The Arizona Board of Regents on Wednesday approved the contract for its new executive director.
Chad Sampson, who previously served in the role in an interim capacity, has been promoted with a salary of $320,000. New regent Lee Stein abstained from the vote.
โI am deeply honored for the opportunity to serve the state of Arizona and the board in this leadership role,โ Sampson said in a statement. โI am confident that, in collaboration with the regents, university presidents, faculty and staff, we can continue to enhance higher education for Arizonaโs students and families, ensuring a bright future for our state.โ
John Arnold previously held the post of executive director of the board until he accepted a permanent position at the University of Arizona after serving as interim chief financial officer. Arnold now works as senior vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at the UA for a salary of $550,000.
Arnold started the new position at the UA on July 1.
โI just appreciate how Chad has reorganized the staff, and in doing so, heโs not hired new or a net additional staff, but heโs worked with the staff to redistribute various tasks as we lost John Arnold to the University of Arizona,โ Regent Larry Edward Penley said before the vote. โIn a time of not only a search process, but considerable transition for the office โฆ Chad Sampson has done an excellent job.โ
Sampson has worked for ABOR since 2010, according to his biography on the boardโs website. He was hired as an associate general counsel before transitioning to vice president of strategic planning. He then served as vice president of academic affairs and institutional analysis before becoming the boardโs executive director.
Sampson has been a member of the State Bar of Arizona since 2002 and has worked in the Arizona Attorney Generalโs Office as counsel for the Arizona Department of Education. Additionally, he serves on the WestEd Board of Directors and has worked as an adjunct professor at Mesa Community College. He attended the University of Utah and the University of Iowa College of Law.
