Vic Fischer, the last surviving author of Alaska’s constitution, sits with wife Jane Angvik and listens to U.S. Senate candidates speak at the Oct. 22, 2022, forum at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has vetoed a bill naming a state park and a University of Alaska research group after one of the signers of the Alaska Constitution, Vic Fischer.
Fischer, who died in 2023, was the last living signer of the constitution at the time of his death and was the first director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research, which would have been named in his honor.
In transmission letters to the Senate President and House Speaker, Dunleavy acknowledged Fischer’s contributions to the state, but said he took issue with lawmakers’ failure to consult with the University.
“The University has an established process for naming its institutes, programs, facilities, and other assets,” he wrote in the messages dated June 24. “This bill bypasses that process and would set a concerning precedent by allowing future Legislatures to rename University institutions without consultation, agreement, or action by the University and its Board of Regents.”
The veto of House Bill 79 came at the request of the University of Alaska, said Jonathon Taylor, director of public affairs for the University of Alaska.
Taylor said Scott Jepsen, chair of the university’s Board of Regents, made the request of the governor. Taylor said he was unsure how Jepsen made the request, but he believes it was by phone or in person.
Taylor said Jepsen was unavailable on Wednesday for an interview about the veto request.
The University has a policy stating that major revisions to academic departments must be approved by the university system’s Board of Regents. Renaming ISER would be a major revision, Taylor said, and would require discussion.
“The university’s objections are procedural. We want to maintain the process that we have that allows for that vetting and engagement before naming,” he said.
The University’s objections were not raised during legislative debates. As originally written by Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage, HB 79 would have renamed Shoup Bay State Marine Park after Fischer.
Late in the legislative process, the bill was amended by Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, to also rename the university’s Institute for Social and Economic Research in honor of Fischer.
The university did not immediately raise any objections and interim University of Alaska President Michelle Rizk, then serving as vice president, approved a fiscal note saying that the renaming could be done at no cost by the university system.
“I’ll note that the Legislature sets the statutes from which the University and the Board of Regents derive their authority,” Dunbar said by email when asked about the veto. “There is no question that the Legislature has the legal ability to rename a program, and I hope that the Board of Regents and the president take it up at their next meeting, now that they have seen the will of the Legislature as expressed in the bill that passed.”
Dunbar and Fields each said they believe the veto was politically motivated.
Dunleavy appointed Jepsen to the Board of Regents in 2021. At the time of that appointment, Dunleavy was the subject of a campaign seeking to recall him from office. Fischer was one of the leaders of that campaign, which ended unsuccessfully in August 2021.
Dunleavy was re-elected in 2022 and is term-limited and unable to run for another term in this year’s elections.
“That’s all political, you know. That’s Mike Dunleavy,” Fields said of the veto. “There’s a 99% chance the governor vetoes good legislation, so I’m not really surprised. Obviously, we’re very close to having a new governor, so the future is bright.”
Asked whether Jepsen asked for the veto to show support for the governor, Taylor said no.
“This was, like I said before, procedural and about maintaining that process,” he said.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with a person or an issue or political opinions by any stretch of the imagination. I know that is something people might gravitate to, but this is about the board’s process for engaging with our stakeholders and engaging in naming that is consistent with that process.”
