Seven Strategic Pathways review teams, working diligently since June to produce options for the future of three University of Alaska academic and four administrative areas, presented those options to UA President Jim Johnsen and senior university executives Aug. 17 in Fairbanks.

Forty options were suggested for the three academic schools of Engineering, Management and Teacher Education and the four administrative areas of Procurement, Information Technology, Research Administration and Intercollegiate Athletics. All documents outlining the options are posted at http://www.alaska.edu/pathways/review-teams-phase-1/ for university and community input.� MORE.....

Watch more videos of President Johnsen discussing Strategic Pathways HERE.

President Jim Johnsen will hold public forums on the options presented by review teams in phase one of Strategic Pathways. The forums will take place:

• UAF: Sept. 1, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. -- Wood Center Ballroom
• UAA: Sept. 7, 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. -- Student Union Cafeteria
• UAS: Sept 13, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. -- Egan Lecture Hall

Johnsen will share highlights of the options presented to the Summit Team by the seven working groups and take questions from the audience. The reports are posted at www.alaska.edu/pathways/ along with feedback forms for each area and the opportunity to submit comments or questions.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will maintain offices in Anchorage and Sitka under a new plan developed by Extension leaders this summer.

The plan means the Anchorage office will move to a new location and become an outreach center rather than a district office. Outreach centers have no Extension agents but offer Extension publications and face-to-face and distance-delivered programs led by agents from other district offices. Classes will also be taught by program staff and by community experts. Services at the Sitka office will be relatively unchanged, but operations will be mostly grant funded.

In May, the university was planning to close both the Anchorage and Sitka offices due to budget shortfalls. This summer, office and classroom space with another university program became available and Extension received some additional grant funding. Those changes allowed the university to re-examine the decision to close the offices.� MORE....

Beginning September 2016, the University of Alaska Board of Regents will introduce a new format for public testimony. Instead of hearing from the public during board meetings, the regents will host a two-hour call-in audio testimony session one week in advance of the full board meetings, and an evening community gathering following the first day of the full board meeting (Thursday), so that the public and university community can both meet informally with regents and have an opportunity to share their comments and concerns.

The public testimony will air on KUAC-FM HD2 and stream on KUAC2 at www.kuac.org. The direct link to the live streaming is http://kuacii.streamon.fm/. The audio will play on computers, laptops, mobile phones and most other hand-held devices with internet capability.� MORE...

Click HERE for PDF with public testimony schedule and information.

The University of Alaska Foundation Board of Trustees and University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen announced today the appointment of Susan Behlke Foley as president of the University Foundation. Foley, an Anchorage-based attorney, brings substantial executive and non-profit leadership to the position. She will join the Foundation on September 6.

“Susan’s experience and perspective as a longtime Alaskan with deep experience in philanthropy will be critical for the Foundation's success as we navigate our way through some very challenging fiscal times,” said Scott Jepsen, chair of the University of Alaska Foundation Board of Trustees. “We look forward to her leadership.”� MORE...