02-16-96summary

Board of Regents

SUMMARY OF ACTIONS

Board of Regents' Meeting

 

February 16, 1996

 

Juneau, Alaska

1. Approval of Naming of a UAA Lecture Hall

PASSED

"The Board of Regents approves the naming of Room 118 in the University of Alaska Anchorage College of Arts and Sciences Building, the Robert L. Spurr Memorial Lecture Hall. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

2. Alaska Center for International Business Advisory Board Appointments

PASSED

"The Board of Regents appoints the following three individuals to the Alaska Center for International Business Advisory Board for terms of two years each: David A. Heatwole, Michael F. Porcaro and John L. Sturgeon. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

3. Approval of Policies Regarding Academic Affairs

PASSED AS AMENDED

"The Board of Regents approves the proposed policies 10.02.01-07, 10.03.01-02, 10.04.01-11, and 10.05.01-04 on academic matters as presented in Reference A - Part 1, and as amended by the Academic and Student Affairs Committee and by the Full Board. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

4. State of Alaska, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, College Road/University Avenue Intersection Project on University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus Land in Fairbanks, Alaska - Schematic Design Approval

PASSED

"The Board of Regents approves the schematic design of the College/University Avenue Intersection Project and authorize the administration to negotiate with the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities for the sale of land necessary to complete the project, to execute all documents necessary to complete that transaction, and to dedicate the proceeds of the sale to roadway and other improvement projects on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus which will be approved by the Board of Regents. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

5. Board of Regents' Resolution on the University of Alaska Fairbanks College Road/University Avenue Access Improvement, Phase 2 Project

PASSED

"The Board of Regents approves the Resolution on the University of Alaska College Road/University Avenue Access Improvement, Phase 2 Project as presented. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

RESOLUTION

"WHEREAS, construction of the Fairbanks project known as the College/University Access Improvement, Phase 2, at College Road and University Avenue is critical to the long-range vehicular circulation plan for the University of Alaska Fairbanks; and

WHEREAS, a key concept in the UAF Master Plan is completion of a vehicular ring-road encircling the campus, eventually taking the burden of traffic off interior campus roads; and

WHEREAS, the re-opening of the College Road entrance to the campus is critical to realizing the vehicular traffic plan in that it provides a major entrance to campus at a critical location and allows the closing of Taku Drive to through traffic for safety reasons; and

WHEREAS, the opening of this intersection would vastly improve emergency fire and ambulance egress to the Fairbanks' off-campus community and reduce response times; and

WHEREAS, the Fairbanks North Star Borough through the Fairbanks Metropolitan Area Transportation System (FMATS) cooperative planning process with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities ranked the University Avenue/College Intersection Improvements "Priority 1", under safety concerns; and

WHEREAS, the university made a substantial investment in the purchase of land to facilitate a resolution of a right-of-way acquisition impasse which threatened to delay the project; and

WHEREAS, the University of Alaska Fairbanks for several years past has been totally bereft of a main campus entrance which is easily identified, aesthetic, noble, inspiring and inviting; and

WHEREAS, the delayed state access improvement project is essential to the realization of such a needful campus entrance; and

WHEREAS, the project has been reprioritized to a "Priority 3" in the State of Alaska's plan, released in December 1995, the effect of which is that the project is no longer scheduled for construction in the near future.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska respectfully urges The Honorable Tony Knowles, Governor of the State of Alaska, and Commissioner Joseph Perkins of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to reprioritize this project so that it can be scheduled as it was originally intended for construction beginning in the summer of 1997; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be incorporated into the official minutes of the February 15-16, 1996 meeting of the Board of Regents and a copy forwarded to Governor Knowles and Commissioner Perkins."

