Dr. Barbara Christian will retire at the end of the current semester after more than 20 years of teaching at Kenai Peninsula College.
Christian a professor of English and chair of the arts and humanities department, will be the keynote speaker at teh commencement May 6.
At its meeting last week, the University of Alaska Anchorage Faculty Senate voted unanimously to present Christian with the "Distinguished Service by a Faculty Member" award. This award is given to just one faculty member each year from throughout the UAA system. This is the first time it has ever been awarded to a faculty member from a community campus.
Summer classes filling up
Registration for the summer session at the Kenai River Campus opened April 7 and three classes have filled and closed-survey of Chemistry, Technical Writing and Intermediate Algebra, all online classes.
According to Bill Howell, Student Services director at KRC, so far 131 students have enrolled in classes being offered at Kenai Peninsula sites. Last summer, 301 students took courses.
For a complete listing of summer session course offerings, see the homepage of the KPC Web site at kpc.alaska.edu.
Librarian appointed to state council
Gov. Sarah Palin announced appointments to several state advisory councils including the Advisory Council on Libraries. As one of her appointments, Palin named Jane Fuerstenau, KRC librarian, to the Advisory Council on Libraries.
The 12-member council advises the Alaska State Library Administration on the federal Library Services and Technology Act plan and on the development and evaluation of library services throughout Alaska.
Fuerstenau earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Maine at Fort Kent and a master's degree in library and information science from the University of South Carolina at Columbia. Fuerstenau, currently serving as president of the Alaska Library Association, was nominated by the Alaska Library Association membership and will serve a one-year term in a seat reserved for the organizations immediate past president.
Construction projects to begin
The long-awaited remodel of the 1970s era chemistry lab and the new skywalk at the Kenai River Campus is slated to begin next week. The skywalk will provide access between the McLane and Goodrich buildings necessary for ADA compliance and will add much needed commons space, with a view of the river and mountains as an added bonus.
According to Phillip Miller, facilities manager at KRC, the projects will require shutting off access to the college via the front entrance breezeway between the McLane and Goodrich buildings.
Miller said the contractor who will head up the project is SR Bales Company and that the company expects to be fully engaged in the project by the first week of May.
Other areas of the campus that will be modified as part of the construction this summer include the anthropology lab which will see square footage increased slightly. The paramedic lab also will be moved into a larger space as a part of the project.
This column is provided by Suzie Kendrick, community relations coordinator at Kenai Peninsula College.
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