Controversial U of A Global Campus to hire vice provost despite hiring freeze

The University of Arizona is hiring a vice provost of academic affairs, teaching and learning for online initiatives despite the university instituting a hiring freeze and President Robert C. Robbins pledging to cut administrative positions, the Arizona Daily Star has learned.

The current finalist for the position is Blake Naughton, professor of human development at Colorado State University, according to emails obtained by the Star. The position’s responsibilities include leading the UA Global Campus academics over the next several years.

The university’s hiring freeze, which was announced last December, is set to run through the end of June. A spokesperson for the university did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

UAGC has been an especially controversial part of the UA since the university acquired it when it was known as Ashford University, for $1 in 2020. The UA could be on the hook to pay a $72 million settlement to former students of Ashford, though it is currently in the process of negotiating with the U.S. Department of Education.

The search for the position began before UAGC moved into the UA last summer and the job was originally labeled as the UAGC provost. According to the job description, also obtained by the Star, the deans at the College of Arts and Sciences, the Forbes School of Business and Technology and the School of General Studies, as well as the vice president of academic experience and faculty affairs are set to report to the new hire.

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“The Vice Provost directs and supports the leadership team across the areas of faculty affairs, academic programming, innovation, and operations to ensure excellence in performance and academic outcomes,” the job description states. “The Vice Provost fosters collaboration with all areas of UAGC including the UAGC Faculty Council and regularly collaborates with the appropriate leadership and units of the University of Arizona.”

Additionally, one of the key tasks, according to the job description, is to “direct the senior academic leadership team in all areas including faculty affairs, academic programming, innovation, and operations to ensure academic excellence and foster collaboration with the University of Arizona.”

Gary Packard, the interim senior vice provost of online initiatives at the UA, informed members of the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences of the hire two weeks ago, according to communications reviewed by the Star. Because of Naughton’s background, Packard proposed that the candidate be hired for a tenure position in the college alongside his vice provost position at UAGC.

It is common for senior administrators with academic backgrounds to be tenured with a department or college that aligns with their experience, according to multiple professors. The administrator, if tenured, doesn’t teach and is paid by central administration rather than the department they are tenured in.

According to members of CALES, the college did not agree to be Naughton’s tenure home if he is hired. Emails sent by Packard indicate that he is also asking the College of Applied Science and Technology; it is unclear if the college has accepted the offer.