The Arizona Board of Regents has tapped Suresh Garimella, president of the University of Vermont, as a candidate for president of the University of Arizona.
If chosen, Garimella will be the 23rd president of the UA, according to a news release from University Communications. A UA source tells KGUN Garimella was already on campus Thursday.
ABOR will interview Garimella on Friday, Aug. 9, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. in executive session.
Current President Robert C. Robbins announced he would step down in April after fulfilling the terms of his current contract, which is set to end in June of 2026, the news release said. Robbins said he would step down before that time if ABOR found a replacement sooner.
Garimella is a professor of mechanical engineering who has served as University of Vermont president since 2019. During his time at Vermont, he has "more than doubled the (University of Vermont's) research enterprise and strengthened state and community relationships," the news release said.
UA professor and faculty senator Caleb Simmons was part of the 18-member presidential search committee, made up of five professors, three regents, one undergrad student as well as university and community leaders.
Simmons says it was a thorough process: months of meetings and surveys where thousands in the UA community weighed in on what they want to see in the next president.
“The two clearest themes were the academic excellence and someone who has a clear vision and communicates how we can all get there collectively," he said.
Simmons says Garimella checks those boxes — a leader who can balance faculty, student and long-term university success, and that the search committee enthusiastically recommended him to ABOR.
“Everything that the community wanted, he brings to the table,” he said. “He’s someone I think the entire committee believes is the right person to move us toward the future.”
“[Garimella is] someone with a clear vision, able to articulate it well, speak to the opportunities and the challenges of an institution like we have," he added. "This is someone who can take us forward, and help us to achieve all we want to achieve.”
Garimella has faced criticism at UVM over cuts to liberal arts programs during the pandemic, how the school handles sexual assault reports, and his own response to a federal investigation into antisemitism, according to online newspaper VTdigger.
Before Vermont, Garimella was executive vice president of research and partnerships and a distinguished professor at Purdue University, the news release said.
"The board and search committee were impressed by the exceptional caliber of prospects aspiring to lead the University of Arizona into a new era of excellence," said ABOR Chair Cecilia Mata said in the press release. "After a thorough search process, Dr. Garimella displays the visionary leadership qualities and a record of distinguished scholarship necessary to lead the U of A into its next chapter."
