Regents meeting in Anchorage
December 8, 2011
The University of Alaska Board of Regents will hold a rare joint gathering Friday with the Anchorage School Board while the
BOR meets on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus this week.
The two-day Board of Regents meeting will be Thursday and Friday, Dec. 8 – 9, in 107
Lee Gorsuch Commons at UAA. Over lunch Friday, regents and Anchorage School Board
members will discuss a number of issues of importance to both boards, including UA
enrollment trends of Anchorage School District graduates; the success of Anchorage
K-12 students who continue into post-secondary education and workforce training at
UA; and current collaborations between the UA System and Anchorage School District.
"We both serve Alaska students at different levels along their educational path, so
forging stronger partnerships between our two boards makes good sense," said UA President
Pat Gamble, who with Anchorage School District Superintendent Carol Comeau, a UAA
alumna, will open the joint meeting. "I hope this is the first of more
sessions in the future."
The board agenda has a variety of matters up for action, including renaming the University
of Alaska Fairbanks' Fisheries Industrial Technology Center in Kodiak the School of
Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center. Formal project
approval for the renovation of Beatrice McDonald Hall at UAA will be up before the board
as well. Lars Kullerud, president of The University of the Arctic, a cooperative network
of northern colleges and universities dedicated to education and research important
to the circumpolar North, will make a presentation to the board.
Board members will hear reports on the proposed veterinary medicine 2+2 program at
UAF, workforce development, student services, engineering needs, online education
and teacher training. The University of Alaska Southeast will update the board on
its plan to suspend admissions into its Master of Business Administration program and
phase out the degree over the next several years. The decision came after a detailed
program review at UAS.
A resolution of appreciation for former UA Vice President for Finance Joe Trubacz,
who recently left Alaska for a similar job in Colorado, and resolution in memory of
higher education champion Alvin Okeson, founder of Mat-Su College who passed away
in October, will both be up before the board. In addition, UAA will showcase its “I
am UAA” campaign, which highlights the best of UAA through its diverse students, quality
faculty and staff and successful alumni.
Public testimony will be taken at 10 a.m. on both Thursday and Friday.
For a complete look at the Board of Regents agenda, go to www.alaska.edu/bor/agendas/2011/dec8-9/.