Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the appointment of a University of Arizona alum to the Arizona Board of Regents on Tuesday morning.
The governor is appointing Lee Stein, a longtime legal expert and graduate of both the UA and Arizona State University, to the board.
“Lee Stein has a track record of fighting for accountability and transparency, experience that will make him well equipped to serve on the Arizona Board of Regents,” Hobbs said in a statement. “With a dedication to public service and a deep appreciation for Arizona’s universities, I have no doubt that Mr. Stein will be an effective member of the Board and will help ensure accessible and attainable higher education for everyone while safeguarding the integrity of our world-class public universities.”
Stein served as a member of former Senator John McCain’s Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, and as an adjunct professor at ASU and the UA. He graduated from the UA with a degree in political science in 1983 and went on to attend ASU’s law school, graduating in 1988.
He has also clerked for the Arizona Supreme Court and as a partner and Co-Chair of Perkins Coie’s firm-wide investigations and white-collar defense practice group and was also a prosecutor in a wide array of cases including healthcare and fraud regulation, internal investigations and anti-corruption.
“I am humbled by Governor Hobbs’ confidence in me,” Stein said in a statement. “I fully appreciate the importance of higher education to the state and I am looking forward to doing my part to ensure that the universities continue to provide an accessible and high-quality education to Arizona students.”
Stein is set to fill the vacancy left when Regent Bob Herbold resigned in February for health reasons. He will finish out the remainder of Herbold’s term, which runs through January 2028.
“On behalf of the Arizona Board of Regents, I commend Governor Hobbs for her appointment of Mr. Stein, an accomplished and respected legal mind,” ABOR Chair Cecilia Mata said in a statement. “Mr. Stein is a nationally recognized leader and attorney with decades of experience representing the interests of the state of Arizona and our nation, particularly in the areas of Title IX and student rights.”
Stein is Hobbs’ second non-student appointee to ABOR. She appointed Elizabeth Archuleta, a former Biden-Harris administration official, to the board earlier this spring.
Hobbs has previously criticized ABOR for a lack of accountability and oversight of the University of Arizona’s finances after the university revealed a $177 million deficit the regents failed to catch.
