"This is an exciting time:" Alumni and the budget

Alaska is roiled in a deep budget crisis, but alumni can help. Three Alumni of Distinction weigh in on how all alumni can preserve the university's role and shape the state's response as Alaska works through its current shortfall and buckles down for the future. And it's not all bad news. "This is an exciting time," said one alum of the opportunities ahead for alumni.

Carol Comeau-2012 Alumni of Distinction

As long-term superintendent of the Anchorage School District, Carol is a veteran of Alaska's oil-fueled economic roller coaster.

Carol started in the district as a teacher in 1974 ("100 years ago," she jokes), and became a principal after earning her master's in education in 1986-just in time for a major crash in Alaska's economy. "That was bad," she recalled, "but even from afar ... I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen the Alaska budget crisis as bad as what exists."

Although she now lives closer to her kids and grandkids in Bellingham, Washington, Carol still keeps up-to-date on the political situation in Alaska and calls this year's budget "devastating."

"I couldn't believe what they did to education funding at all levels," she said.

Each student's home situation affects their opportunity for success, but it's the state's responsibility to ensure every student still has equal access to the resources they need. "I've always believed that public education at all levels is the key to our country's success," she said. "I think there is nothing more important than investing in future generations to really ensure that Alaska is a thriving state."

While superintendent, she had many conversations with high school students about their enthusiasm for the state's universities, specifically the low tuition and home-field advantage for Alaska jobs. But Carol worries that if the state doesn't invest in higher education, students will turn their attention Outside and-more than likely-not come back.

There are many things that can change in her eyes. For example, forward funding education so it doesn't hang in bargaining chip limbo on an annual basis (this would also allow superintendents to plan ahead before the legislative session-and the school year-ends). Or tapping into the Permanent Fund (without sacrificing the dividend) and using it for its intended purpose as a savings account for state services during economic turmoil.

But, she says, the power is in the people. After countless trips to Juneau, she knows legislators are far more likely to listen to students than administrators. The same goes for alumni.

"I think it is important to engage the alumni," she said, citing the coming months as primetime for accessing local legislators. In her eyes, open conversations are far more likely in non-election years. Also, conversations ahead of session are key, before the headline-grabbing crunch of a stalemate offsets any chance for access or candor.

"I think alumni-particularly the ones who live in Alaska-really need to get good basic information from the whole UA system," she said. "I think alumni, once they have adequate information, need to be willing to commit not only resources but also their voice-whether it's an email or individually talking to legislators when they come to their community-and share why investing in the university system is a critical part of developing the Alaska economy."

"Investing in public education is investing in the future of Alaska and it's essential that everyone get behind that," she noted. "To me, that's what it's all about-investing in our young people, investing in education and investing in the future of a thriving Alaska."

Ted Trueblood-2014 Alumni of Achievement

Ted Trueblood knows the role oil plays in Alaska's operations. He's lived in the state since territorial days and remembers delivering newspapers downtown on the day Miss Anchorage pinned the 49^th star to an oversized US flag hung from the front of the Federal Building on Fourth Avenue.

"It's been a topic of major discussion for the fifty years I've followed Alaska's politics," Ted said of the state's tenuous economy. "Fifty years!"

In his eyes, the state's rich resources are a double-edged sword. "We have been blessed and we've also been cursed," he said. The blessing-the Alaska constitution requires state resources be developed for the best use of the people and, so far, every significant oil strike has occurred on state-owned land. "Because you and I and everyone else owns that land, the benefits come back to us," he noted.

The curse would be the dividend. It's a much-loved jolt for Alaskans-who collectively own the state resources-but it was implemented in a shortsighted swing following the Prudhoe Bay windfall. As the dividend debuted, the state income tax disappeared. Ted believes just a tiny tax should have been left on the books.

Speaking of double-edged swords, an income tax would raise the cost of living even further in Alaska, but would force residents to recognize their stake in the economy. "When you and I don't pay for something, we don't pay enough attention," Ted noted.

"This is my comment on the whole oil patch manna from heaven," he added, in one of his many colorful turns of phrase. "You gotta have some skin in the game."

He has many other thoughts on the budget. For one, derail the "gravy train" mentality and focus on cost-cutting over revenue-generation. Likewise, prioritize maintenance over construction. "Lots of state facilities and roads are under-maintained because it's not politically sexy," he commented.

But the Permanent Fund is the key. "All this is background noise until you get to the Permanent Fund, which is constitutionally created as a rainy day fund," he said. "We should absolutely use that."

His message to alumni: "The time is now." We're in for some unpopular decisions, but the future of Alaska depends on redirection. He encourages alumni to recognize the need for contentious changes and to research the issue, in particular citing the Rasmuson Foundation's recent report. "It gets down to the people that can make something happen and finally lean on their legislators to do the right thing."

"Definitely the time is now. As long as were suffering and the suffer level gets higher and higher, maybe we'll be incentivized to fix it."

Stephen Trimble-2013 Alumni Emerging Leader

But amid all the bleak forecasts and buckle-down warnings, there's a rising wave of opportunity.

"There's a positive side for the ones that know where to look for the benefits," explained Emerging Leader recipient Stephen Trimble. Since earning the young alumni recognition in 2013, Stephen has founded two companies-Trimble Strategies, a consulting firm, and Arctic Solar Ventures, a young company poised to promote alternative energy during the oil slowdown. Between building two businesses, he also chairs two academic advisory boards at UAA.

Stephen works out of The Boardroom, a collaborative alumni-owned communal workspace downtown, where he surrounds himself with other inspired Alaskans. But he's had an entrepreneurial mindset ever since designing his own interdisciplinary degree as an undergraduate. "It really helped me with critical thinking and creative thought," Stephen said of his self-designed major, which combined geology and illustration. "It prepared me to embrace the unknown and it fostered that entrepreneurial spirit in me ... If you want to do something, you just go out and you do it."

That DIY spirit has carried into his career, and he sees the current economic situation as a benefit to Alaska's visionaries. "I think a lot of the times uncertainty creates opportunity for small business," he said, citing his fellow innovators at The Boardroom. "There's a community that's forming here that's really interesting. I think a lot of us are really thinking about the future of Alaska."

Take, for example, his venture into alternative energy. Alaskans-especially in rural areas-have high energy costs, and the recent slowdown in oil production has many people thinking about more affordable options. Stephen plans to use the economic situation as an opportunity to prepare Alaskans for the future. Solar is already available in the state, but it can be a hard sell considering Alaska's reputation for long dark winters. "It's a great opportunity in regard to solar," Stephen explained of the oil situation. "Part of the process is the education piece-this technology works, its ready, and we have access to this great form of clean energy in Alaska that we can use."

Stephen's advice to other alumni-particularly the state's other emerging leaders-is to accept this budget crisis as a golden opportunity for Alaska. "Small businesses need to seek change and embrace change, and with any kind of change-positive or negative-it brings opportunity," he said. "Uncertainty creates an environment for opportunity and I think now is really the time to capitalize on it.

"Small businesses should really be excited about the opportunity they have, even though it's challenging."

For the state's young minds, there's a different way to look at the state's deep economic situation. "This is an exciting time," Stephen acknowledged.

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Visit the alumni site to nominate an Alumni of Distinction for 2015. Nominations will be accepted through July 17.