The University of Alaska Board of Regents will take up the draft FY20 budget, review the UA Foundation's comprehensive fundraising campaign plan, and receive updates on the new Alaska College of Education and Title IX issues at its September 13-14 meeting in Juneau. The board also will discuss the status of its June retreat, receive a preliminary overview of the university’s compensation study and hear committee, financial and governance reports.

President Jim Johnsen will present a preliminary FY20 budget focused on meeting the regents’ goals for increasing enrollment, workforce and economic development, promoting the university’s global position in Arctic research, improving student success and increasing cost efficiencies across the UA system. The proposed budget includes additional funding for Title IX and human resources offices in order to increase capacity and response time to reports and incidents of misconduct, enhance prevention efforts and continue to grow a university culture of respect, safety and free expression.

As part of the Title IX update the board will review compliance scorecards and progress made on the Voluntary Resolution Agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The board will also consider a proposed policy for responding to delayed reports of misconduct.

Additional items on the board’s agenda include review and consideration of the president’s performance-based compensation and approving a resolution of appreciation for outgoing interim UAA Chancellor Sam Gingerich. UAA’s new chancellor, Cathy Sandeen, will assume her new position Sept. 15.

Regents will hold an evening public gathering from 5:30 –7 p.m. at the UAS Student Recreation Center in Juneau on Sept. 13.

The Board of Regents' Audit, Academic and Student Affairs, and Facilities and Land Management committees are meeting via video conferencing on September 6 and 7. The committee and full board meetings are streamed online. Watch live stream video of Board of Regents meetings from your computer or wireless device. http://www.alaska.edu/bor/live

A two-hour audio public testimony session will take place from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4. The opportunity to call in for public testimony greatly expands access for individuals who cannot attend meetings in person. Individuals wishing to testify can dial in by calling 866-726-0757. Written testimony also can be submitted to ua-bor@alaska.edu.

The Sept. 4 public testimony will air on KUAC-FM HD2 and stream on KUAC2 at www.kuac.org. The audio will play on computers, laptops, mobile phones and most other hand-held devices with Internet capability.

Summer was a busy time for University of Alaska Title IX offices. �Staff across the system prepared training and orientation activities, took in and responded to reports, provided resources to complainants and respondents, filled staff vacancies and conducted investigations.� Further, the team continues to meet weekly and prepare, track, and audit all Title IX cases and complete other compliance work as part of the Voluntary Resolution Agreement (VRA) with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

Some of the vacancies filled this summer include:

• Neil Best, UAA Deputy Civil Rights & Title IX Coordinator
• April Stahl, UAA Deputy Civil Rights & Title IX Coordinator
• Graeme Abraham, UAF Lead Investigator/Deputy Title IX Coordinator

Title IX Progress

For the past several years, Title IX efforts have focused on training, reporting and compliance. Accomplishments include creating more awareness about campus sexual assault, completion of a campus climate survey, more training, and implementing a single software system for tracking cases across the system.

Recognizing that a safe and welcoming campus environment is an ongoing process, the university is deepening its focus on evolving as an institution in a way that ensures a respectful environment with an underpinning of safety, equity, and opportunity.� MORE...