Cruel Trick

Destroying tenure is the point, and it'll destroy the university in the process.

Stakeholders at the University of Alaska system spent the weekend preparing for a difficult future after the state’s governor cut 41 percent of the system’s state appropriations through a line-item budget veto.

University leaders have begun an uphill battle to lobby members of the Legislature to override the veto and have warned that if they are unsuccessful, they will have to take drastic cost-saving measures.

Governor Mike Dunleavy had previously promised extensive cuts to the state’s operating budget, which university leaders, working with legislators, thought they had averted. But on Friday, Dunleavy vetoed portions of the budget passed by the Legislature -- taking the largest chunk from the University of Alaska system. The veto resulted in the university losing $130 million in state support. Dunleavy has indicated that the statewide cuts would enable an increase in contribution to the Alaska Permanent Fund. The fund provides a dividend to state residents based on oil revenue.