Suresh Garimella, Ph.D. to be 23rd University of Arizona President. UA photo.
August 9, 2024
by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine As expected, the Arizona Board of Regents shortly after noon today (local time) appointed Dr. Suresh Garimella as the 23rd president of the University of Arizona. Garimella has been the University of Vermont president since 2019. It was revealed on Thursday that Garimella was the sole finalist for the Arizona job, thus indicating that he had been offered and accepted the job, pending a vote by the regents this morning.
The unanimous board vote follows a comprehensive, five-month national search fueled by the work of the U of A Presidential Search Advisory Committee and informed by robust community feedback. Dr. Garimella is currently the 27th president of the University of Vermont (UVM) and is the former Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships at Purdue University.
Garimella was the only candidate named as a finalist by Arizona when they publicized today's meeting just on Thursday. This indicated that he was the choice of the search committee and the regents before the official vote today. University searches in recent times tend to announce only the presumptive choice to allow for anonymity among the candidates, to not undermine the position they already have.
In response to this news, and after praising Garimella's five years and accomplishments at UVM, Ron Lumbra, UVM Chair of the Board of Trustees, said in a letter to the community: "It is no surprise, then, that the University of Arizona has taken notice and concluded that President Garimella will be an exceptional leader for them. It is heartening to see an institution of Arizona’s size and stature recognize the excellence of the University of Vermont.
The University of Arizona has gone through a difficult year, where the former president stepped down after a pay cut, a new chair of the board was elected, and the university is facing a $177 million deficit.
“I am honored to be chosen by the board as the next president of the University of Arizona,” said Dr. Garimella. “I have long admired the U of A and its stature in the state of Arizona and far beyond. The institution demonstrates the best qualities of a land-grant university with exceptional leadership in research and health sciences, highly acclaimed faculty and staff, and a diverse student population comprised of the best and brightest from around the world. There are tremendous opportunities in front of us and I look forward to collaborating with U of A students, faculty, staff and alumni to build upon our strengths as an institution and continue to lead in excellence here in Tucson and around the world.”
Suresh Garimella press conference August 9 after being named UA president.
The regents were effusive in their comments on Garimella before the vote (see video below). Comments included: "right person at the right time," and "so enthusiastic," and "high expectations," and "he's a really good guy." They "celebrate" his research enterprise, his "student focus" and the growth at UVM academically.
After the unanimous vote and comments from Chair Cecilia Mata, who spoke in Spanish and English, Garimella thanked the regents in Spanish and English and finished the meeting by saying, "go Cats."
While UVM is nicknamed the Catamounts, Arizona is the Wildcats.
They also mentioned Garimella's innovative leadership, his profound commitment to the land-grant mission, and an exceptional record of putting students first. During his time as president at the University of Vermont, Dr. Garimella stabilized tuition and spearheaded a scholarship program similar to the Arizona Promise Program, providing a tuition-free education for lower-income Vermont students.
Arizona State Regents vote to accept the nomination of Suresh Garimella as the next president of the University of Arizona.
“Dr. Garimella is student-focused and considers himself first and foremost a faculty member. With a 35-year career in higher education, Suresh is engaging, a great listener and a collaborative leader,” said ABOR Chair Cecilia Mata. “Wildcats are part of our state’s DNA and Dr. Garimella has shown he is the right leader at the right time to heal and grow Arizona’s land-grant university.”
Dr. Garimella is not only a highly cited scholar, researcher and professor of mechanical engineering, but he also helped increase and strengthen the research enterprises of both UVM and Purdue University. He has a strong financial management background, helped build both universities’ online education footprints and worked to diversify funding sources without increasing tuition. Additionally, he is a member of the National Science Board and served with the U.S. Department of State as both a Jefferson Science Fellow and a Senior Fellow in the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas.
Over the last five months, an 18-member search committee met dozens of times to gather feedback from the campus and community and vet all prospects in search of a leader who would match the qualities and experience needed to lead Arizona’s land-grant institution.
“One of the most exciting parts of this process was seeing the amount of quality leaders from across the country interested in becoming our next president. This broad enthusiasm reinforced my long-held belief that the U of A is indeed a spectacular institution rich in tradition, deep in academics and connected with the community,” said Dr. Cindy Rankin, Associate Professor of Physiology and presidential search committee member. “Dr. Garimella stood out to me among the prospects. He is an internationally known scholar with the temperament and experience to unify our campus, and together capitalize on our uniqueness and strength to reach even greater heights. I’m honored to have been part of this truly collaborative effort to select our next president.”
The board will work with Dr. Garimella to finalize his employment contract and determine a start date. Dr. Garimella succeeds President Robert C. Robbins, who has led the university since 2017. President Robbins has driven significant improvement in student retention and success, has overseen an increase in annual research expenditures to $955 million and has spearheaded the most successful fundraising campaign in the history of the U of A at nearly $2.3 billion.
