Juneau Assembly opposes proposal to merge UAS into another UA institution

The City and Borough of Juneau is against any cost-saving measure that would eliminate the University of Alaska Southeast as a separate university. In light of a projected fiscal gap of up to $40 million, one of the options in the University of Alaska’s Options for University Transformation Preliminary Review Process is to merge UAS into the University of Alaska Anchorage and/or the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The Juneau Assembly passed a resolution June 1, which states, “The option of eliminating UAS entirely would save only 7.6% of the UA general fund, nowhere near enough to address the 10% year over year budget deficit… the negatives of a merger are not offset by significant budget savings.”

“CBJ respectfully requests that before proposing elimination, merger, or other significant changes to the structure of UAS to the Board of Regents, the UA Administration consult extensively with the communities in Southeast Alaska and further that the Board of Regents directly engage with the community leadership of Southeast Alaska before taking action on any proposals that are advanced.” Read the full resolution here.

The University of Alaska Board of Regents has a full board meeting June 4-5. Find details of the meeting here.

(Photo courtesy of UAS)