The University of Alaska has the programs to meet the state’s workforce needs, said President Pat Pitney, but UA faces a challenge in building enrollment.<\/p>\n
“We have fewer programs but the programs we have, by design were prioritized to stay with those items that are the highest demand workforce in the state,” Pitney said in an interview at the Empire offices. “There’s not an employer that we’ve talked to that doesn’t need employees.”<\/p>\n
Recently named president of the university, Pitney is the first woman in the system’s history to hold that role. She had been serving as interim president since July 2020 following the departure of former UA President Jim Johnsen.<\/p>\n
Pitney took over the university amid deep budget cuts enacted by Gov. Mike Dunleavy followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, both of which caused massive disruptions to the system and interrupted students’ plans. One of the challenges now, Pitney said, is bringing students back and rebuilding enrollment.<\/p>\n
“(We’re) really working for fall, to bring back the full vibrancy of our on-campus environments,” Pitney said.<\/p>\n
Following recent guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the university had recently lifted some of its masking requirements and was encouraging in-person classes. The sudden shift to entirely online classes disrupted enrollment, Pitney said, but many classes are now being offered in hybrid form — both in-person and online — which she hoped would encourage enrollment.<\/p>\n
Following budget cuts and the pandemic, UA was forced to consolidate many of its services and rework degree programs. Pitney emphasized the system was focused on meeting workforce demands and offering flexibility to students and employers to meet their educational demands.<\/p>\n
[Delegation urges energy production following State of the Union<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n Most of the jobs they have require some sort of post-secondary education,” Pitney said. “Getting people through the pipeline to meet that need is really important. We’ve got many what we call ‘micro-credentials,’ fast track programs where people can get training in as short as seven weeks.”<\/p>\n The university has partnerships with private-sector companies that offer scholarships and career pathways for UA students, Pitney said. Many of those programs are sponsored by resource industry companies but other industries such as finance were looking at similar pathways. Pitney said UA was working with Alaska Native corporations on finance degree programs and scholarships.<\/p>\n “There are more jobs than there are people to take them,” Pitney said.<\/p>\n When she came into office, Pitney said her main focus was financial stability. She said there’s generally indications from the governor and the Alaska State Legislature that the university will continue to receive financial support. The university has put in a funding request for an additional $100 million which Dunleavy included in his proposed budget.<\/p>\n