Tom Beal reports that Arizona State Geologist Lee Allison has warned eight of his staff that they face layoffs as the Arizona Geological Survey moves to the University of Arizona on July 1. A consolidation bill pushed by Gov. Doug Ducey and approved by the Legislature specifies that the state duties of the Geological Survey will continue but provided no specific money to the UA to fund the agency employees.
Officials with the Arizona Geological Survey and the University of Arizona said they did not ask for the consolidation and, in fact, were surprised when the governor announced it in his budget message in January. Allison said he has been told by UA officials that they will provide the same amount of funds the state did last year, $941,000, but for only one year.
He said the UA will also claim 85% of the overhead money provided to the survey by grants from federal agencies, which Allison has used in recent years to double his operating revenue. The financial arrangements were still being negotiated, UA officials said. They are not at a point right now where they can comment, said Caroline Garcia, associate vice president for research.
They did not initiate it, but the transfer makes scientific sense to us and is in line with our land-grant mission of service, said Chris Sigurdson, a UA spokesman. The details under discussion include making sure we do not have to support the operation with tuition dollars. That has been one of the criteria we have put in place for several non-academic programs.
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