September 2008

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

September has been a great month with many special events. Classes are off to a good start, new exhibits are up on campus gallery walls, the UAA Department of Music kicked off its Jazz Concert Series this week, the Banff Mountain Film Festival's Radical Reels Tour opens this weekend, Seawolves volleyball is 10-5 overall already doubling their overall and league win totals from a year ago, and our men's and women's cross country running teams also had some terrific showings this month. There is a lot happening at UAA and a lot more to come!

Last week, the Board of Regents met in Anchorage at the Lee Gorsuch Commons. The Board approved a 4 percent increase for lower level undergraduate classes -- the 100 and 200 level courses -- and a 7 percent increase for all other levels beginning in fall 2010. Out of the four-year public universities in 15 western states, UA tuition ranks 9th. It is my hope that this tuition increase will not seriously impact our students while providing necessary revenues for our programs.

The Board also reviewed the first version of the university's operating and capital budgets for FY10. It was the first review of the budget, which will be finalized by the end of October.

The proposed priorities in the operating budget are strengthening K-12 bridging and partnerships, energy, engineering, climate, health programs, workforce programs and meeting fixed costs.

What this means for UAA on the operating side is support for our engineering bridging and summer camps, ANSEP, new academic development and student success coordinators in a number of areas (including health), funding for additional faculty in engineering, CTC, ESPM, and WWAMI. It also includes funding for developing pharmacy and physical therapy programs and expanding the physician's assistant program.

The proposed capital request includes state funding of $65 million for UAA's Sports Arena and $61.57 million for UAF's Life Sciences Innovation and Learning. Life Sciences is an alternative approach to BIOS and has a total cost of $102.8 million. (What the state does not cover will be funded via UA funded revenue bonds.) Other capital budget items include $50 million for maintenance and repair of existing facilities, planning for several new facilities and specific research projects.

More than a dozen people, including UAA engineering graduates, students, School of Engineering Advisory Board members, as well as members of the engineering industry testified before the Regents about the need for a new engineering building at UAA. Alaska has a shortage of engineers; many employers are looking to the University of Alaska to fill this need. Engineering majors have increased by 18 percent annually the last five years and ongoing growth is expected to continue. A recent space needs analysis indicates that the current engineering building's 40,000 sq ft is woefully inadequate.

Thanks so much to those who came to testify before the BOR. Your personal appearance means a lot and we appreciate your willingness to take time to provide your perspective on UAA priorities.

Q: What is UAA doing to combat Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in Alaska?
A: Behavioral Health Research and Services received a Center for Disease Control and Prevention grant to develop one of only five Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Regional Training Centers in the nation. This three-year project will receive more than $340,000 annually and is renewable.

Q: How successful was the 16th Annual Celebrity Chef Invitational this year?
A: Extremely successful. Not only was it a fun evening with wonderful food, but attendees were extremely generous donating $105,000 to support UAA's Culinary Arts and Hospitality Program. ($20,000 more than last year!)

Q: Where can you find out more about the candidates and issues in this year's elections?
A: If you missed the legislative candidate fair on September 22, check out some of the other events planned this month and next including:

• Presidential Debate watching Friday, September 26, Rasmuson Hall 101, at 4:45.
• Hip Hop Political Activism Summit with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Ethan Berkowitz, Senator Bill Wielokowski and others, Saturday, September 27 at the Rasmuson Hall, 11-5:30p.m. Free food.

And in October . . .

• Remix the Vote Fest at Club Millennium on Oct. 4, co-sponsored by the UAA Polynesian College Council. The Web site is www.ourtime2008.com
• Voter registration continues on campus. In order to vote in the November election you must register by October 5. If you haven't registered yet, please contact the Dean of Students Office in the Student Union or go to www.uaa.alaska.edu/voterinfo.

Q: How did the UAA Track & Field team do?
A: Sophomore Marko Cheseto and senior Elizabeth Chepkosgei led their men's and women's cross country squads for the second time in a row with runner-up performances at last week's University of Washington Sundodger Invitational. The Seawolf men finished second in the 8K invitational race to host Washington and beat out many Division 1 foes, as well as No. 10 ranked Western Washington. The women placed three runners in the top eight to win the 6K open race over Western Washington. As a result of the invitational the UAA men moved from No. 12 nationally to No. 8 and the women went from unranked to No. 15. According to UAA Track & Field Coach Michael Friess, "If you compare the results to last year's there are obvious improvements in all positions. Congratulations to all of our Track & Field runners!"

Q: What are northern researchers doing at the Anchorage Museum at the Rasmuson Center this month?
A: The Fifth Open Meeting of the Northern Research Forum (NRF), sponsored in part by UAA, is meeting at the Museum September 24-27 to discuss "Seeking Balance in a Changing North." Panelists from the around the world are leading the Open Assembly in a dialogue of issues affecting northern regions. Topics include the future of northern cooperation, the arctic council and multilateral cooperation, the new geography of a warming north, leadership in an age of uncertainty and the accessible arctic in the global economy. This is the first time the NRF has been held in Alaska.

Q: How do September 08's UAA headcount and credit hours compare to last years' numbers at this very same time?
A: Looking at the entire UAA MAU headcount is up 0.8 percent and credit hours are up 1.3 percent. At the Anchorage campus headcount is up 1.6 percent and credit hours are up 1.2 percent. At our community campuses the headcount is up 9.1 percent and credit hours up 5.4 percent at KPC; the headcount is up 4.9 percent and credit hours are up 0.7 percent at MatSu; headcount is up 3.8 percent and credit hours are down 1.4 percent at Kodiak; and at PWSCC the headcount is down 10.7 percent and the credit hours are down 5.9 percent. UAA still has 61.7 percent of the UA system student credit hours. Total UAA headcount is currently at 17,227, however headcounts are duplicated within the UA system.

As always thank you for all you do to make UAA a great university!

Sincerely,

Fran Ulmer, Chancellor