Friday Focus: Our work is just beginning
August 15, 2019
— by Julie Queen, interim vice chancellor for administrative services
Well … what a week! On Monday, UA was facing a budget reduction of $136 million, and by week’s end, the university and governor had found a way forward, scaling back the reduction to $70 million over a three-year term ($25 million in FY20). A cut of this magnitude is still significant and will require careful attention and planning, but who would have thought a $25 million cut would be welcome news!?
This roller coaster has been down and up again, with a few spirals along the way. However, the real work to think creatively, ponder new structures, examine new ways of doing and learning, is just beginning. The term “budget exhaustion” has been used, and hallway conversations have reflected a few hang-in-there sentiments. We have been anxious, concerned about our students, families, friends and neighbors, and wondering where to provide input to be most effective. This is stressful, and it wears on all of us. This has also reinvigorated our commitment in many ways, to work together and communicate, more than ever, about the great things UAF has to offer.
It is important to remember that, in this absolutely wild time, it is also historic. We will all be tested, we will face new challenges and we will have opportunities we didn’t expect before, even if the way through isn’t always clear in the moment. We must rely on each other — this is leading through change.
Now it is time to shift our mindsets. Focus on the positive. Optimize, knowing our resources are limited. We will build better processes that keep the students at the forefront of our plans. We will continue to enable research and outreach, generate revenues, and increase community engagement. Structural changes will be hard work but can have a refreshing feel as we progress toward common goals. Coupled with the start of the fall semester and the excitement of students returning to campus eager to get started — this is what it is all about.
New Student Orientation starts next week with Rev It Up and student check-in day for first-years moving into the Moore-Bartlett-Skarland residence halls on Wednesday, Aug. 21. I did a walk-through last week to demo the new emergency notification and fire alarm system in test mode. Getting to pull the fire alarm when approved by the fire marshal is also pretty cool. The halls are ready, with new furnishings and flooring in many rooms, and they are abuzz with activity. I am looking forward to stopping in during Rev It Up, experiencing the energy and excitement (and I will probably move a few boxes, too).
We are better together. I hope the brighter budget picture and the resilience we share as we commit to finding solutions will provide you some encouragement, too.