The United Campus Workers of Arizona union is demanding that University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins resign immediately instead of waiting for an official replacement.
The UCWAZ union, which represents faculty, staff and students at all three public universities in the state, announced their demands at a Thursday afternoon protest shortly before the Arizona Board of Regents met on campus.
"We will keep fighting for more democratic public institutions, better wages and more job security until we are heard and our demands are met," said IT employee and union member Spencer Gantt. "A university president should not have unchecked power to make unilateral decisions regarding academic standards or which programs are cut or funded."
Robbins, who has been under pressure amid the UA's $162 million deficit, announced two weeks ago that he will step down by June 2026 or sooner if the regents hire his successor. âThe past 18 months certainly have been difficult for our university, but I am confident that our passion and commitment for doing what is right, as well as our thorough and thoughtful analysis to address our ongoing challenges, will bring our institution greater stability in short order,â Robbins wrote at that time.
The national search for the next UA president will move forward with speed, the regents said.
The UCWAZ union is also demanding that, in its wording, the university continue to cut back on administrative bloat, cease unchecked spending and be more transparent about layoffs and other issues.
About 50 people attended Thursday's rally outside the UA Administration Building.
It would be "ideal" if Robbins were to resign today rather than by the end of June 2026, union member and UA employee Maria Sohn Hasman said in an interview before the rally began.
"There's a continuation of bad decisions that got us here to this point," Sohn Hasman said.
She added that the UA's freeze on hiring and salary increases should be ended "immediately" rather than on July 1.
Additionally, Sohn Hasman shared her disappointment that no union members are on the presidential search committee announced earlier this week.
"Unions, students and faculty must be involved in the hiring committee and the process," she said.
In a statement to the Arizona Daily Star, Mitch Zak, a spokesperson for the university, said that "Robbins' announcement allows for a thorough and inclusive search to identify a successor while at the same time continuing to lead implementation of the university's financial action plan."
Earlier Thursday, Robbins announced that the UA has cut its projected deficit for next year down to $52 million, from the original $177 million announced in January.
"While central administration, divisions and colleges all are part of the solution, the largest portion of the budget savings will come from reductions in administrative expenses," Robbins wrote. "As a result of our budget decisions, the University will be in a position to allocate sufficient funds to ensure no college starts FY 2025 in a budget deficit."
Despite that, Gantt, the IT employee, remained skeptical about the "good news" Robbins shared.
"That email this morning, directly from Robbins, acted like when they took away our cost of living increase this year, when they took away our salary increases this year, that that was somehow a win," he told the crowd through a bullhorn. "They have yet to even attack the level of administrative bloat on this campus."
Sohn Hasman echoed his points.
"The way they've done it is through the hiring freeze, the salary increase freeze, and the elimination of the tuition guarantee for students; it's just horrible," she said. "That's not the way to do it. It's not a sign of any progress being made. It's a continuation of the bad decisions that got us here to this point."
The protests hosted by the union are crucial, Gantt said, because "it is important that we hear from working class people across campuses every single day."
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