R1, retention and research: UA President outlines FY27 priorities

By Amber McCain

Last Tuesday, University of Alaska President Pat Pitney presented the system’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget to the House Finance University of Alaska Subcommittee, emphasizing institutional stability, workforce development, compensation shortfalls, continued investment in research, and a pending unionization vote involving thousands of nonunion employees.

Pitney highlighted several research initiatives she described as “accelerators” for Alaska’s economy, including the R1 doctoral research program, agriculture and food systems, drone testing, and critical minerals research. She noted that continued state support is critical to maintaining momentum in research growth, including progress toward meeting R1 benchmarks for doctoral degrees by the next review cycle in 2030.

The university is one of seven finalists for a National Science Foundation Innovation Engine grant that could bring up to $160 million over 10 years to support a critical minerals collaborative, with a required state match of about $3 million per year.

Pitney reported three consecutive years of enrollment growth, including a 9% increase in first-time freshmen. She said roughly 80% of UA graduates remain in Alaska within a year of graduation, underscoring the university’s role in meeting workforce needs.

Programs aligned with workforce demand, including process technology, maritime, aviation, construction management, and nursing, remain a key focus. Pitney said the university is exploring higher program-specific tuition or surcharges in the maritime program to offset high instructional costs and small class sizes. She also discussed the long-term possibility of establishing a maritime academy in Alaska.

Pitney outlined a $15 million request to the Legislature for employee compensation increases, down from $22 million the previous year due to lower health care cost growth. The governor’s budget proposes $6.5 million to fund compensation increases for union-represented employees only.

She said the remaining gap includes roughly $6 million for nonunion employee compensation and about $3 million for systemwide health care cost increases.

“Partial funding helps, but stability means addressing the full cost of compensation and fixed operating expenses,” Pitney said. She warned that funding only union contracts has created unintended consequences and contributed to ongoing union organizing among nonunion employees.

Pitney confirmed a unionization vote is expected in early March for approximately 2,100 nonunion university employees. If employees vote to unionize, the university will enter contract negotiations before returning to the Legislature with funding requests. She clarified that previous graduate student union negotiations did not result in a strike.

The university is also requesting funding for cybersecurity, campus public safety, particularly at the Anchorage and Fairbanks campuses, and expanded student mental health services. Pitney said UA is seeking $4.9 million to support student recruitment, retention, and faster graduation, which she described as the Board of Regents’ top priority. Tier-one funding requests total $60 million, compared with an estimated $111.7 million in fixed annual costs.

Deferred maintenance remains the university’s highest capital priority, with an estimated need of about $100 million annually. Pitney said UA plans to demolish outdated buildings at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to reduce its facilities footprint and long-term costs, while continuing to seek legislative support for maintenance funding.

Pitney said a pending federal land grant expansion would fulfill long-standing land grant obligations to the university, increasing UA’s holdings to nearly 500,000 acres. She noted, however, that Alaska would still have one of the smallest land grant programs in the nation compared with states such as Texas and Washington.

The House Finance University of Alaska Subcommittee adjourned at 1 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 16, at 9 a.m. in Juneau.