“I join our University of Arizona family in welcoming Dr. Garimella to Tucson,” said President Robbins. “His experience as a president at a public university and as an esteemed professor, researcher and published author will serve him well in his new role. In the weeks ahead, I look forward to partnering with Dr. Garimella and assisting him with the transition in any way possible. The U of A will be in good hands for years to come.”
President Robbins will remain in his role until Dr. Garimella begins, which will likely be later this fall. Dr. Garimella will meet with campus and community members today and tomorrow.
Dr. Garimella received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, his M.S. from The Ohio State University, and his bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Find Dr. Garimella’s bio and CV here.
The Arizona Board of Regents is the 12-member governing body that oversees Arizona’s public universities — Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the U of A. Established in 1885, the U of A is a land-grant and Hispanic-Serving Institution. As a leading Research 1 institution, U of A ranks in the top 20 among all public universities with $955 million in annual research expenditures according to the National Science Foundation. It benefits the state of Arizona with an estimated economic impact of $4.1 billion annually.
Background
Typically, a major university will not publicly name any presidential candidate until that person is the de facto president-elect, much like Garimella was the presumptive new president when he was announced as the lone finalist at UVM in February 2019.
As president of the University of Vermont, Garimella more than doubled the university's research enterprise and strengthened state and community relationships. Garimella is a professor of mechanical engineering and a highly cited scholar and researcher, who has continued to focus on teaching and mentoring students as president, annually leading an undergraduate seminar class in civil discourse and continuing to supervise Ph.D. students.
Garimella told VermontBiz in March that he is not looking for his next challenge.
“People are happy with me, and I’m happy with them," Garimella said. “I’m enjoying my time here. It’s a great state to live in. I love running by the lake and going up Mount Philo. I have a lot of energy, and a lot of things to do. I think things are going well.
“I want to have UVM be a great partner to the state,“ he added. “How can we improve economic development, workforce? How can we touch every part of the state? How can we try to improve the way the institution is for all its new partnerships? UVM has good intellectual resources. We can add to the social capital and the intellectual capital of the state. We’re working on that. And there’s a lot more to do.“
On August 1, in his annual UVM letter to the community he concluded by saying: "I remain committed and ever more energized to see our velocity continue to increase in the coming years."
In response to this news, UVM's Executive Director of University Communications, Adam White, sent this statement to VermontBiz: "The University of Vermont is aware that President Garimella is a finalist for the presidency at the University of Arizona, a prominent public land-grant university."
The Arizona job opened up in April when President Robert C. Robbins announced he would step down in June 2026, or at the naming of a successor.
The announcement about Garimella is similar to the path take by former UVM president Lattie Coor, who was a legend at UVM before going to Arizona State University, where he also enjoyed a heralded career. Coor was the 15th President of Arizona State University (1990–2002) and the 21st President of the University of Vermont (1976–1989).
Prior to his time at UVM, Garimella was executive vice president of research and partnerships and a distinguished professor at Purdue University, where he helped build the university's research enterprise and online footprint and diversified its funding sources.
The Arizona regents will interview Garimella on Friday, Aug. 9, from 7-9 a.m (10 am-noon EDT). After the interview in executive session, the board may reconvene in public session, which is posted on the board's YouTube channel. The regents are responsible for the three state universities, U of Arizona, Arizona State and Northern Arizona.
"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, who served on the search committee. "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."
The U of A Search Advisory Committee has met numerous times over the last five months, vetting all presidential prospects, informed by feedback provided by the community. Throughout the search, ABOR and the search committee engaged community members and stakeholders during 19 listening tour sessions, dozens of individual meetings, three public town halls, and through emails and a campuswide survey, resulting in feedback from more than 4,200 students, employees and community members. In addition, search committee members have connected with their networks and constituencies throughout the process.
"It has been a joy to represent the U of A during the search for our next president, and I'm delighted by the collaboration and consideration of ABOR and my colleagues on the search committee," said presidential search committee member Joellen Russell, U of A Distinguished Professor of Geosciences. "We ended with a deep pool of amazing prospects, and I'm so pleased Dr. Garimella has accepted an interview with ABOR. As a sitting president of a fellow land-grant university and eminent scholar, his interest in this job means that he sees the potential and strength of this multicultural powerhouse in the desert that is the University of Arizona."
University President Robert C. Robbins announced in April that he would step down after fulfilling the terms of his current contract, set to end in June 2026, or before that if ABOR were to name a successor sooner.
Tucson.com (Arizona Daily Star) reported in March that Robbins had agreed to a 10 percent pay cut as part of a cost-savings measure for the university that is running a $177 million deficit. This reduced his base salary to $734,407. At about the same time Arizona elected a new board chair, Cecila Mata, among other top-end personnel moves.
Garimella's base salary from UVM's most recent public report in November is $509,331.
Additional information about the U of A presidential search can be found on the ABOR website, and comments on the search may be sent to [email protected].
Watch Garimella's initial press conference at UVM in 2019 below, where he also explains why universities now tend not to have a public search for a new president.
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