Has the university's appetite for new administration grown too large for its own good?

During Chancellor Jones' convocation speech Sept. 26, a student asked to what extent rising tuition was contributing to university bloat and inefficiency.

"I will be happy to work with any representative group in the audience to identify positions we don't need at any level of the university," Jones replied. "If we have bloat, I want to get rid of it."

So do students, staff, and faculty, who pointed to several issues of concern when asked what they thought was bloated or inefficient at UAF. The issues were noted and then brought to Jones.

One issue is the increasing student resident rates because of rising energy prices, said ASUAF Senate Chair Pat Frymark.

"They need to be more efficient in how they acquire and use energy resources," said Frymark said. "It is ridiculous to buy too much coal and then charge students the difference."

Trevor DuBois, a student who worked at Residence Life over the summer, gave his own example of bloating and inefficiency.

"We made signs to redirect parking. We spent a lot of time making those signs. But no, we couldn't use them, and we had to buy ‘official' signs," DuBois said. "No wonder Res Life is short on money. They should get audited."

Several students remarked about the lack of an adequate recycling plan for campus, including Heather Kremer, a sociology major and supervisor at the UAF Pub.

"We used to recycle glass, but we should reinstate it," Kremer said. "We go through lots of glass bottles."

Ken Carr is a recent psychology graduate who is trying to land a job here on campus. Carr had to apply through Human Resources. He sent his application in over a month ago and has had no reply since.

"It seems to take forever," said Carr.

Chrystal Whittle, the fiscal technician for the student and leadership organization around campus, cited the inefficient use of staff resources.

Leah Glasscock, a student who also works at the Tech Center, said she wonders why so many unnecessary meetings are held. Holding fewer meetings would save a lot of paper, she said.

"We need to get off paper invoices," she said.

A number of faculty members have questions about administrative budget growth due to title changes. One such faculty is Professor Norman Swazo of the philosophy department.

"Faculty are generally unclear on how many administrative hires represent additions to senior administration personnel, as opposed to keeping personnel budgets the same, and merely changing titles," he said.

When political science professor Jerry McBeath started teaching here 31 years ago, he said the administration size was probably 70 percent smaller than its current size.

McBeath attributes much of the growth to an "administrative inclination to talk to somebody," and the duplication of positions between UAF and the UA statewide system.

"How much value is added to a student's education?" McBeath asked. "Are new administrators adding value?"

When asked about these questions, Jones said he would have Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services Ro Bailey look into concerns about power efficiency and recycling.

He also said three consultants recently reviewed Human Resources over the course of several months. The findings of the report are expected soon, and will likely be made public, he said.

The university regularly goes through efficiency exercises, Jones said.

UAF is constantly being reviewed, not only for delivering education and research, but concerning the responsible spending of funds, he said.

"Are we doing all we can to be accountable?" Jones asked. "We are tirelessly concerned about the cost of utilities."

The statewide system adopted a plan to identify inefficiency around the different campuses. The committee, called the Ad-Hoc Committee on Accountability and Sustainability, is supposed to locate and minimize any administrative bloating and general inefficiency.

"Any university is constantly on the carpet," Jones said. "We need to be good stewards of the resources that the state gives us."