WATCH: UA President Pat Pitney Joins Senator Murkowski on “The Icebreaker” to Discuss Recent Wins for the University
In U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski’s inaugural video podcast, “The Icebreaker,” University of Alaska System President Pat Pitney joins the Senator to discuss the University of Alaska Fiscal Foundation Act.
“The Icebreaker,” a new series hosted by Senator Lisa Murkowski, will invite a diverse set of guests discussing issues and events important to Alaskans. Stay tuned for future episodes.
Click here or the image above to watch the full conversation.
Murkowski’s University of Alaska Fiscal Foundation Act was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2023. The year-end omnibus also included multiple Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) allocations totaling $8.3 million that Murkowski secured on behalf of the University of Alaska (UA) for priority projects, which include campus improvements.
Despite being located in the largest state in the union, UA has one of the smallest land endowments—just 110,000 acres—of any applicable institution anywhere in the country. To help remedy this, the University of Alaska Fiscal Foundation Act allows UA and the State to jointly identify up to 500,000 acres in Alaska for potential conveyance. The Department of the Interior (DOI) will then survey those selections and work with UA and the State to transfer up to 360,000 acres to UA. Any transfers will be deducted from Alaska’s outstanding statehood lands entitlement, which still totals millions of acres.
UA President Pat Pitney joins Senator Lisa Murkowski on the first episode of “The Icebreaker.”
Listen to the audio version of Episode 1 of “The Icebreaker” here.
