The University of Alaska Southeast had reason to be of good cheer this week as University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen recommended (and the Board of Regents agreed) to locate the leadership of the School of Education here at UAS.
The University of Alaska system is a three-legged stool comprised of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Alaska Anchorage and UAS. With this decision, the University remains a strong and stable system.
Many of you will be surprised at the news that the City and Borough of Juneau committed to provide $1,000,000 to endow the School of Education centered at UAS. Two questions are trending — why the contribution, and what is the source of the funds?
Purely based on the merits, we believe that the School of Education belongs at UAS, which is recognized for its ongoing excellence in teacher training. But, we also felt like we needed to show the Regents how serious we are about supporting UAS and want to acknowledge that the staff and students are an important part of Juneau’s economy. We made the good arguments and backed them up with money to show that we aren’t all talk.
The source of the money is the community, backed by the commitment of the Assembly. To support the donation, we are initiating a fundraising campaign with the Juneau Community Foundation. I ask Juneau citizens and businesses to show your civic pride and step up and contribute.
Everybody that reads the news knows that all Alaskans must adjust to the financial reality of our time. This endowment is an example of our Assembly making a critical and necessary choice on behalf of our educational system. The $1M endowment will support K-12 teacher training and education, allowing UAS to continue to turn out high quality teachers. The success of Alaska’s future depends on the education of our children and this donation commits to the seriousness of that cause.
The donation also shows Juneau taking its role as the Capital City seriously, we want to support President Johnsen’s goal of increasing the percentage of Alaskan homegrown teachers statewide from 30 to 90 percent by 2025. Training Alaskans to teach our children is a core duty that cuts to the heart of the educational, social and economic well-being of the State.
I’ve invited Chancellor Caulfield to come to our Assembly meeting on Monday night where we will kick off the campaign.
Rorie Watt
City Manager
City & Borough of Juneau
