The FY17 budget development process is moving ahead smoothly despite a difficult funding environment. The Board of Regents made a first review of a base FY17 budget incorporating the top priorities and needs of the three universities and Statewide during their September meeting. The base budget was developed following a highly productive budget meeting on Aug. 21 in Fairbanks. (Budget Meeting materials)

During their September board meeting, the regents were presented with a proposed $378 million state funded operating budget and a $134.8 million state funded capital budget. Following final approval by the Board of Regents in November, the operating and capital budgets containing the critical funding needs of the university will be forwarded to the Governor for consideration.� MORE...

During its two-day meeting, the University of Alaska Board of Regents took a first step toward approving an FY 2017 budget, approved a list of presidential performance measures and adopted a revised policy and a resolution focused on Title IX compliance at the three universities. Regents also heard from more than 25 people who testified on a topics ranging from the importance of Native language programs to student views on tuition.

The Regents also were briefed on the proposed $378 million operating budget, which represents an increase of $27 million, largely due to fixed cost increases related to items such as faculty and staff compensation, utility increases, and unfunded federal mandates.� MORE...

Gov. Bill Walker announced Sep. 9 that Deena Paramo�will join the University of Alaska Board of Regents. Paramo will fill the seat vacated by Mike Powers, who resigned to become UAF's interim chancellor.

Paramo is superintendent of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. She has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, an elementary school principal and a teacher in Glenallen and the Mat-Su area.

She holds a bachelor's of science from Texas State University, a master’s in education from UAA, and and doctorate in education from the University of Oregon.

The University of Alaska (UA) Foundation has selected University of Alaska Anchorage’s Tim Doebler as recipient of the 2015 Edith R. Bullock Prize. Doebler is Program Director of UAA’s Culinary Arts, Hospitality/Dietetics and Nutrition department and has been a faculty member for more than 25 years. The recognition includes $15,000, which can be used as the recipient sees fit and is the single largest award presented by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees each year.� MORE.....

The Board of Regents approved a total of three word changes to policy describing types of employment during their September meeting, including broadening the scope of casual labor from an emergency basis to as-needed. These simple changes were all that were needed at the policy level to accommodate new regulation changes redefining five types of temporary employees and updating nearly 25 pages of Chapter 4 regulations. In order to provide a little more insight to the scope and impact of those regulation changes, Public Affairs sat down with Chief HR Officer Erik Seastedt to ask a few questions. MORE....

In April 2014, the University of Alaska Board of Regents created a new policy to coordinate calendaring across the entire UA system. They were compelled into this action from student testimony about the negative effects of juggling different deadlines at different universities.�

Two years later, the Common Calendar Committee has prepared final recommendations for President Jim Johnsen to make important first steps in aligning dates, deadlines and breaks across the university system. This is a sweeping change that will impact students, faculty and staff. It will also affect university constituents including school districts, state agencies and other partners and businesses.� MORE....

On Sept. 29, 2015 President Jim Johnsen shared preliminary Statewide Transformation Team recommendations with Statewide staff, governance groups and university leaders. Staff are encouraged to review the recommendations and provide feedback using the form located on the Transformation Team website: www.alaska.edu/swbir/transformation-team

In his message to staff, President Johnsen encouraged them to keep the following thoughts in mind:

1. Our goal is to improve cost-effective, high-quality service to our universities and to lead the university.

2. We must be as lean as we can be so our resources can be focused on our educational mission.

3. Good people with good intentions prepared this report. Please prepare your inputs/feedback with this in mind.

4. You have a valuable opportunity to weigh in constructively. Please take advantage of it.

5. How you participate is every bit as important as your substantive feedback. Through this process, we have the opportunity to demonstrate our leadership for the system, both to our universities and to the public.

6. We will follow this SW process with processes on the university campuses, where I believe there are additional efficiencies to be achieved.

In December, Johnsen will make decisions on the recommendations and an implementation plan will be developed. Implementation will begin January 1 and be completed by July 1, 2016.