Board of Regents meet September 12-13

The University of Alaska Board of Regents will convene Sept. 12-13 in Anchorage to review the administration’s strategic approach for the university’s integration. The board originally was scheduled to decide on whether to restructure the university under a single accreditation at this meeting, but when a comprise agreement was reached with Gov. Mike Dunleavy in August, the board terminated its declaration of financial exigency and agreed with UA President Jim Johnsen on a slower approach to the planning effort.

In the interim, work on administrative consolidation is underway, and academic workshops have been conducted to gather initial input from faculty and students that will inform future planning efforts. Additionally, broad stakeholder input was gathered via a survey. Results of that survey will be presented to the board at the September meeting.

At the September meeting, President Johnsen will seek the Board’s direction to conduct expedited programs reviews for eight statewide academic units and programs and five areas including research, libraries and athletics.

As proposed, inter-university teams would be created to conduct the program reviews and report back to the administration on how best to integrate, reduce or discontinue units and programs. A decision on the university’s structure is anticipated to be made by the board in early November.

The September meeting also will include a two-hour public testimony session, a report from the task force that convened to discuss university structure, a Title IX update, a discussion of the FY20 budget allocation, a preview of the FY21 budget plan, committee reports and other reports regarding finance, government relations, fundraising, and university governance.

The meeting will be held in room 107 of Lee Gorsuch Commons on the UAA campus. Teleconference sites will be open in Fairbanks in room 204 Butrovich Building and in Juneau, in UAS Administration Building, Room 204. The full board agenda can be found here www.alaska.edu/bor/agendas.

All meetings of the Board of Regents are open to the public and available via livestream at www.alaska.edu/bor/live.

The University of Alaska Board of Regents is an 11-member volunteer board, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Alaska State Legislature. Members serve an 8-year term, with the exception of the student regent who is nominated from his/her campus and serves a 2-year term. The board was established through the Alaska Constitution and is responsible for University of Alaska policy and management through the university president.