Budget update: June 28, 2023

— by Dan White, chancellor

Last week, Governor Dunleavy released the FY24 State of Alaska Budget, completing the annual budget-setting process. The final state appropriation for UA amounts to just over $308 million. Of this, $152.6 million is destined for UAF. The state appropriation constitutes roughly 32% of UAF’s overall budget, with other major parts coming from federal receipts for sponsored projects and research (31%), and tuition and fees (9%). While the research portion of our budget is significant, it is important to remember that this funding is for specific projects and is not part of our general fund dollars available for programming.

The FY24 budget includes funds requested for faculty and staff compensation increases in FY23 (retroactive) and FY24. The university system received $19.6 million in state funds to support these increases statewide, acknowledging the crucial role our employees play in achieving our mission. Of the total, $9.4 million will come to UAF employees.

The UAF Alaska Center for Unmanned Aerial Systems will receive $10 million of additional investment to support its ongoing work in researching, developing, testing, and eventually implementing commercial drone operations. This funding will help ensure ACUASI becomes the premier drone research center in the United States and helps to fuel the state economy.

UAF will also receive $500,000 in support of Alaska Food Security and Independence agricultural research to address increasing food security demands. These funds will be spent under the purview of the Director of the Institute for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension, Jodie Anderson.

Also included in UAF’s capital budget is $2.5 million in non-general funds/receipt authority for the University Park Early Childhood Development Center. This receipt authority means that UAF can receive funds from an external source, should such a partnership be developed.

As part of the budget setting process, the governor reduced what the legislature passed for UA by using line item vetos. Included in the governor’s UA vetoes  were $35.4 million in high priority and deferred maintenance capital projects and $1.3 million in academic priorities. Addressing these priorities remains a top concern. In the coming weeks, UAF leadership will work closely with the UA President to develop a long-term strategy for addressing academic program priorities and deferred maintenance projects at UAF.

It is also worth noting that thanks to ongoing budget stability and the work of hundreds of UAF students, faculty, and staff through five years of Strategic Enrollment Planning, our enrollments continue to grow. Thanks to these efforts involving all of the schools and colleges at UAF, students are finding the transformative experiences they are seeking. In addition, UAF is more affordable than ever before with our advanced Nanook Pledge and Nanook Commitment scholarships.

The Office of Management and Budget is actively organizing FY25 budget items proposed by UAF employees and thoroughly vetted by the UAF Planning and Budget Committee. I will prioritize these new requests with my Core Cabinet before submitting a UAF request to President Pitney in August. In alignment with UA System guidance, selected UAF requests may be incorporated into the UA FY25 budget request that will be presented to the Board of Regents in the fall. The final UA FY25 budget package will be submitted to the Governor's Office in December. UAF’s budget priorities reflect our strategic goals.

I want to acknowledge and express my  appreciation for the hard work of our fiscal, grants and procurement professionals, along with our human resource coordinators. They are diligently navigating the fiscal year close-out and restart processes, ensuring our smooth operations. If you come across these individuals and notice their efforts, please take a moment to thank them and offer your support.

Thank you for choosing UAF.