The University of Alaska Fairbanks campus is seen on Oct. 10, 2024. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
The board in charge of the University of Alaska could grow by one member, if a proposal passed by the Alaska House of Representatives is approved by the state Senate and Gov. Mike Dunleavy next year.
House Bill 10, from Rep. Ashley Carrick, D-Fairbanks, would add a UA faculty member to the university’s board of regents. If enacted, HB 10 would expand the board from 11 members to 12, with the new seat reserved for “a current full-time faculty member who is employed at and has acquired tenure at the University of Alaska Anchorage, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, or the University of Alaska Southeast.”
Speaking on the House floor, Carrick said the addition of a new regent “will provide the university with a greater ability to fulfill its mission and provide representation to this key stakeholder group.”
Alaska would become the seventh state to have a board seat reserved for a faculty member, Carrick said. Other states have non-voting seats reserved for faculty members.
The board expansion would expire in 2032 unless legislators later vote to permanently extend the new position.
Under HB 10, the faculty senates of UAA, UAF and UAS would hold elections for two faculty members apiece for the board seat, and the governor would have the final pick. Each member would serve an eight year term.
The Alaska Legislature passed 33 bills during its regular session this year, but HB 10 wasn’t one of them. The House approved it by a 27-13 vote on May 7, but the Senate did not hold a committee hearing for the bill before lawmakers adjourned for the year.
It’s in a prime position to pass the Legislature next year, however; it’s been assigned to just one committee before being presented to the full Senate. In the Senate, the bill is cosponsored by both Republicans and Democrats, including one member of the Senate’s Republican minority caucus, Sen. Mike Cronk, R-Tok.
The bill didn’t advance through the House without opposition. In the House Finance Committee, Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, said she had spoken to every member of the current Board of Regents and none of them were in favor of the bill.
No members of the board offered testimony against the bill.
Rep. Frank Tomaszewski, R-Fairbanks and another “no” vote, said he believes that assigning faculty to the board could create conflicts of interest.
Early this year, the university reached a three-year labor deal with the union representing faculty. That agreement happened after extensive work and a brief breakdown in negotiations, leading to both parties requesting a federal mediator.
Speaking on the House floor, Carrick alluded to the university’s budget and contract struggles.
“Over the last decade, the University of Alaska has navigated some of the greatest fiscal and social challenges that have taken place in our state’s history,” she said. “(HB 10) allows for better representation in the driver’s seat to help make difficult decisions with the rest of our board members about our university system in its future.”
The 34th Alaska State Legislature is scheduled to reconvene on Jan. 21, 2026.
