A profile of qualifications sought in the next University of Arizona president should emphasize the university’s relationship with native nations and its scientific achievements, search advisors say.
The presidential search advisory committee met Wednesday in public session to review the current presidential position profile. The document contains expected candidate qualifications, as well as job descriptions and aspects about the university that the search committee deems to be important for a candidate to know.
The original profile was 22 pages long, said Alberto Pimentel of SP&A Consulting, the consulting firm working on the search. Though his team wants to keep it on the shorter side, committee members requested additions to the document including a strong emphasis on the university’s relationship with native nations and more information about the UA’s standing in various scientific communities.
“Some of the information was intentionally left off because we want to use that information in conversation with individuals,” Pimentel explained to the group, adding that the UA’s $162 million financial deficit is one of the issues that “requires some context.”
Pimentel said a survey sent out to UA alumni, students, faculty and staff asking about qualifications sought in the next president concluded with “about 4,000 responses,” a number he said is “mind boggling.”
UA President Robert C. Robbins announced in March that he will leave the post by June 2026, after being widely blamed for the university’s deficit. He said he will step down earlier if the Arizona Board of Regents names a replacement sooner. The presidential search advisory committee has talked about wanting to move quickly.
The bar for candidates is holding a professorship, said Joellen Russell, a professor of geosciences who also served on the UA’s provost search committee.
“This is not a low bar at all,” she said. “There are sitting presidents across the country right now who do not meet the bar.”
Russell also told Pimentel she hoped to see the UA’s relationship with native nations emphasized more in the position profile.
“It’s such a big part of what we do,” she said. “We are the number one producer of PhDs of native people in the world, not just the U.S.”
Her point was echoed by UA Vice President of Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives Marla Franco and by Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of the Gila River Indian Community.
“It’s not just an acknowledgement, but a responsibility,” said Lewis. “It should be further up rather than pushed down and lost in some of the statements and groupings.”
Committee members said the position profile needs to emphasize the scientific advancements made by the university, as well. Additionally, Christina Rocha, manager of the Research, Innovation & Impact Business Center, said it is crucial that the next president is able to “recognize years of service” given to the university by faculty and staff.
“We want to make sure that there is something in there that talks about recognition,” she said.
David Hahn, dean of the College of Engineering, requested that a bigger emphasis be placed on the business, engineering, agriculture and life sciences programs.
“You’ve left off probably thirty percent of the university,” he said.
Geosciences professor Russell agreed. She also wants there to be more mentions of “our uniqueness” including the science and space work that the UA does.
Currently in the document, Russell added, were things that “you could say about (the University of) Oklahoma or (the University of) Nebraska. We’re emphasizing things that are important to any R1 (top research) land grant place.”
Cindy Rankin, a professor of physiology, said she would like to see more of the cultural parts of Tucson, including the arts scene, included.
She also had a graphic design suggestion that got many on the search committee excited. “Could a saguaro scene be faded in on the bottom of (each) page?” she asked. “So it truly comes from Southern Arizona. It’s not the norm but I think it might hit home.”
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