6. University of Alaska Fairbanks Bartlett, Moore and Skarland Halls Deferred Maintenance - Project Approval

PASSED AS AMENDED

"The Board of Regents approves the University of Alaska Fairbanks Bartlett, Moore, and Skarland Halls Deferred Maintenance Project as presented with the clerical error in the schedule corrected as presented to the Finance, Facilities and Land Management Committee and authorizes the University administration to proceed with this project. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

7. University of Alaska Fairbanks Stevens Hall Deferred Maintenance - Schematic Design Approval

PASSED AS AMENDED

"The Board of Regents authorizes the chair of the Finance, Facilities and Land Management Committee to approve the schematic design of the UAF Stevens Hall Deferred Maintenance project and authorizes the University administration to bid and award construction contracts within available funding not to exceed a total project cost of $1,730,800. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

8. Resolution on Exemption from S1054 and SB189

TABLED

"The Board of Regents directs that David Creamer, Vice President for Finance and Planning and Regent Joseph R. Henri draft a resolution to Governor Knowles, the Alaska Legislature and the Alaska Congressional delegation stating the adverse affects that S1054 and SB189 would have on the University of Alaska and further encourage them to take into consideration the best interests and fiduciary obligations of the University of Alaska. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

RESOLUTION

"WHEREAS, the University of Alaska is a land grant university and under the Acts of Congress of 1915 and 1929 was granted certain federal land to be held in trust for the benefit of the University of Alaska; and

WHEREAS, the University of Alaska received from the state, land and interests in land, including timber harvesting rights on state land in the Gulf of Alaska, in settlement of litigation brought by the university against the state for mismanagement of its trust lands; and

WHEREAS, these timber cutting rights represent the greatest single opportunity for the university to comply with the terms of its trust by converting its land and resources to investable resources; and

WHEREAS, the damages sustained by the university because of the state's mismanagement of its trust lands amounted to millions of dollars of lost revenues which would otherwise have been deposited in its Land Grant Trust Fund; and

WHEREAS, the heart of the legal settlement between the University and the state was a mutually agreed deal whereby the university could export round log timber to Japan as had been done continuously from the state lands on the Gulf of Alaska since the late 1960s; and

WHEREAS, the university had no reason to believe that the state government of Alaska would, during the life of the state-university settlement agreement, unilaterally attempt to essentially annul it by trying to prohibit the exportation of round logs from the university-state timber lands on the Gulf of Alaska; and

WHEREAS, the net income from the university's land and interests in land is deposited in a perpetual endowment, the Land Grant Trust Fund, the investment proceeds of which are used to benefit all of the citizens of the state of Alaska through education and research; and

WHEREAS, the university in practice and by policy is committed to environmentally sound timber harvesting and land development; and

WHEREAS, legislation currently pending before the Alaska Legislature will, once the courts or Congress provide the requisite authority, ban the export of logs from state-owned timber lands; and

WHEREAS, because the university's one-time timber harvesting rights are located on state land, the legislation would effectively render such timber harvest rights valueless.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska requests Governor Knowles, the Alaska Legislature, and the Alaska Congressional Delegation, to exempt the university from any legislation which would ban or allow the banning of the export of round logs from university land and from its one-time timber harvest rights in the Gulf of Alaska.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be incorporated into the official minutes of the February 16, 1996 meeting of the Board of Regents."

9. Selection of External Auditors

PASSED AS AMENDED

"The Board of Regents authorizes the administration to award contract(s) for audit services to the firm of KPMG Peat Marwick for FY96 with the option to extend the contract for four additional one-year periods. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

10. Adoption of Policy 04.05.01 - Compensation Responsibilities

PASSED

"The Board of Regents adopts Policy 04.05.01 - Compensation Responsibilities. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

11. Adoption of FY97 Tuition Rate

PASSED AS AMENDED

"The Board of Regents approves the following tuition rates for the 1996-1997 academic year, effective with the 1996 summer session:

Resident undergraduate rate

Lower Division $70

Upper Division $77

Nonresident undergraduate rate

Lower Division $210

Upper Division $231

Graduate rate

Resident $153

Nonresident $306

The Board of Regents waives for 1996-97 the provision of Regents' Policy 05.10.01.G: Nonresident Tuition Surcharge which establishes the undergraduate nonresident surcharge at 200 percent of the rate of undergraduate resident tuition fees. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

12. Advance College Tuition Payment Plan

PASSED AS AMENDED

"The Board of Regents approves establishing the purchase (selling) price for ACT credits for calendar year 1996 at an amount equal to the fall 1996 upper division tuition rate of $77, and that the price for calendar year 1995 be adjusted retroactively from $78 to $75 per credit. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."

13. Board of Regents' Meeting Schedule - Location Revision

PASSED

"The Board of Regents revises its FY97 meeting schedule to change the August 15-16, 1996 meeting location from Anchorage to Valdez. This motion is effective February 16, 1996."