The Arizona Board of Regents held special board and committee meetings last week. And despite a year of scandal and serious allegations, Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow received a significant pay increase along with a contract extension.
For those who’ve been keeping up with the news regarding ASU over the past year, scandals included:
Given all of the above, one might expect that university leaders would face a reckoning from the Arizona Board of Regents, but they would be wrong.
According to AZCentral, Crow will now receive a base salary of $892,500, around a 7% increase over his last contract, and the new agreement will keep him with the university until June 2029.
The ASU President has also received an additional $305,000 in bonuses for meeting goals laid out for him by the board. According to the report, these goals included “launching a training center to support the semiconductor industry in the state and creating a strategic plan to implement AI at the school.” He was also up for an additional $35,000 if the university exceeded a 10% enrollment growth goal over 2021 numbers, which ASU missed.
🚨Election Interference: 70,000 Arizona State students received a text from the Kamala Harris campaign which is data from the Arizona state database and should be confidential!
As reported by The College Fix, College Republicans at ASU called for an investigation into possible election interference when “70,000 Arizona State students received a text from the Kamala Harris campaign which is data from the Arizona state database and should be confidential!”
Carson Carpenter, president of College Republicans at ASU, told the outlet that the group had confirmed that the text message from Kamala Harris’ failed campaign was sent to “students from [all] Arizona universities,” including ASU, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona.
The group asked, “If Kamala Harris has access to all of Arizona college students’ phone numbers, what ELSE do they have?”
In an emailed statement to College Fix, an ASU Spokesman told reporters on condition of anonymity, “Under Arizona Public Records Law, ASU’s records are public unless there is a specific confidentiality requirement.”
“While most student records are confidential under [the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act], FERPA exempts from confidentiality ‘directory information,’ which includes contact information. ASU is therefore required to release student directory information upon request.”
State Representative Jake Hoffmann posted to X that he would be launching a full Senate investigation into the matter, which he called, “a MAJOR security breach!”
He added, “I’m receiving lots of evidence from many Arizona public university students who received unsolicited text messages promoting Kamala Harris for president that appear to have come from Arizona universities illegally providing their personally identifiable information to her campaign. This seems like yet more election interference in Arizona, which is why my investigation for the Arizona Senate has already begun.”
Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs and Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne serve on the board as ex-Officio members. However, neither were present for the meeting or took part in the vote to approve Crow’s contract. According to the annotated meeting agenda, the vote to approve was unanimous with seven of the twelve voting members present, “Regents Mata, Goodyear, DuVal, Penley, Pacheco, Brewster, Archuleta, Stein, and Zaragoza voted in favor. None opposed and none abstained.”
The regents are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. With the exception of the Governor, Superintendent, and two student members, they serve 8-year terms.
In the meeting agenda and annotation, no mention is made of the ongoing controversies that have rocked ASU in 2024.
A new leader has been selected for one of Arizona’s major universities.
On Friday, the University of Arizona and the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) announced that Dr. Suresh Garimella had been appointed as the school’s 23rd president.
Dr. Garimella is currently the president of the University of Vermont, and he was previously at Purdue University as its Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships.
The incoming president’s career fate was sealed with a unanimous vote from the members of ABOR.
“I am honored to be chosen by the board as the next president of the University of Arizona,” said Dr. Garimella. “I have long admired the U of A and its stature in the state of Arizona and far beyond. The institution demonstrates the best qualities of a land-grant university with exceptional leadership in research and health sciences, highly acclaimed faculty and staff, and a diverse student population comprised of the best and brightest from around the world. There are tremendous opportunities in front of us and I look forward to collaborating with U of A students, faculty, staff and alumni to build upon our strengths as an institution and continue to lead in excellence here in Tucson and around the world.”
“Dr. Garimella is student-focused and considers himself first and foremost a faculty member. With a 35-year career in higher education, Suresh is engaging, a great listener and a collaborative leader,” said ABOR Chair Cecilia Mata. “Wildcats are part of our state’s DNA and Dr. Garimella has shown he is the right leader at the right time to heal and grow Arizona’s land-grant university.”
