With the University of Alaska continually reorganizing itself, President Jim Johnsen and his cohort need to lead by example and resign, then reapply for their positions. They are not above the system, and if they’ve done a good job, they should not worry about being rehired. For students, faculty and administrators alike, the motto of the university needs to be — “This is college. You are held to a higher standard.”
Unfortunately, college administrators have a reputation for talking and saying nothing, acting and doing nothing, accomplishing nothing, to protect their status quo. The university comes across as an example of the adage — “Administrators don’t cut administrators.” They are forever trying to reinvent education, with dismal results. Standard forms of learning have been around for so long because they work. If it works, leave it alone.
From experience, the UA system is a gruesomely entrenched bureaucracy. It appears far more interested in the institution than the mission. The state allows it to squander millions of dollars on institutional dead weight, fluff and ego — statewide administration, the Alaska Airlines Center, intercollegiate sports, etc. People get the government they deserve and the state gets the university it deserves.
— Thomas Harrison Morse
UAA faculty
Anchorage
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