The State Board of Regents announced they do not want to wait until President Hart's contract ends in 2018 for the new president to step in. They said a new University of Arizona president will hopefully be selected and in place by the summer of 2017-one full year sooner than was anticipated.
A months-long process is now beginning to find the new president. The first step will be appointing a committee to help the board and evaluate prospects. Patterson is in the process of choosing that committee, and he is expected to announce the members mid-September.
This all started earlier this year after President Hart drew a lot of criticism for joining the board of the company that operates for-profit DeVry University.
In June, Hart announced she would not renew her contract as president. She has held that position since 2012.