Dr. Robert C. Robbins currently serves as the university’s president, which he has held since 2017. Earlier this spring, Robbins announced his plans to step away from the school at the end of – or before – his term in office.
“I join our University of Arizona family in welcoming Dr. Garimella to Tucson,” said President Robbins. “His experience as a president at a public university and as an esteemed professor, researcher and published author will serve him well in his new role. In the weeks ahead, I look forward to partnering with Dr. Garimella and assisting him with the transition in any way possible. The U of A will be in good hands for years to come.”
According to the press release issued by the Arizona Board of Regents, “Dr. Garimella received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, his M.S. from The Ohio State University, and his bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The University of Arizona is getting a new president.
University President Robert C. Robbins told the Arizona Board of Regents on April 2 that he will step down by the end of his current contract as soon as his successor is ready.
“After significant consideration and personal contemplation, I informed the regents this morning that I will step down as president of the University of Arizona after fulfilling the terms of my current contract,” Robbins said in a statement. “When a new president has been appointed by ABOR and she or he is prepared to start sooner than the end date of my contract, I will ensure a smooth transition to my successor and step aside earlier.”
Robbins has served as president since 2017. He has been under fire over the last six months because of the university’s $177 million deficit.
“The University of Arizona has and will continue to tackle the more pressing challenges of our time,” Robbins said. “And it is time to begin to think about what is next for the university, and I will continue to serve the institution with pride and work with ABOR to ensure a smooth transition at the appropriate time.”
Arizona Board of Regents Chair Cecilia Mata said the board plans to start a national search for the 23rd president of the university soon, and Robbins will serve as president until his successor is ready to start. His current contract expires June 30, 2026.
As president, Robbins oversaw the creation of the new Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies, as well as the largest fundraising campaign in the university’s history, Fuel Wonder, which has raised $2.2 billion toward the $3 billion goal.
“The University of Arizona has a long-standing reputation as an elite public research university – one with a rich tradition of service and a leader in advancing new frontiers and making remarkable discoveries,” he said.
Robbins said this is a difficult but necessary decision. He said he has no doubt the university is in good hands.
“It has been a true honor to lead the University of Arizona for so many years, particularly during a time of transformational change in higher education and with challenges in the world around us,” he said. “I am proud of the many advancements we made together in elevating the institution, by enhancing the student experience; by attracting and retaining world-class faculty and staff; by increasing our research funding and philanthropy; by achieving significant milestones in science, astronomy and medicine, among many other disciplines; by engaging our indigenous tribes and rural communities; and by improving the lives of Arizona residents and the global community.”
Mata said the board appreciates Robbins’ dedication to UA’s mission and values.
“He has built a legacy of commitment to student access and success, as well as advancement of the university’s land-grant mission,” she said. “President Robbins implemented a strategic plan focused on the opportunities and challenges presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. His keen ability to weave together the biological, digital and technology sectors to further advance the mission of the university has led to exceptional accomplishments.”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Arizona’s schools chief is literally turning his back to antisemitism.
Earlier this month, the Arizona Department of Education posted a picture on “X” of Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne at a recent Board of Regents meeting with the caption, “Superintendent Horne will not tolerate antisemitism. When protestors started speaking in support of a terrorist organization at the Arizona Board of Regents meeting, he turned his back to hatred.”
Superintendent Horne will not tolerate antisemitism. When protestors started speaking in support of a terrorist organization at the Arizona Board of Regents meeting, he turned his back to hatred. pic.twitter.com/s2DTM6DSF5
This gesture from Horne follows a recent press conference he hosted to “denounce antisemitic and anti-American materials provided by two organizations at a high school club event that made Jewish students feel unsafe.” The high school where this action occurred at was Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale.
Horne minced no words in alerting the public to the dangers to students by the presence of these materials at this school – or any school in the state, saying, “The materials presented to these students were profoundly antisemitic in particular and anti-American, in nature. Some of the material states that ‘Palestinians have been subject to killings, torture, rape, abuse, and more for over 75 years.’ This is a ‘blood libel’ similar to the blood libels used in the Middle Ages to get people to go out and kill random Jewish people.”
