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Alaska fears 'brain drain' after 41 percent proposed cut to university system
Source: NBC News
Alaska fears 'brain drain' after 41 percent proposed cut to university system
The cuts could close campuses, shut down departments, and force 1,300 layoffs. "We may not even be able to mow the lawns," one administrator said.
July 6, 2019, 2:48 PM EDT
By Ben Kesslen
Greg Knight has lived in Alaska his entire life.
It’s where he went to school, raised his family, and planned to retire. But after Gov. Mike Dunleavy's recent veto of the state budget, which cut $130 million of state funding for the University of Alaska system, Knight said he might have to leave his beloved state.
When he heard the news, he started packing up the home he’s owned in Anchorage for 20 years.
-snip-
If Dunleavy has his way, the university says it will have to eliminate 1,300 jobs, close entire campuses, lay off tenured faculty, and shutter academic programs. "We may not even be able to mow the lawns," university Chancellor Cathy Sandeen told NBC News.
Lawmakers and university administrators knew the state would cut $5 million from the budget, which seemed manageable and foreseeable considering Alaska has reduced its financial support of its university system four out of the past five years. But the extra $130 million added on by the Republican governor’s veto, totaling a 41 percent cut in the state funding, blindsided the university.
-snip-
The cuts could close campuses, shut down departments, and force 1,300 layoffs. "We may not even be able to mow the lawns," one administrator said.
July 6, 2019, 2:48 PM EDT
By Ben Kesslen
Greg Knight has lived in Alaska his entire life.
It’s where he went to school, raised his family, and planned to retire. But after Gov. Mike Dunleavy's recent veto of the state budget, which cut $130 million of state funding for the University of Alaska system, Knight said he might have to leave his beloved state.
When he heard the news, he started packing up the home he’s owned in Anchorage for 20 years.
-snip-
If Dunleavy has his way, the university says it will have to eliminate 1,300 jobs, close entire campuses, lay off tenured faculty, and shutter academic programs. "We may not even be able to mow the lawns," university Chancellor Cathy Sandeen told NBC News.
Lawmakers and university administrators knew the state would cut $5 million from the budget, which seemed manageable and foreseeable considering Alaska has reduced its financial support of its university system four out of the past five years. But the extra $130 million added on by the Republican governor’s veto, totaling a 41 percent cut in the state funding, blindsided the university.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alaska-fears-brain-drain-after-41-percent-proposed-cut-university-n1026466
______________________________________________________________________
Source: The Guardian
Alaska’s governor is trying to destroy its universities. The state may never recover
Mike Dunleavy wants to cut the Alaskan university system by $130m – a staggering 41% of its budget
Cas Mudde
@casmudde
Sat 6 Jul 2019 07.00 BST Last modified on Sat 6 Jul 2019 07.01 BST
We rarely devote much attention to what happens in the largest state of the US. No, not Texas – Alaska, which is bigger, geographically, than the next three states combined (Texas, California and Montana). Separated from the mainland by Canada, Alaska is the biggest state yet has fewer inhabitants than the smallest (Rhode Island). This creates enormous challenges for governance, including in higher education. And Alaska governor Mike Dunleavy’s new budget will make these challenges far, far worse.
In a shocking example of political overreach, Dunleavy announced 182 line-item vetoes to his state’s 2020 budget last week. He thereby cut the budget proposed by the Alaska legislature by almost $410m in general funds. Almost one-third of the cuts will come from the University of Alaska system, which will see its budget cut by $130m – a staggering 41%.
In a shocked response, the University of Alaska system’s president, James R Johnsen, said Dunleavy’s veto “will strike an institutional and reputational blow from which we may likely never recover”. Scott Downing, faculty senate leader at the University of Alaska Anchorage, told the Washington Post: “It’s going to be devastating. The effects on programs, on the students, on staff and faculty are just going to be – it’s kind of unthinkable.”
Dunleavy has defended his draconian budget cuts as a “policy choice” to increase the Permanent Fund dividend Alaskans receive each year – a major election promise he made during his campaign. While this might be good news for drug dealers – research shows a 14% increase in substance-abuse incidents the day after the annual payout – there is little evidence that the dividends actually boost the state economy. But the University of Alaska system does.
-snip-
Mike Dunleavy wants to cut the Alaskan university system by $130m – a staggering 41% of its budget
Cas Mudde
@casmudde
Sat 6 Jul 2019 07.00 BST Last modified on Sat 6 Jul 2019 07.01 BST
We rarely devote much attention to what happens in the largest state of the US. No, not Texas – Alaska, which is bigger, geographically, than the next three states combined (Texas, California and Montana). Separated from the mainland by Canada, Alaska is the biggest state yet has fewer inhabitants than the smallest (Rhode Island). This creates enormous challenges for governance, including in higher education. And Alaska governor Mike Dunleavy’s new budget will make these challenges far, far worse.
In a shocking example of political overreach, Dunleavy announced 182 line-item vetoes to his state’s 2020 budget last week. He thereby cut the budget proposed by the Alaska legislature by almost $410m in general funds. Almost one-third of the cuts will come from the University of Alaska system, which will see its budget cut by $130m – a staggering 41%.
In a shocked response, the University of Alaska system’s president, James R Johnsen, said Dunleavy’s veto “will strike an institutional and reputational blow from which we may likely never recover”. Scott Downing, faculty senate leader at the University of Alaska Anchorage, told the Washington Post: “It’s going to be devastating. The effects on programs, on the students, on staff and faculty are just going to be – it’s kind of unthinkable.”
Dunleavy has defended his draconian budget cuts as a “policy choice” to increase the Permanent Fund dividend Alaskans receive each year – a major election promise he made during his campaign. While this might be good news for drug dealers – research shows a 14% increase in substance-abuse incidents the day after the annual payout – there is little evidence that the dividends actually boost the state economy. But the University of Alaska system does.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/06/mike-dunleavy-alaska-university-system-budget-cuts
2 replies
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