November 12, 1998  NR 29-1998

Regents of the University of Alaska will meet in Anchorage on Thursday and Friday, November 19-20, 1998, in the Campus Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

The full board will meet on Thursday from 8 to 10 a.m. and again from 5 to 6 p.m. to hear public testimony. Regents will spend the remainder of the day in committee meetings, with all sessions scheduled in the Campus Center. Committee meetings will continue Friday morning beginning at 7 a.m., and the full board will reconvene at noon in the south wing of the Campus Center Cafeteria. An executive session is scheduled as one of the last items of business, and is expected to last about two hours. The meeting is scheduled to conclude at 5 p.m.

Four regents who have completed their eight-year terms will be guests of honor Thursday night at a dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Discovery Ballroom of the Hotel Captain Cook. Regents Sharon Gagnon and Joseph Henri of Anchorage, Michael Kelly of Fairbanks and Lew Williams Jr., of Ketchikan were named to the Board of Regents in 1991 by former Governor Walter J. Hickel, who will attend Thursday's dinner. Their terms expire in January 1999.

Agenda highlights for the November meeting are listed here by committee of origin:

Academic & Student Affairs
Consider approval of revisions to a policy on recreational and competitive athletics, and consider approval of the policy on student dispute resolution. Regents also will consider a recommendation that the effective date of a new policy on student rights and responsibilities be delayed to allow time for publishing the new procedures in student handbooks and catalogs.
Receive reports on the assessment of educational effectiveness, on the activities of the Professional Education Coordinating Committee, and on the Rural Educators Partnership Program.

Finance, Facilities & Land Management
Consider approval of schematic design for deferred maintenance and code compliance work on UAF's original Duckering Building. Total project cost is estimated to be $9.8 million.
Consider approval of a UAF food service enhancement project, and authorize expenditures not to exceed $750,000 for the evaluation, planning and design of food service enhancements and related capital improvements. The recommendation is that the board's authorization be subject to university President Mark Hamilton's approval of an expenditure plan, identification of funding sources and availability of funds for the work, as well as a review of UAF's strategic plan for the housing and food service system of the campus.
Receive the university's FY98 financial statements, and a status report on this year's construction in progress.

Human Resources
Receive reports on labor relations and on the survey of university employees.
Receive the annual grievance report, and an initial draft of a grievance policy. The university's reconsideration of policies on employee dispute resolution was suspended during representation election periods for collective bargaining units, and can be taken up again for staff because the election process is over.

Committee of the Whole
Hear a presentation on the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE) by Richard Jonsen, executive director of the commission.

Hear a presentation by Robert Trent, director of UAF's School of Mineral Engineering on how the school is responding to recommendations made several years ago by an ad hoc committee of regents.
Consider approval of the University of Alaska Scholars Program as proposed by President Hamilton.

The program would offer four-year scholarships to the top 10 percent of Alaska's high school graduates. If approved, the scholarship program would begin with next year's fall semester.

Authorize the administration to proceed with the preparation of the university's operating and capital budget request for FY2000.
Review the initial draft of a policy on crisis planning and response.

Audit Committee
Receive status reports on the FY98 external financial audit and on the FY99 annual audit plan, and review recently completed audits.

Full Board
In addition to the committee agenda items, the full board also will consider approval of the bargaining unit contract between the University of Alaska and United Academic-Adjuncts; consider resolutions of appreciation for retiring Regents Gagnon, Henri, Kelly and Williams; and consider approval of a revision to records management policy providing for an appeal procedure for Alaska public records requests.

All meetings of the Board of Regents and its committees, except for executive sessions, are open to the public.

During the meeting, messages can be left at the UAA Campus Center, 907-786-1204 or fax 907-786-6161. Messages should indicate that they are for participants in the Board of Regents' meeting.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Bob Miller, 907-474-7272