University of Alaska hosts public listening session

In anticipation of the upcoming meeting by the University of Alaska Board of Regents, UA held a public listening session to hear from the UA community.

Held on May 23, the public was able to call in and give testimony over the phone to the board of regents, who met via Zoom. The session was live streamed on UA’s website.

UA President Pat Pitney was present at the meeting in addition to 6 of the 10 board members.

Public testimony touched on UAA Women’s Gymnastics, the Troth Yeddha’ Indigenous Studies Center, United Academics negotiations, various organization actives and the preservation of green space located on the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center.

Both former and current members of the UAA Women’s Gymnastics team called in to give an update on their activities and voice support for the program.

Gymnast Jessica Johnson shared the team’s academic success with the board, saying that 10 of the 14 members of the team scored a perfect 4.0 GPA, and, overall, the team reached a collective all-time best of 3.8.

Another caller speaking on behalf of the gymnastics team said that the team has put in 450 hours of community service. Gymnast Silje Hildebrand also called in to encourage people to donate for the last few donations

According to the UAA Women’s Gymnastics Twitter account, the team is off from their fundraising goal by $100,000.

A number of students, faculty and alumni called into the meeting to voice their support for the Troth Yeddha’ Indigenous Studies Center.

According to UAF’s website, the university is seeking private funding for the center. The center is to be built on the UAF campus.

The name, Troth Yeddha’, is the traditional name used by the Lower Tanana Dene for the ridge where the UAF campus is located.

Many of these callers were of Alaska Native descent. They shared their own struggles with coming to the university and not finding cultural support. The center, in their view, would give students moving from the villages a place to meet with fellow Alaska Natives and help ease the transition into academic life.

Members of UA faculty gave testimony on the ongoing negotiations between UA and the union representing full-time faculty, United Academics. There were many points of concern raised over the negotiation process so far.

Several of the callers brought up issues around the slow pace of negotiations and the apparent lack of effort being made by the UA negotiations team to work toward meaningful solutions.

UAA Philosophy Chair Joel Potter said that he did not see any give and take, or back and forth from the UA negotiations team. He also pointed out the university’s high turnover rate.

Despite much frustration expressed by the faculty who called in, a few said that there is a viable path forward even in the face of current disagreements.

Jodie Anderson, Interim Associate Director of the Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension, called in to give an update on the group’s activities.

In addition to her, representatives of the UAF Alumni Association, Alaska 529, and UAF Student Success called in to give updates on their respective organizations.

There were some callers from the Mat-Su Valley speaking on the gravel pit that might be built on land that is a part of the UAF Matanuska Experiment Farm.

Wes Hoskins, with Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation, urged the UA to set aside the land and help preserve the Mat-Su Greenbelt Trail System.

According to the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation’s webpage, the site contains an important linking trail in the greenbelt.

For anyone who wants to send in written testimony, the board told people to send emails to ua-bor@alaska.edu. Emails sent to that address will be received by all members of the board.

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