Providing for Alaska’s university: Legislature should do better at providing stable budget for UA - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner Editorial

As another state budget-making cycle begins, the University of Alaska is in a dangerous place. As the Legislature looks to address slumping state revenue, substantial cuts to the institution seem likely if not assured. Historically, as the state’s fiscal fortunes have waxed and waned, so have those of the university. But that sort of feast-and-famine budget cycling not only causes undue hardship to the university and its employees but also is an inefficient way to provide for an institution that is the engine providing a supply of the state’s future leaders. This isn’t the first time the university has been put in a pinch. The 1990s saw significant and painful cuts that entailed layoffs and systemwide budget slashing. And to their credit, this time UA President Patrick Gamble and the Board of Regents saw the financial bind coming. http://www.newsminer.com/opinion/editorials/providing-for-alaska-s-university-legislature-should-do-better-at/article_f789a8f4-6725-11e4-b83b-001a4bcf6878.html