Tim Steller's column: U of A admin's growth challenges new president's commitments

The University of Arizona’s administration sometimes seems like a science-fiction monster.

You can try to strangle it, smother it, or slice a piece of it off, but it always seems to survive and even grow bigger.

Even after the UA’s financial crisis came into a view a year ago, it has managed to defy limitations. As we’ve found out in the last couple of weeks, it’s even tried to defy physical limits of Old Main.

My colleague Prerana Sannappanavar noted Nov. 3 that the University of Arizona responded to its financial crisis by cutting 13 vice president positions, out of a jaw-dropping total of 109. These cuts and the total number include assistant vice presidents, associate vice presidents and senior vice presidents as well as run-of-the-mill vice presidents.

Despite those cuts, as Sannappanavar reported Nov. 17, the UA still is managing to spend more on administration this year than it did last year. John Arnold, the UA’s chief financial officer, chalked that up mostly to starting a new College of Health Sciences, which created seven new administrative jobs.

“What we saw was those vice presidents we talked about went away, but we hired other positions that replaced a lot of those,” Arnold said in an interview.

That’s annoying to say the least. The University of Arizona is — universities in general are — a hotbed of inscrutable administrative titles often accompanied by inflated salaries, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

The total payroll for administration went up by $1.5 million between last year and this.

While the numbers tell part of the story, so do certain blindered administrative actions.

The Associated Students of the University of Arizona blew the whistle in a Nov. 14 post on Instagram about a planned encroachment by UA administration into the Student Union building, a move that would displace three student programs.

The UA administration gave short notice to the leaders of these programs that it would be moving the enrollment management office from its digs in Old Main to the fourth floor of the Student Union. This is the office that oversees admissions, recruits and enrolls new students, conducts orientation and family programs. It also gives the tours to prospective students seen around campus regularly.

The office’s move as announced would have meant displacement of the students’ survivor advocacy program, which supports victims of stalking, sexual violence and other serious mistreatment; the office of fraternity and sorority programs; and the Cultural and Inclusive Experiential Learning Opportunities program.

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“ASUA urges senior administration to include students in decisions impacting campus spaces, particularly for organizations providing essential services,” the student government’s statement said that day. “No student group should be displaced without clear communication and viable alternatives.”

Indeed, after public pressure, the administration reversed course Wednesday and announced it would not be displacing the student groups from the Student Union after all. That obviously was the right choice, but it shouldn’t have required a reversal of course — it should have been evident from the get-go that student programs take precedence in the Student Union.

This should especially be true in the administration of new UA President Suresh Garimella. He has frequently said that the “north star” at the university should be student success.

“The way I view my work as a university professor is we’re all about student success,” Garimella told the Faculty Senate Nov. 4. “We offer them the most exceptional education possible.”

“How can we enrich the experience of our students while they’re here? That is our north star.”

He’s also preached the need to emphasize reducing administrative costs above all other costs when belt-tightening is required.

“In general, as a faculty member, I’d say the universities have too many vice presidents,” he said. “It’s not about numbers. It’s really about functions.”

Of course, it’s going to require constant attention for Garimella to prove that he means what he says. And early signs are inconclusive.

It raised eyebrows around the university when Garimella received the high honor of being named a “University Distinguished Professor” a month after arriving at the university. While that honor could be viewed as more than a reward for good performance at the UA, the fact is, he had never taught a class here.

It looked bad, and he shouldn’t have accepted the honor.

But Garimella can prove his worthiness if he runs the university by the principles he set out at that Faculty Senate meeting.

“I will always focus on the efficiency of the administrative side,” he said. “Give me a little time — you’ll see.”

He can show that by making actual cuts to the cost of administration, not cuts that are quickly backfilled by new, high-paid assistant vice presidents and the like.