University grapples with budget cuts

This editorial originally appeared in the Friday edition of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Since the new state budget went into effect on July 1, impacts of this year’s $800 million in cuts have reached the public in a trickle, often one at a time, as state departments end programs or close facilities when funding runs out. The Alaska State Troopers’ cold case unit announced a closure one week, and the Alaska Marine Highway System released a sparser transit schedule a few days hence. But when the University of Alaska Fairbanks announced the cuts it will make because of the leaner budget, that trickle became a flood, with hundreds of positions and program cuts revealed at once. For many in the Interior, the cuts are about to be real.

UAF’s list announcing the $13.1 million in cuts going into effect at the campus this year was 11 pages long. All aspects of campus look to be affected, with more than 150 positions cut through layoffs, eliminating unfilled positions and consolidation of jobs.

While the list is far too long to take in at a glance, even selecting just a few items gives an idea of the impacts to UAF. The campus police department will lose an officer and a vehicle. The bursar’s office will lose two positions, lengthening lines for students to pay for their courses. More than 68 professor positions will be cut, including 20 that will occur via layoff of existing faculty members, meaning fewer course offerings and larger class sizes. On-campus public radio station KUAC will lose a news reporter position and also shed memberships to the Alaska Public Radio Network and the Associated Press, greatly hampering the delivery of local news to listeners.

The UAF cuts will be difficult for the campus and community to absorb, but they almost certainly won’t be the last. Revenue forecasts predict the price of oil is unlikely to rebound significantly, which means legislators will be apt to make more cuts next year in addition to whatever new revenue options they consider.

As with all aspects of the state’s budget scenario, the issue to be resolved with regard to the university is balance. While the university shouldn’t be immune from the cuts facing other state departments, its position is also different from other state functions. Cuts to the university must be managed to avoid loss of students or adverse impact to the university’s production of graduates that will fill high-

demand positions and help power the state’s economy.

If managed poorly, the governor and Legislature’s cuts could create secondary negative impacts as state industries hire graduates from Outside because of a lack of qualified in-state prospects, leading to greater turnover and outmigration from the state. State leaders should heed the counsel of the university’s Board of Regents and the chancellors in determining how best to levy cuts without harming the future of the institution and the state it serves.