Faculty members and students at the University of Alaska who criticize the state’s oil and gas industry are biting the proverbial hand that feeds them, some state legislators pointedly told the system’s president, the Juneau Empire reported.

Taxes on the energy industry provide nearly all of the state’s revenues, the lawmakers reminded the president, Mark R. Hamilton, at a hearing of the Finance Committee of the State House of Representatives.

“I found it amazing there was a large disconnect in where the dollars for the State of Alaska come from on a regular basis as far as production of oil on the North Slope goes, and how it is turned into revenue for the State of Alaska and in turn is invested in the university system,” State Rep. Anna Fairclough, a Republican, was quoted as saying.

While Mr. Hamilton and some lawmakers on the committee defended the university and academic freedom, the chancellor also disavowed some of the comments that had upset the legislators, saying the university at large did not share them. “You can hope, as I do, that these students will mature over time,” the paper quoted Mr. Hamilton as saying.

“We probably have the most conservative faculty, and the most conservative student body, you’ll ever meet,” Mr. Hamilton told Ms. Fairclough, adding: “Thank goodness you are not representing Berkeley.” —Eric Kelderman