University of Alaska announces furloughs to cut costs

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - The University of Alaska’s president has approved a plan to furlough 167 administrative personnel for as many as 10 days to cut costs.

Employees will be required to take as many as 10 unpaid days off next year, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (https://bit.ly/1b1S6zp ) reported. The plan is expected to save the cash-strapped UA system about $600,000, according to a memo President Pat Gamble sent to staff on Friday.

Gamble viewed the move as the most effective way to make system-wide cuts, university spokeswoman Carla Beam said. Administrative personnel were selected for the furlough plan to show leadership amid a difficult fiscal climate, Beam said.

“It felt like the right thing to do,” she said.

Fourteen senior officers, such as chancellors and provosts, will be required to take 10 days of furlough time. The 103 senior administrators will take seven unpaid days. Another 50 academic leaders will have five-day furloughs.

Separate reductions have been announced, or are in the works, at the Fairbanks, Anchorage and Southeast campuses.

More cuts will be on the way, Gamble said in his memo, though the university won’t know to what extent until the Legislature finishes work on its budget. Significant cuts are certain as the state grapples with a huge dip in oil revenues.

Fairbanks Chancellor Brian Rogers estimated last month that the total budget gap for UA could exceed $50 million.

UA absorbed a $17 million reduction this year, coupled with $11 million in fixed-cost increases. Gamble’s memo said that UA is running out of budget-cutting options. The school has already reduced travel, delayed recruitment and eliminated vacant positions this year.

“Chancellors on each university campus have been working on academic prioritization and review processes to guide their decisions on which programs and how many staff positions will need to be cut,” Gamble said in the memo. “UA’s Statewide staff office is also reviewing its structure and operations for savings, efficiencies and core functions.”

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Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, https://www.newsminer.com