The University of Alaska Board of Regents received a recommendation this week, endorsed by University of Alaska Anchorage student government, the faculty senates of UAA, University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Southeast, as well as more than 300 faculty, staff, local administrators and students. It advises a two-year timetable for making thoughtful decisions about system-wide restructuring, while enabling each university to develop and implement plans for a projected 3-4% shortfall in their budgets next year.
But the regents are still in crisis mode after this summer and have opted to continue down the path of immediate system-wide restructuring, with a three-way merger of UAA, UAF and UAS apparently preferred by the majority. On Thursday, the regents passed a motion to conduct “expedited program reviews.” Committees for subject areas as broad as “arts, humanities, and social sciences” will have a few weeks to review all the programs in the entire system. And there will be only one faculty member from each university per committee.
Why conduct this sham review? Board policy requires it before program and tenured faculty elimination is possible. The plan is to give professors pink slips by December.
One slide that received no discussion at the board meeting on Thursday was President Jim Johnsen’s proposed budget reductions for the next three years. They show $40.5 million being cut from academics and student services and only $27.9 million in cost reductions in administration.
The regents continue their modus operandi: act first, “evaluate” later, and forget about a vetted plan with a thorough cost-benefit analysis.
— Joel Potter
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, UAA
Anchorage
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