Outgoing University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins is expected to work as a tenured faculty member at the university’s Tucson College of Medicine and may still receive presidential-level bonuses after his departure.
He will continue to be paid his base annual salary of $734,407 through the end of his presidential contract in June 2026, as previously reported by the Arizona Daily Star. Additionally, he will receive $154,225 annually in his retirement plan and a yearly automobile allowance of $10,000.
Robbins also is eligible to receive bonuses as part of the Enterprise Executive Committee, which includes the Arizona Board of Regents executive director and the presidents of the state’s three public universities. Bonuses from 2023-24 will be determined later this year.
Robbins’ transition agreement will be formally voted on by the regents during a meeting Thursday. Suresh Garimella, formerly president of the University of Vermont, begins his tenure as UA president on Oct. 1.
Robbins announced in April that would leave the presidency when his contract ends or sooner if the regents found his replacement. His decision to step down came amid the university’s financial crisis. The deficit, which began at $177 million, has now been reduced to $63 million.
UA President Robert C. Robbins
“The board is deeply appreciative of President Robbins’ dedication to the mission and values of the University of Arizona,” ABOR Chair Cecilia Mata said in a statement. “Over the last seven years, he invested in students, spearheaded the largest fundraising campaign in university history and helped expand the U of A’s research enterprise, driving economic growth and new business startups in Arizona.”
A cardiothoracic surgeon, he is expected to be a faculty member at the UA’s Tucson College of Medicine Surgery department.
Robbins’ predecessor, Ann Weaver Hart, remained at the UA in a special professorship after stepping down as president in 2017, also amid controversy.
Weaver Hart was paid more than $800,000 over two years in her transition role on the College of Education’s faculty despite taking a one-year sabbatical and never teaching a class, the Star reported in 2019. That compensation included $500,000, the amount owed to Hart in her presidential contract, which ran through June 2018. She was tasked with helping Robbins transition into the presidency. She retired from the UA in 2019.
Robbins will have to formally vacate the presidential residency so that Garimella can move in.
Garimella is already in Tucson preparing for the role. He will be paid a yearly base salary of $810,000.
This is not the first time the UA has paid senior administrators after they vacated their posts.
The Star reported that former Athletic Director Dave Heeke, ousted by Robbins in January this year, will be paid his salary of $1.04 million through his contract ending on March 31, 2025. Additionally, Heeke will be paid “any earned incentive payments,” according to a university spokesperson at the time.
Similarly, it was also revealed in January that former Chief Financial Officer Lisa Rulney was being paid her salary of $506,325 through June 30, 2024, so that the university wouldn’t get sued, Robbins said after removing her from the post in December 2023. Now, according to UA officials, Rulney is officially off the university payroll.
