The Elmendorf UAA extension site is slated for repainting over the next week. Office services at Elemendorf location will be limited and at times unavailable during from Nov. 19-25. Office services will be available at Fort Richardson during normal business hours.

Saturday, Nov. 21, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Rasmuson Hall (RH), Room 106

Each day in the U.S., more than 80 people take their own lives. Each year, Alaska loses more than 125 residents to suicide; approximately 50 of these individuals are Alaska Native. In addition, suicide has been noted to be the second leading cause of death for college students. Each of these individuals leave behind loved ones to struggle with the loss, grief and all of those questions that begin “Why...?”

Too often, survivors of suicide loss believe the death of their loved one is somehow shameful or that they or their family are to blame. But research shows that more than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have an underlying, although not always diagnosed, psychiatric illness at the time of their death, most often depression. The holiday season can be particularly difficult for survivors, but there is help available.

Please join us this Saturday, Nov. 21, in Rasmuson Hall, Room 106 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. for a day of healing for those who have survived the tragedy of suicide loss. At this event, UAA’s Native Student Services, Psychological Services Center (PSC), the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) will join survivors from more than 175 cities and countries throughout the world to watch a 90-minute AFSP broadcast, and through dialogue and interaction, provide an opportunity for the survivor community to come together for support, healing, information and empowerment.

For more information about this event, please e-mail Xiomara Owens, PSC clinic coordinator, at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it For more information about National Survivors of Suicide Day go to www.afsp.org. For local resources, if you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, please call 911 or one of the following numbers:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1 (800) 273-TALK (8255)
• Alaska’s Suicide and Crisis Center Hotline: 1 (877) 266-HELP (4357)
• Anchorage Community Mental Health Crisis hotline: (907) 563-3200

Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 1-2, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Rasmuson Hall Lobby

The Student Health and Counseling Center will sponsor its annual soup lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 1-2, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Rasmuson Hall Lobby.

The health center wishes to remind students that seasonal flu shots and H1N1 Intranasal are still available for those who  are 18 years and older.

The Governor's Cup won’t be the only trophy that UAA and UAF will be battling to win this year. UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers and UAA Chancellor Fran Ulmer agreed to compete in the first UAA/UAF Sustainability Cup Challenge, an environmentally-friendly version of the annual intrastate hockey rivalry.

What spurred the green competition between the two universities were the latest Sustainability Report Card results, published by the Sustainable Endowments Institute. Each year the Sustainable Endowments Institute assesses 300 public and private colleges and universities with the largest endowments and publishes the results on http://www.greenreportcard.org/. The 2010 grade for UAA was a B- and UAF received a grade of a C-.

While exact details are still being worked out, both schools will engage their art students in the creation of a trophy made from recycled materials. The school with the highest report card grade will house the trophy of the losing school during the 2010-11 academic year. The next set of scores will be released in October 2010.

The measures that each school will take to raise their Sustainability Report Card grade will be determined individually, and each university is currently plotting their secret green strategy for the year. What isn’t secret are the terms for the losing team:

• The chancellor of the losing school will deliver the trophy (Sustainability Cup) to the chancellor of the winning school.
• The chancellor of the losing school will prepare a “sustainable” meal for the chancellor of the winning school using locally grown products.

This exciting new competition between UAA and UAF will not only get the campus communities pumped up for a show down, but will help raise the awareness of sustainability on both campuses and reduce our environmental footprint in Alaska.

For additional information on the challenge, please call Scott McCrae at UAF (907) 474-7905, or Kristin DeSmith at UAA (907) 786-1263.

UAA Staff Members and Faculty;

Information Technology Services is pleased to announce the upcoming upgrade to the most current version of Elluminate Live! The upgrade from version 8.5 to version 9.6 is scheduled to occur the week of January 4, 2010.

What's new in eLive 9.6?

The upgrade to eLive 9.6 brings with it many new and improved features including:

• Multipoint video allowing up to six people to share their web cams simultaneously
• The ability to invite participant to a session while the session is in progress
• Instantly email students directly from within the eLive session
• Polling buttons are now located in the participant window improving ease of use for students
• Improved audio and video quality
• Drag and drop functionality to move students in and out of breakout rooms
• The option to allow students to move themselves in and out of breakout rooms
• Updated icons
• Audio record reminder
• Synchronized Notes can be formatted and display the speaker notes from PowerPoint

How can I learn more about the feature improvements associated with the upgrade?

The Faculty Technology Center will be offering a "Welcome to eLive 9.6" workshop during December and January. Faculty members are encouraged to attend the sessions either in person or via eLive. Sessions will run for 60 minutes and include time for Q&A. To view the workshop schedule and register for sessions, please visit the following url: www.uaa.alaska.edu/facultytechnologycenter/workshops.cfm.

How will this affect my current session recordings?

In the testing IT Services has done so far, it does not appear that this upgrade will impact faculty access to the current session recordings. We encourage each faculty member to check the links to the recordings after the upgrade and contact IT Services Call Center at (907) 786-4646 option 1 or toll free (877) 633-3888 if you observe any changes or inconsistencies.

If you have any questions about the eLive 9.6 upgrade or would like to inquire about the faculty workshop opportunities, please call the IT Call Center at (907) 786-4646 option 1 or Toll Free (877) 633-3888.

Thank you,

UAA IT Services Call Center