U of A president to be formally installed at ceremony next week

University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella will be formally installed as the UA's 23rd president in a ceremony next week at the university's Centennial Hall.

The installation event will begin 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, at the UA’s Old Main building, followed by a formal procession and ceremony at Centennial Hall, says a UA news release issued Thursday.

Approximately 800 attendees are expected in person, UA officials say, and the event will also be live-streamed on the UA’s YouTube channel.

Garimella became UA president on Oct. 1. A University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, he was previously president of the University of Vermont.

Since the start of his presidency, Garimella has announced a new investment of $20 million in strategic research areas as well as university-wide raises for faculty and staff, and has increased the UA's minimum wage standard. UA also announced that tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates will not increase for academic year 2026. 

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“The event will begin on the steps and veranda near the Berger Memorial Fountain on the west side of Old Main, where university leaders, students and other participants will don regalia for a ceremonial procession,” the news release says.

The opening will include performances by the Pride of Arizona marching band and the UA ROTC, a Native land acknowledgment reading and blessing, and remarks by Interim Provost Ron Marx.

A reception on the veranda of Old Main will follow after the ceremony.

Garimella's successor as UA president, Robert C. Robbins, also had a formal installation ceremony in Centennial Hall several months after he assumed the post in 2017.