Next University of Arizona president: ASU executive or Texas medical center CEO

PHOENIX — An ASU executive vice president and a Texas medical center CEO are the two candidates for University of Arizona president, regents announced today.

They are:

• Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief research and innovation officer of Arizona State University’s Knowledge Enterprise Development; and

• Robert Clayton Robbins, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Texas Medical Center.

"The successful finalist will be invited to a campus visit on March 8," the Arizona Board of Regents said.

Ann Weaver Hart, the UA's 21st president, is stepping down.

“Both Drs. Panchanathan and Robbins are outstanding candidates and highly respected academic and research leaders,” said Regents Chair Greg Patterson in a news release.

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“The University of Arizona is a highly prestigious research institution and land-grant university, and our search has attracted tremendously talented individuals from across the nation," he said. The board did not disclose the names of those other prospects.

• Panchanathan is responsible for advancing research, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development at ASU. During his tenure at ASU, the university has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as No. 1 on its “Most Innovative Schools” list for two consecutive years.

He holds an ASU Foundation Chair in computing and informatics and is the director of the center for cognitive ubiquitous computing (CUbiC). Panchanathan was the founding director of the ASU School of Computing and Informatics and was instrumental in founding the Biomedical Informatics Department at ASU. He was also the chair of the Computer Science and Engineering Department. He also is a professor in the ASU School of Computing Informatics and Decision Systems Engineering.

His research interests are in the areas of human-centered multimedia computing and ubiquitous computing environments for enhancing the quality of life for individuals with disabilities. 

• Robbins joined Texas Medical Center as president and CEO in 2012. "Since then, he has significantly enhanced the TMC’s commitment to collaboration, introducing five cross-institutional research initiatives centered on innovation, genomics, regenerative medicine, health policy and clinical research," the regents' news release says, continuing:

"TMC — the largest medical complex in the world — is at the forefront of advancing life sciences. An internationally recognized cardiac surgeon, Robbins has focused his clinical efforts on acquired cardiac diseases with a special expertise in the surgical treatment of congestive heart failure and cardiothoracic transplantation."

Prior to joining TMC, Robbins served as professor and chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, founding director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute and president of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (2006), among other roles.