University of Vermont president is likely next University of Arizona president

The president of the University of Vermont is the only finalist for the job of University of Arizona president and the Arizona Board of Regents said Thursday that they will interview him on Friday and potentially open contract negotiations if all goes well.

The board will talk with finalist Suresh Garimella during a closed-door executive session meeting. A public portion — likely for a vote to begin negotiations — would follow the interview. The meeting will be livestreamed and is scheduled for 7-9 a.m. Friday.

The board gave short notice of the morning meeting and the UA is not in session until Aug. 26.

The interview is the result of a national search to replace president Robert Robbins, who announced his planned resignation in April after repeated calls for him to step down in the midst of the school’s financial crisis.

Robbins currently earns $734,407 annually after taking a 10% pay cut in March. His previous salary was $816,008 and he was set to receive $150,000 in individual at-risk compensation and $120,000 in multiple-year performance compensation this year.

Theodore Downing, a UA faculty senate member and professor of social development, said he has been at the university through ten presidents and the process has changed.

“In the earlier [presidential searches], we actually had three candidates that came in,” he recalled.

He said potential candidates also had to visit the campus, interview with faculty and hold public meetings. Now they have minimal involvement.

“Now it’s straight to the winner,” he said.

Friday’s interview is virtual and, despite his role in faculty governance, Downing hadn’t heard of Garimella until today’s announcement.

“I have no idea who this guy is and I don’t want to say anything negative [about him]. The process is what I’m worried about,” he said.

Garimella “has led with a bold vision and thoughtful financial discipline, more than doubled the university’s research enterprise, and strengthened state and community relationships,” according to a news release .

The University of Vermont president has also faced criticism for cuts to programs and faculty positions at the school and the administration’s treatment of sexual misconduct cases that led to widespread student protests.

“Dr. Garimella displays the visionary leadership qualities, and a record of distinguished scholarship necessary to lead the U of A into its next chapter,” board of regents chair Cecilia Mata said in the announcement.

​​Garimella and other candidates were reviewed by the UA Presidential Search Committee , an 18-member group of regents and campus community members, that has worked together since April to create a profile for the position and established criteria for potential candidates.

The group engaged with the community and stakeholders to inform their decisions, including a campus-wide survey with more than 4,000 respondents, listening tours and three public town halls during the last school year.

However, public involvement in the decision is now limited.

Nicholas Opich, the board of regents’ associate vice president of marketing and communications, told Arizona Luminaria the committee was set up to be the public’s representation in the decision-making process but there’s no system for people to express their concerns about individual candidates.

“Committee members have reviewed a large talent pool of prospects and deliberated on those to make a recommendation on how they wanted to proceed,” he said.

People can submit comments regarding the university’s presidential search to UArizonaPresidentialSearch@azregents.edu .

Marla Franco, the UA’s vice president of Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives, is a member of the committee.

“It was a real opportunity to provide perspective and contribution and thoughts and reflections candidly,” she told Arizona Luminaria.

Franco said the committee helped screen potential candidates and gave recommendations to the board, including Garimella.

The board of regents and UA administrators have been under fire from stakeholders, especially faculty and students, for the handling of the financial crisis and ensuing response.

Franco said they took this into consideration for the search.

“There was a real genuine priority around having the skill set and a communication style that is really committed to transparency and maintaining trust. And also really a value around shared governance,” she said.

Shared governance is the collaboration in decision making between faculty, staff and students with highest level university leaders. It was a frequent topic of feedback at public meetings from UA faculty last semester as House Bill 2735, which would have weakened the governing power of faculty and educational members at Arizona’s public universities, moved through the state legislature. Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed the bill in June .

Garimella has a background in mechanical engineering and has held various university leadership positions . Prior to his role at the University of Vermont, he was the executive vice president of research and partnerships at Purdue University.

Robbins said in an email to university staff and students he’d leave the role upon the hiring of a new president or at the end of his current contract which ends on June 30, 2026.

Robbins has been president of the university for almost seven years. He was originally hired in 2017 on a three-year contract that the board extended six times throughout his employment, most recently on Sept. 28, 2023.

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