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March 25, 2025
UAF faculty and staff,
Last week, I wrote about uncertainty and how we are working to provide information
and guidance in a timely manner. I hope that you are all aware of the most recent
directing the deconstruction of the Department of Education. This has been foreshadowed
for some time, so it did not come as a surprise. President Pitney sent a University
System-wide about the EO. The bottom line is that we expect our students to continue to be able
to file the FAFSA form, continue to receive Federal Financial Aid and that we will
work with our partners, like , to assess the next steps. Please understand that it is a complicated time and we,
your UAF administration, the UA System administration, and the Board of Regents, are
doing everything we can to provide information, stability, and a clear path forward.
I can tell you that in all of the uncertainty, we continue to keep our eyes on opportunity
and the good things ahead for UAF. I spent a good deal of last Tuesday working with
leaders on enrollment plans for UAF and we are bullish on UAF鈥檚 projections. Then
Thursday, I spent a good deal of the day working on a partnership opportunity we have
for the development of new housing on campus. Enrollment and housing are on track,
and I think we should expect some cranes working on this campus in the coming years
as a result of the partnerships we are developing now.
As promised in my message last week, I want to touch on opportunities at the Federal
level. We are already deep in work of national interest 鈥� the Department of Defense and Arctic Security, critical minerals, homeland security
and emergency management, business, economics, trade, environmental change, food security,
and agriculture. We are known experts in a lot of the work the nation needs, and opportunity
in these areas abounds.
I include below a couple of thoughts on such opportunities as identified by John Latini,
UA executive director of federal relations in D.C. He provided the following related
to Research and Development funding:
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DoD investment in R&D is essentially the highest it has been in a decade. Just in
the past federal reporting year (FY22-23), DoD R&D spending increased 18.6% from $72.4
billion to $85.9 billion. FY24 trends show DoD R&D spending to continue to grow. Congress
is considering adding another $150 billion to DoD's overall budget. These funds may
be targeted for procurement, but they should reduce budgetary pressures in other areas,
which should create additional opportunities for R&D investment.
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With growing awareness of challenges in the Arctic, there is likely tremendous opportunity
to work specifically with the Navy. In FY23, the Navy spent over $12.5 billion in
R&D grants and contracts 鈥� that鈥檚 more than the entire budget of NSF. However, more R&D naval investments were
made in Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa and Indiana than in 乐虎直播. UAF faculty can change
this dynamic by engaging with program managers to share ideas and learn about funding
priorities.
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Bipartisan support for biomedical research funding may allow us to increase our research
portfolio in this area. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' R&D spending,
largely through the National Institutes of Health, has been above $30 billion since
2017. These funds are highly competitive but NIH is making more than 11,000 new awards
annually. Despite recent indirect proposals, NIH is not likely to face significant
budget cuts in the future.
I will add here that Executive Director Latini also noted that now more than ever,
securing research and development funding is a contact sport. It is about making contacts,
building relationships, and gaining confidence. It is more likely today than it has
been in recent years that relationships matter. UAF researchers and leaders have spent
decades cultivating relationships in D.C. This is where the opportunity really begins.
As we 鈥渟kate to where the puck is going,鈥� let us pursue the opportunities listed above,
but also those in agriculture, fisheries, mining, homeland security, environmental
change and other areas of strategic importance.
And for our teaching faculty, adjuncts, instructors and staff who are not directly
involved in the research mission, enrollment is one thing we have a lot of agency
over, and we need all hands helping. The student numbers are increasing and the outlook
continues to show positive signs. Just for starters, our adoption of the Common App
the year before last increased the number of students applying to UAF from 500 to
5,000! Our opportunity now is to figure out how to get those students here and provide
them the UAF transformative experience. Go Nooks!
Thanks for choosing UAF!
Dan White, chancellor
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