Presidential search panel named to find Robbins’ successor at UA

The search for the next University of Arizona president is officially underway with an 18-person advisory committee unveiled Monday evening.

The group will report to the Arizona Board of Regents in the coming months as it looks for the 23rd UA president. Board Chair Cecilia Mata said earlier this month that leaders will move with “expediency” to find a new leader after President Robert Robbins announced he would step down once the presiding board can find a successor.

The group features three regents including Mata, five professors, various community and university leaders and one student. Its first meeting will be on Wednesday afternoon in Tucson.

The committee has one of the largest faculty representations among presidential search committees, according to the board. Mata said she focused on including a variety of backgrounds for the board including student success, fiscal knowledge and faculty and alumni relations. Mata said the committee would consider community input in the process of 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,” Mata said in a Monday release.

But Maria Sohn Hasman, a United Campus Workers of Arizona union member, said she was frustrated to see only one staff member and one student are on the board, saying those groups have been hit particularly hard by the university’s multi-million dollar budget shortfall. She said trust has been broken as staff live under the

stress of ongoing layoffs.

“It just seems like a great opportunity to try to right some of those wrongs and it’s really disappointing to see that they’re continuing down this path with a lack of transparency,” Sohn Hasman said.

The board will meet later this week on UA’s campus to share updates on the university’s $162 million shortfall — an updated estimate from earlier this month.. During the meetings, the board will be receiving legal advice on the search during executive sessions.

The committee selection is one of the first steps in a longer process to choose a president. The board’s most recent presidential search was at Northern Arizona University in 2020 when former President Rita Cheng announced she would step down. Her successor, current President José Luis Cruz Rivera, began his tenure nine months later.

Here’s who was selected to be on the committee:

Cecilia Mata, chair, Arizona Board of Regents.

Fred DuVal, regent, Arizona Board of Regents.

Doug Goodyear, regent, Arizona Board of Regents.

Tobi Adigun, undergraduate student, Bobcats Senior honorary president and serves on the University Advisory Council.

Marla Franco, vice president, Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives.

David Hahn, dean of College of Engineering and member of the Academic

Deans’ Council.

Erin Hart, higher education policy advisor to Governor Katie Hobbs.

Melanie Hingle, professor of nutritional sciences and member of the graduate faculty.

Jenny Lee, vice president of Arizona International, dean of international education and member of the Academic Deans’ Council.

Humberto (Bert) Lopez, president of H.S. Lopez Family Foundation, UArizona Foundation Board of Trustees former chair and serves on the foundation’s National Leadership Council.

Fletcher McCusker, CEO of UAVenture Capital and member of UArizona’s FORGE Strategic Advisory Council.

Lucinda Rankin, associate professor of physiology and faculty senator.

Desireé Reed-Francois, vice president and director of athletics.

Christina Rocha, manager of the Research, Innovation & Impact Business Center, and staff council representative to faculty senate.

Stephen Roe Lewis, governor, Gila River Indian Community.

Joellen Russell, distinguished professor of geology, faculty senator and serves on the Honors Faculty Advisory Council.

Caleb Simmons, professor of religious studies, faculty senator, committee of eleven member and executive director of online education.

Mark Stegeman, associate professor of economics, faculty senator and serves on the University Advisory Council.