Alaska News

UA has a lot of gall asking for donations after president's extravagant bonus offer

Kudos to Rick Goodfellow and his tongue-in-cheek, right-on commentary about the University of Alaska president's pay and benefits (ADN, Aug. 29).

The University of Alaska Anchorage has a lot of gall asking me, begging me to donate money to support it, a public institution. I already support it through my federal taxes and share of state revenue that fund the university system. UAA hits me up for pledges, donations -- even for a "legacy" donation from my so-called "estate." (Just wait till you are 65 or better. You, too, will be made painfully aware of hovering vultures like UAA, which till then have little or no reason to contact you.)

How dare the university ask other UAA grads and me for money when it so obviously is likely to be squandered on vulgarly inflated salaries, benefits and bonuses to management. The latest example of squandering is the $320,000 bonus/50 percent raise offered to UA President Patrick Gamble.

Everyone who took out state student loans and repaid them with interest for years should be incensed at being asked to fund the corporate-like university administration of what is supposed to be an institution of higher learning with a mission of education, not profit. The university should operate solely on student tuition and funding by the government, supported by you and me, and could do so if it were run well. In my 44 years of Alaska residency, this state and its university system have become increasingly like too many large corporations with goals of greed, overpaid executives, and excessive profits and shareholder returns.

We Alaskans are the "shareholders" of our university, and the primary return on investment we expect is a well-educated populace, not anyone's monetary wealth, especially those appointed to, contracted by, or employed by the university.

Donate money to UAA in support of extravagant lifestyles? No, neither in my life, nor after my death.

Thetus Smith is a retired book editor who spends too much time reading this newspaper because she can't resist editing as she reads.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.

Thetus Smith

Thetus Smith is a retired book editor who spends too much time reading this newspaper because she can’t resist editing as she reads.

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