(a) The University of Alaska may establish a Center for Information Technology at the University of Alaska Anchorage with major components at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Alaska Southeast. The center may charge fees for the services it provides. The university shall account for all fees collected under this section. The annual estimated balance in the account may be used by the legislature to make appropriations to the university to carry out the purposes of this section.
(b) The center may
(1) provide support for education, training, and research in information technologies to students, professionals, and the general public;
(2) support research on the applications, effects, and management of information technologies and provide research results to the general public;
(3) maintain an inventory of telecommunication research in the state;
(4) develop and maintain a collection that includes state documents, research reports, and other telecommunication applications materials including videotapes, software, lesson plans, and scripts;
(5) support the development and expansion of the geographic information system curriculum of the University of Alaska, including the possible establishment of undergraduate and masters programs;
(6) develop and sponsor land record and geographic information system training workshops and continuing education seminars in cooperation with the appropriate departments of the university;
(7) support or undertake research projects that apply geographic information technology to state issues and problems;
(8) provide information on the availability of federal, state, municipal, and other sources of geographic information, including aerial photography and digital data bases related to surveying and land records, natural resource inventories, and related data;
(9) prepare and publish on a regular basis research findings and periodicals relating to the center's activities;
(10) assist state agencies and municipalities in the development of policies, procedures, and capabilities for public access to automated geographic information;
(11) recommend, in consultation with the commissioner of administration and affected state and local agencies and advisory boards, model standards and strategies relating to the implementation, indexing, documentation, mapping, data exchange, and other aspects of land records management and geographic information system development.
(c) The university shall include in its annual report a summary of the center's revenue and expenditures during the preceding two years.