Fifth Study Group Meeting Minutes
7 a.m., Wednesday, May 22, 2002
Northrim Bank Building, 3111 C St., 5th Floor Conference Room
Jon Kumin and Steve Rieger, co-chairs

Format: The agenda for this meeting is in regular text. The minutes are added as notations in italics. They are intended to represent the general nature of the discussion, rather than be complete, detailed minutes. Clarifications are welcomed -- please email any to Duane Heyman at: duane@commonwealthnorth.org

Introductions -- Study group members and guest(s). Lee Gorsuch, Chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage. Those present include:
Eleanor Andrews, Sarah Barton, Steven Boyd, Patrick Burden, Milton Byrd, Jim Chapman, Brian Davies, Mark Foster, Cheryl Frasca, Alice Galvin, Duane Heyman, Ky Holland, Grant Hunter, Dave Kester, Jim Knapp, Cynthia Matson, Rachel Morse, Ira Perman, Pat Pitney, David Rees, Jeff Staser and Niel Thomas.

Goals for this Meeting -- Learn more about the University of Alaska Anchorage, including the vision of its leadership for the future. Engage in a meaningful dialogue with Chancellor Gorsuch.

Discussion Points -- Following the traditional Commonwealth North format, it is requested that Chancellor Gorsuch keep his remarks to 30 minutes. The remaining time will be reserved for a question and answer / discussion session.

• UAA educates about 60 percent of U of A students and produces about 2/3 of its degree programs.
• Biggest challenge is to take best of both: responsiveness of a community college and the high academic standards and research of a university. The combination is unique in the U.S.
• Need to increase focus of faculty from teaching to learning. Need more interaction with students in the classroom and engaged learning out in the community.
• (Graph of declining funding, only recently reversed) UAA is big gorilla, most population and most legislators. But missed the boat. Living off handfuls of peanuts instead of big bunches of bananas. "Keep your eye on the money."
• Because of "desert years" U of A offers 1/3 less programs than counterparts nationally -- lost 1/3 funding while population grew 20 percent.
• Since 1985 Alaska has not been a leader in salaries. We do not attract top outside talent. Now we need to grow our own.
• CWN should address what the funding level should be. Other oil states went in the other direction and increased investment in higher education.
• We need to build the intellectual and technical capacity of Alaska. The graph is a divestiture chart. Need an additional $50 million.
• What are the alternatives? Oil patch is shrinking. Fish? Timber?
• Establish a target and decide where you want to invest. What do you want U of A to do?
• Key areas: health education, technology, teaching
• What will needs be in ten years?
• U of A can be catalytic in economic development. Where is leadership role?
  • No excellence without quality foundation, not just at the top
  • Where should advanced study be located, e.g. Fairbanks arctic science
• Anchorage competitive advantages: global supply chain management, cultural viewpoints, distance delivery of education, social and economic research, complex systems, and quality of life/culture.
• To what extent should communities contribute to the community college mission?
• Need to improve faculty pay levels to be more competitive.
• Need to entice students with needs and merit-based scholarships.
• Current student loan program is counterproductive -- encourages students to leave Alaska. Can a mechanism be created to allow students to pay off loans through service to Alaska?
• There is headroom in tuition, but it is dangerous without scholarship programs.
• Success will be providing closer to 75-80 percent of workforce requirements (now under 50 percent). Business community would look at U of A as catalyst for development. Turn to U of A for arts and intellectual stimulation.
• UAA potential center of excellence: natural resources law, relationship with federal government, center for policy studies, and management of the commons.
• Faculty is quality control. They govern academics.
• General rule: do not worry about duplication unless costs are extraordinary. A more general issue is where programs should be located.
• Chicken and egg problem: faculty is jammed meeting instructional requirements. No time for helping business. Need to identify ongoing sources of funding that match needs of U of A.
• Extreme cost of top talent pushes U of A into creative collaborative solutions.
• Need to identify core missions of institutions. Anchorage: 1. Professional education, 2. Voc-tech, 3. Basic baccalaureate program.
• UAA is about as core as you can get. Instruction delivered by adjunct faculty. Teaching meat and potatoes.

Related Events -- A couple of minutes will be reserved at the end of the session for people to mention related events of interest to the group. An example would be a speaker or program dealing with higher education.

Confirm next meeting and adjourn by 8 a.m. – On Wednesday May 29, 7 a.m., same location.