Preparations have been underway at both KPC campuses for UA President Jim Johnsen’s and UA Regent Lisa Parker’s visit this week.
They will be at the Kenai River Campus on Nov. 10 and will travel to the Kachemak Bay Campus on Nov. 11.
This will be President Johnsen’s first trip to Kenai Peninsula College and his visit is part of a commitment he made to visit every campus in the university system during his first year.
Johnsen, the fourteenth UA president, was appointed by the UA Board of Regents in July, replacing Pat Gamble.
Regent Parker, life-long Alaskan and Peninsula resident, was appointed to the Board of Regents this year for an eight-year term.
Parker served on the Kenai Peninsula College Council, as well as the Soldotna City Council, prior to her BOR appointment by Governor Bill Walker.
Arrangements have been made for the president and regent to speak with KPC students, staff and faculty, high school administrators and students, Borough administrators and Peninsula legislators and they will address a joint session of the Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce and the Homer Chamber of Commerce.
They will also participate in a number of interviews with Peninsula media outlets.
There will be a public forum from 6:30-8 p.m., Nov. 10, in the Kenai River Campus McLane commons revolving around the current state of Alaska’s challenging fiscal situation and what the future might look like. This event is being sponsored by the Kenai Peninsula League of Women Voters and the KRC Student Union.
The presenters include Dr. Gunnar Knapp, director and professor of economics at UAA’s Institute of Social and Economic Research, and Cliff Groh, chair of Alaska Common Ground, a public policy organization focused on helping Alaskans seek consensus on major issues.
For more information, contact Gail Knobf at gailknobf2@gmail.com or the KRCSU at 262-0339 or iysgov@kpc.alaska.edu.
To date, there is no suitable substitute for human blood and the need in Alaska will always exist. According to the Blood Bank of Alaska, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, their service area is one of the largest in the country. The 21 hospitals in Alaska depend on BBA, the only blood bank in the state, for their blood supplies.
Less than five percent of Alaska’s population donates 100 percent of the blood that is needed in the state. It’s often difficult to see the critical importance of blood donation until it becomes personal because of an accident, trauma, surgery or treatment of a disease such as cancer. BBA opened its doors in 1962 and 682 units of blood were collected; last year more than 20,000 units were donated by Alaskan volunteers.
Preparing for blood donation is important to ensure a good experience. Prior to donating, donors should eat well, drink plenty of non-caffeinated fluids and be feeling well and healthy. Donors must present a photo I.D. and donors 16 or 17 years old must have a signed parental consent form.
The blood drive will be held in BBA’s LifeMobile from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Nov. 12 in the parking lot of the KRC Residence Hall (off College Road). Appointments are required and can be made by contacting KRC Res Life Coordinator Leslie Byrd at 262-0253 or emailing lbyrd4@kpc.alaska.edu not later than Nov. 11.
For more information, contact BBA in Anchorage at 907-222-5630.