In an interview with a national outlet, Horne explained why this issue has been so important to take a stand on, saying, “All of my extended family were killed in the Holocaust. So I grew up with just my parents and my sister. No grandparents, no nieces and nephews, no uncles or aunts. They were all killed. So when I see signs of antisemitism developing in the United States, you can imagine it’s something that affects me personally.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A required biennial training program for Arizona State University (ASU) employees and faculty violates state law, per a complaint letter submitted by the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute.
In a letter to the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) on Tuesday, the organization alleged that the ASU Inclusive Communities, a required biennial training program for all employees and faculty, violates a new law passed last year, A.R.S. § 41-1494.
The law prohibits public funding for training that promulgates “blame or judgment on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex.” The department of administration is required to submit an annual report listing all state agencies complying with the law to the governor, the state senate president, the house speaker, and the secretary of state.
Per the law, “blame or judgment” qualifies as declaring that race, ethnic group, or sex determines inherent moral superiority, racism, sexism, oppression over another race, ethnic group, or sex. It also qualifies as concepts declaring an individual’s race, ethnic group, or sex as definitive of their moral character, endowing responsibility for the actions of others within their shared biological traits, insisting on negative, self-conscious feelings such as guilt or anguish with regard to their biological traits, and meriting discrimination or adverse treatment against them.
“Blame or judgment” also includes the concept that meritocracy or traits such as hard work are racist, sexist, or created by members of a particular race, ethnic group, or sex to oppress members of another race, ethnic group, or sex.
In their complaint letter, the Goldwater Institute noted that the ASU training does impart blame or judgment based on race, ethnicity, or sex.
“The statute makes clear that while the state may, of course, teach that such ideas exist, it may not promulgate these messages of blame or judgment in any official sense, or mandate the participation of employees at any session where these ideas are promulgated,” said the organization. “The ‘ASU Inclusive Communities’ training, however, is premised on the ‘blame or judgment’ referred to in this statute.”
The organization included the following quotes from obtained training materials reportedly promulgating the concepts that white people are inherently privileged, racist, and supremacist, regardless of intent or consciousness, and that heterosexuals are inherently privileged and maintaining power over other “sexual identities”:
“[A]cknowledging the history of white supremacy and the social conditions for it to exist as a structural phenomenon”
“How is white supremacy normalized in society”
“[G]iven the socio-historial [sic] legacy of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of structural inequality, perceptions of authority and control are not always granted to minoritized [sic] faculty.”
“White Fragility”
“What is White Privilege, Really”
“Explaining White privilege to a broke white person […]”
“7 Ways White People Can Combat Their Privilege”
“Racism […] can take the form of […] and include seemly innocuous questions or comments, such as asking people of color where they are from […]”
“Sexual identities are linked to power, and heterosexuality, the dominant sexual identity in American culture, is privileged by going on largely unquestioned.”
“[I]t scares people to talk about white supremacy or to be called a white supremacist. But if we start thinking about it in terms of whiteness as something that is culturally neutral and we’re moving it from that neutral space into a critical space.”
“[W]e have to open the space to critique whiteness.”
“[W]hite supremacy […] referring to here is the period between the 1500’s and the 1800’s that encompasses both Spanish colonization and Euro-American colonization. And what colonization did, was it really created this system of binary thinking. There were folks that were inherently good and folks that were inherently bad, and that led to the systems of superiority that were then written into the foundational documents of our Nation.”
The Goldwater Institute requested ABOR to direct ASU to cease spending any public monies on its Inclusive Communities training, or make the training optional rather than mandatory.
Additionally, the organization suggested that ABOR audit ASU’s other courses and the activities and courses of the University of Arizona (UArizona) and Northern Arizona University (NAU) to ensure compliance. As examples of potential anti-discriminatory violations, the organization linked to the UArizona Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion trainings, the UArizona Eller College of Management Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training, and the NAU employee and faculty training.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
