Advocacy
Dear Seawolves,
The Advocacy committee for the UAA Alumni Association has been busy these last few weeks supporting several initiatives important to UAA.
We energetically supported the passage of Proposition B last fall to approve the General Obligation Bond initiative that will help build a new UAA Athletic Facility and Community Arena. We still have work to do to secure the final $35 million funding for building the 5600 seat Arena. This was the determined needed size as identified by McDowell Group to support UAA Athletics and the overall community needs for a mid-size Arena. The Board of Regents continues to withhold support for the full size of the Arena.
The Alumni Association advocated for two UAA Alumni be appointed to fill the UA Board of Regents (BOR) recent openings. The UA BOR “Governs the University of Alaska; formulates policy and appoints the President of the University.” This is indeed a very powerful board. UAF Alumni represent seven of the eleven seats and none are from UAA. The new appointments are not yet confirmed by the Legislature.
Most other State of Alaska boards and commissions have a specified allocation in their description. These are allocated in statute to ensure regional balance and expertise needed to effectively manage the boards. While it can be argued that we have residents of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau represented in the current Board of Regents; a closer look will tell you that 7 of the 11 seats are held by UAF alumni and none by UAA alumni. With over 40,000 UAA Alumni and 85% of them still here in Alaska, we should have at least 3 seats on this board.
The current Board of Regents has the following makeup:
Tim Brady – non UA grad
Ashton Compton – UAF
Fuller Cowell- UAF
Kenneth Fisher – non UA grad
Jo Heckman- UAF – (newly appointed)
Mary Hughes -UAF
Patricia Jacobson – UAF
Carl Marrs
Robert Martin – UAF
Michael Powers – non UA grad (newly appointed) – lives in Fairbanks
Kirk Wickersham – UAF
An unbalanced BOR affects how UAA is prioritized. We need the Anchorage legislators help in finding a balance that is fair to UAA and the rest of Alaska. With the largest pool of legislators for Anchorage, they can make the difference in achieving balance on the BOR, which would include fair representation for UAA.
We invite you to work with us on advocacy for UAA through the association , volunteer for the advocacy committee and become active as a UAA alum and remain connected. If you are not yet a member, click here to join.
Lori Davey
Vice President, UAAAA Board
MBA ’98
BA Business Management ’92