(The Center Square) – The Arizona Board of Regents will begin looking for the University of Arizona’s next president.
Robert Robbins is stepping down either in 2026 or when the board finds a replacement, as the school is currently facing a $177 million budget shortfall that led to scrutiny on Robbins, interim Chief Financial Officer John Arnold and the board. The Center Square reported that the issues led to Arnold taking a leave of absence from being ABOR’s Executive Director and Fred DuVal stepping away from his role as chair on the board.
The “search advisory committee” will play a significant role in choosing the next president.
“When selecting this committee, I wanted to make sure its members would bring diverse perspectives and a wide array of expertise. Their leadership, insights and contributions will be instrumental to the success of this search process,” ABOR Chair Cecilia Mata said in a statement. “As the board embarks on selecting the next president of the University of Arizona, we will do so thoughtfully and with community input to ensure we find a visionary leader who can make a lasting impact on this top-tier research university.”
The committee has 18 members – notably including DuVal, who is still a regent – Gov. Katie Hobbs’ higher education policy advisor Erin Hart, a Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis.
According to a news release, the first meeting of committee will be on Wednesday afternoon in Tucson. It’s currently unclear who could take the reigns of the university next, which is one of the three major public ones in the state.