The Northern Light

The UA Board of Regents convened Nov. 1 at the UAA Commons for a full board budget meeting. On the table for discussion were the fiscal year 2008 operating and capital budget requests, and the fiscal year 2007 Natural Resources Fund Budget Allocation; all requests were approved. President Mark Hamilton, UAA Chancellor Elaine Maimon, UAF Chancellor Steve Jones and UAS Chancellor John Pugh also attended and provided input.

"The whole budget comes down to a five percent program growth," Hamilton said. This five percent equates to approximately 14.7 million additional dollars, raising the total proposed FY08 operating budget to nearly $315 million.

The purpose in raising operating costs is to prepare Alaskans for the industry boom associated with building a natural gas pipeline in Alaska €" an issue of contention this election year. According to the Board's budget proposal, "the oil pipeline of the mid-1970's caught Alaskans by surprise." Consequently, the majority of pipeline jobs went to non-Alaskan "outsiders."

"Over the next 1,000 days," states the budget proposal, "the university will embark on a program to anticipate high-demand jobs of the future and again work with Alaskan industries to create degree and certificate programs those jobs will require. The result will be a trained Alaskan workforce ready to respond to the needs of a prosperous state."

In addition to budget issues, Hamilton gave his President's Report, articulating themes of accountability, increased enrollment and competitive research. Recently, Hamilton met with gubernatorial candidates to discuss the future of the University of Alaska but related the difficulty in gauging their support since "it is in their best interest to give us time."

"I've been spending time talking to legislators because they're all running for office, so they love us," Hamilton said. "I'm pleased with how much the university is part of the debate - it's not always as exciting to hear the answers."

Board Chair Mary Hughes said accountability, in terms of student success and program support, is a burgeoning issue.

"The accountability question is going to be huge this year - the public is demanding it. No matter how much people love us, they think we are paid too much money (and that) we don't teach enough courses," Hughes said.

However, Hamilton said that accountability is a "myth" and that "we've got a lot of ammo on this issue (of accountability)."

The Board of Regents allotted approximately one hour for public testimony; four UAA faculty members addressed the board. Grant Baker, chair of the science of engineering program, briefed the Board on the progress of the two-year-old Bachelor of Science in Engineering program. While the BSE program is expanding, the Engineering, Science and Program Management program is faltering.

Jang Ra, ESPM professor and chair, spoke passionately to the board and exceeded his time limit of three minutes. The Board allowed him to continue, as he described the need for more faculty €" he is the only full-time faculty members in the program €" to share the burden of the program. "I am maximized," said Ra, who is responsible for recruiting students, designing new courses and teaching.

Professors associated with the College Preparatory and Developmental Studies Department, Sarah Kirk and Tara Smith, also addressed the board.

The next scheduled meeting for the Board of Regents is from Dec. 6-7 in Fairbanks. Meetings are open to the public, and agendas are available five days prior to meetings. Minutes and agendas are available at www.alaska.edu/bor.

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