Cuts would be accelerated across the University of Alaska system if a State Senate proposed budget is finalized by the legislature. The UA Board of Regent met Thursday to discuss contingency measures in light of Senate passed funding for UA that’s 22 million dollars less than the amount supported by the House and Governor. UA President Jim Johnsen did not cite specifics, but previewed a range of areas targeted for cuts if the lower number holds.
”Continued work on program reductions, pressure on research support, entity campuses would be impacted,” Johnsen said. “No question about it. Facility maintenance… this has been an important goal for the board and for the university. That, I think, would have to be scrutinized. And I think we’d end up, again, with fewer faculty, fewer staff to help our students.”
Johnsen noted that UA has already weathered a 14 percent reduction in state support over the last three years that’s resulted in the loss of more than 900 jobs and elimination or suspension of 50 academic programs.
”And so serious impacts are being felt now and with a reduction of this level, those impacts will become more and more serious,” Johnsen said.
President Johnsen emphasized the importance of protecting key priorities, including system wide Title IX initiatives, as well as individual campus focuses, like health at UAA, research at UAF and education at UAS.
The University’s Strategic Pathways process is aimed at weaning UA down to $312 million in state funding by 2025. Johnsen said accelerating the decline will result in a hard landing, which would trigger more abrupt action, including a possible mid-year tuition hike in January 2018.
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
