University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella has a new chief of staff for the second time in a little less than a year.
Francisco Garcia, who held the position since early January, is leaving.
Rachel Reinhardt, UA’s former associate vice president for research communications, started in the $275,000 role on Dec. 15.
Reinhardt
Reinhardt will provide strategic counsel to Garimella and oversee key institutional priorities and operations, Garimella said in a notice to campus. She will coordinate the work of senior university administrators, contribute to the decision-making process, supervise critical issues and relationships, and ensure the overall effective functioning of the president’s office, he said.
“Rachel brings more than two decades of senior leadership in complex research and academic organizations, with a career dedicated to defining priorities, strengthening alignment and helping institutions move forward with confidence and purpose," he wrote.
Reinhardt, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in French and international studies from Yale University, has been at the UA since 2023 in different positions, including associate vice president for communications for health sciences.
Garimella's note wished Garcia well, saying he's returning to work in public health and medicine. A UA spokesperson declined to comment on why Garcia left within a year.
Garcia was the university’s first chief of staff to the president, a role created this year that combined two former administrators' roles.
Garimella wrote that Garcia forged important relationships for him and the president’s office, coordinated their interactions with the Arizona Board of Regents, and "worked tirelessly to promote our accomplishments, uplift our students, faculty, and staff, and bring alignment and focus to our work."
