Dr. Robert C. Robbins, the lone finalist for University of Arizona president, will visit campus Wednesday, March 8, for private meetings with student leaders, faculty, deans, alumni and elected officials.
The campus visit will culminate with a moderated question and answer session open to the public from 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Environment and Natural Resources 2 Building, 1064 E. Lowell St.
For those who wish to watch the session online, it will be live streamed at www.azregents.edu/about/abor-live
The Arizona Board of Regents voted unanimously Tuesday for Robbins over their other final candidate, Sethuraman Panchanathan, a vice president at Arizona State University.
The regents plan a special meeting March 13 to begin negotiations on Robbins' contract. The hiring is not yet final.
Robbins, a highly regarded cardiac surgeon, spent 20 years working for the Stanford University School of Medicine as professor and department chair in cardiothoracic surgery. In 2005, he founded the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute.
When Robbins left the California school in 2012 to take his current job in Texas, Stanford put out a news release saying his performance there had “won him wide respect.”
At Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest medical system, Robbins has introduced new research initiatives in areas such as genomics and regenerative medicine.
Robbins is a million-dollar man in his current post as president and CEO of Texas Medical Center, Arizona Daily Star research shows.
Robbins’ office wouldn’t provide his salary, but the medical center’s nonprofit tax records show he earned nearly $1.2 million in 2014, the most recent figure available online.
UA President Ann Weaver Hart's pay package totals $670,000 this year.
None of Arizona’s university presidents makes $1 million. ASU President Michael Crow comes closest, with a pay package totaling $788,000 this year.
It isn’t clear if the Arizona Board of Regents considered potential salary expectations when choosing the two finalists, or whether the board would consider increasing the pay level for the UA president.
Regents haven’t answered those questions. Nor have they provided a rationale for why the board eliminated one of the two finalists, leaving only the winner to visit the UA campus community on Wednesday.
