Suresh Garimella. UVM photo.
From Catamount to a Wildcat
by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Arizona Board of Regents announced today that Suresh Garimella, president of the University of Vermont, is a candidate for the position of 23rd president of the University of Arizona. Meanwhile, the University of Arizona is dealing with a $177 million deficit, the previous board chair stepped down earlier this year and the current president agreed to take a pay cut.
Seven Days was first to report the story of Garimella being interviewed by U of A.
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 will be available via livestream and posted on the board's YouTube channel in the following days. 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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