5/22

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2018
 
UA Board of Regents to act on university’s FY19 budget at May 31 meeting
 
ANCHORAGE--The University of Alaska Board of Regents will discuss and approve the university’s FY19 operating and capital budgets at its May 31 meeting in Anchorage. The Alaska Legislature passed a $327 million state operating appropriation for the university, an increase of $10 million over what UA received in FY18, and a $2 million capital budget appropriation. The operating budget increase is the first in four years for the university, said UA President Jim Johnsen, and represents a significant show of support from the legislature.
 
“In passing this increase, legislators voiced their support for our university and our strategic priorities -- economic and workforce development, research and innovation, and student success,” Johnsen said. “This renewed support for the university recognizes the strength of our faculty and campuses, our position as the world's leader in Arctic research and the critical role we play in expanding opportunities for Alaskans.”
 
Other agenda items include updates on Strategic Pathways, the Alaska College of Education, UA’s fundraising efforts and Title IX, as well as approval of the FY19 Natural Resources Fund budget. The board also will issue a resolution of appreciation for retiring University of Alaska Fairbanks Provost Susan Henrichs and recognize the 2018 Staff Make Students Count award recipients.
 
The board’s three standing committees will meet the week prior to the full board meeting. The Academic and Student Affairs Committee will meet on Thursday, May 24 from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. followed by the Facilities and Land Management Committee from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. On Friday, May 25, the Audit Committee will meet from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. 
 
The full board meeting will take place May 31 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in room 107 of the Lee Gorsuch Commons on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. The board will host an evening public gathering the same day from 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. in room 106 of the Lee Gorsuch Commons. On June 1, regents and senior university leadership will meet in a strategic planning retreat.
 
All committee meetings and the May 31 full board meeting can be livestreamed online at www.alaska.edu/bor/live, with the exception of any executive session. All Board of Regents committee and full board meeting agendas are available online at www.alaska.edu/bor/agendas.
 
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For more information, contact Roberta Graham, associate vice president of public affairs at 907-360-2416 (cell).
  
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