May 26, 1999  NR 11-1999

The full board is scheduled to meet on Thursday at 8 a.m. on the first floor foyer of the Natural Sciences Building on the UAF campus to meet with faculty, staff and students.

The Committee of the Whole will meet from 1 to 2:45 p.m. Thursday in the Regents' Conference Room in the Butrovich Building. Following the meeting, the full board will hold a joint meeting with the State Board of Education in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District offices at 520 5th Avenue in downtown Fairbanks.

UAF Chancellor Joan K. Wadlow, who is retiring at the end of June, will be honored at a farewell reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Lola Tilly Commons on the UAF campus.

Other committees of the board will meet Friday morning in the Butrovich Building. The full board will meet briefly in the morning for a presentation from Anchorage Mayor Rick Mystrom. The brief meeting is scheduled from 9 to 9:15 a.m. in the Regents' Conference Room. At noon, the full board will convene again to hear public testimony and to proceed with the meeting agenda. An executive session is scheduled as one of the last items of business, and is expected to last approximately an hour. The meeting is scheduled to adjourn about 5:30 p.m.

During the full board meeting, President Hamilton will present the first of the "Make Students Count" awards, and the regents will consider a resolution of appreciation for Chancellor Wadlow. There will also be a special presentation on UA research and its importance to the state.

Agenda highlights are listed here by committee of origin:
Committee of the Whole
The committee's business will begin with a report from university President Mark R. Hamilton, followed by a presentation on the UA Schools of Education restructuring and progress in meeting accreditation criteria. The presentation will be made by John Pugh, dean of faculty at UAS, and Alexander McNeill, dean of the College of Health, Education and Social Welfare at UAA.

• Consider approval of temporary re-employment for some participants in the FY99 retirement incentive program.
• Consider approval of FY2000 student government budgets.
• Consider approval of a preliminary distribution plan for the FY2000 capital and operating budgets even though no final action on the legislative appropriations or legislative intent statements is expected in time for the meeting.
• Consider approval of strategic initiatives forthe FY2001 budget process, including professional education, healthcare, vocational education, logistics, information technology, student outreachand recruitment, faculty and staff development and data retrieval and analysis.President Hamilton and his staff will discuss the initiatives.
• Discussion of the university's information resources policy which has beencompletely rewritten and retitled in view of the substantivedevelopments affecting electronic communications in the last few years. Thepolicy will be presented by Steve Smith, UA chief technology officer.No action is expected at this meeting.

Audit Committee

• Review recently completed audits, and receive a status report on the FY99annual audit plan.
• Presentation on performance audits.
• Evaluation ofinternal audit staffing level.
• Consider approval of the FY2000 annual auditplan.
• Receive a presentation on internal controls developed by the Associationof College and University Auditors.

Nominating Committee

• Approve a slate of candidates for FY2000 Board of Regents' officers who will be elected during the full board meeting.

Academic and Student Affairs

• Consider approval of a master of fine arts in art program at UAF.
• Consider approval of a master of arts in general and applied anthropology program at UAA.
• Receive a presentation on the UA Scholars Award Program from Ann Ringstad, director of government relations and coordinator of the Scholars Program.

Finance, Facilities, and Land Management

• Consider approval of the corporate authority and industrial security resolutions.
• Consider approval of the acquisition of a former Coast Guard facility for campus housing at Ketchikan. The campus has identified a suitable 3,548 square foot four-bedroom house that was built in 1950 and remodeled in 1981 for Coast Guard use. The house is currently available to the university under the U. S. Department of Education's public benefit allowance program for surplus federal property.
• Consider approval to rename UAF's East Tanana Drive to Alumni Drive.
• Receive status reports on the coal-water fuel project and on construction in progress and other projects.
• Consider approval of Eagle Bluff Subdivision development and land sale in Haines.

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 Board of Regents' Office, 907-474-7908; FAX: 907-474-6342. Messages should indicate that they are for participants in the Board of Regents meeting.

For More Information: Bob Miller, 907-474-7272