ground. That means farmers are facing the likelihood of a below-average harvest, for the third year in a row.
Delta-area UAF Cooperative Extension Service agent Phil Kaspari says the presence of all that snow and slush on fields in the area means farmers aren’t going to be able to get those plants in the ground anytime soon.
“We normally like to be in the field really making good progress around May 10th,” he said. But this year, “that isn’t going to happen.”
A late spring warmup doesn’t mean the growing season will extend later into the fall, says Rick Thoman, a climate specialist with the University of Alaska Fairbanks’s Center for Climate Assessment and Policy. But he says this summer’s long-term forecasts suggest it’ll be warmer than usual in the Interior.
“The odds tilt to significantly above-normal,” he said in a Tuesday interview. Thoman says forecasts call for near-normal rainfall through August.
He understands why farmers would like temperatures to warm up as quickly as possible. But he says gradual warming is better, to reduce the chances of flooding.
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