The University of Vermont will soon be without a leader after its president was tapped by the University of Arizona.
The Arizona Board of Regents voted unanimously Friday to appoint Dr. Suresh Garimella the 23rd president of the University of Arizona.
Search committee member and University of Arizona Distinguished Professor of Geology Dr. Joellen Russell said the current University of Vermont president matches their needs.
“To get a sitting president of a fellow land grant university, given that we’ve had our share of troubles recently, is extraordinary,” Russell said. “He shares our values as a land grant university. He serves his state, his students and the nation the same way we do here at the University of Arizona.”
Professor of Religious Studies and Executive Director of Online Education Dr. Caleb Simmons said the search committee was clear about the qualifications the University of Arizona needed in a new leader.
“Our next leader needed to have a history of distinguished academic excellence as a scholar and as a leader, understand what it means to serve our students and our state through a mission of access and cooperation as a land grant institution, and be someone with a clear vision for the future. The qualifications were lofty, nearly impossible,” noted Simmons. “But we got the unicorn who not only meets but exceeds all the areas that we desired.”
Like many colleges and universities, the University of Arizona has had some financial issues and Garimella was asked how he will balance new initiatives with fiscal challenges.
“I have a lot of experience working within financial constraints in higher education. It is not an easy time in higher ed,” Garimella said. “At the University of Vermont we are very tuition dependent and yet we froze tuition for five years and yet we invested in all the right things and were able to move forward. So it’s a question of looking at your expenses carefully and trying to diversify your revenue and grow your revenue. I feel like my background gives me enough confidence that we will be able to get past this moment rather quickly.”
Garimella, who was appointed UVM president in 2019, says he has raised the college’s institutional ambition and enhanced its land grant mission.
“We’ve doubled our research funding in five years. The number of applications went up by 65 percent or so. More first gen students, more students of color, more students from outside of New England. We’re in the top 5 percent among public institutions in terms of retention and graduation rates and I’m very proud of that,” related Garimella. “And I think that we truly sort of brought to life the land grant mission of the University. I mean we’re engaged in every one of our counties. I think that it’s a different UVM from five years ago and I’m very, very proud of that, that the faculty, staff, students and community came together to get there.”
Garimella said he will work for the next two months to ensure a smooth transition. The UVM Board of Trustees has not responded to requests for comment. In a letter to the college community, Board Chair Ron Lumbra congratulated President Garimella and said “It is heartening to see an institution of Arizona’s size and stature recognize the excellence of the University of Vermont... We will conduct a rigorous national search for our next president and have every confidence that the university’s successes and trajectory under President Garimella’s leadership will help to attract exceptional candidates. Updates on next steps in this process will come soon.”
