Suresh Garimella, president of the University of Vermont since 2019, has been selected to serve as the new leader of the University of Arizona
TUCSON, Arizona — Suresh Garimella, president of the University of Vermont since 2019, has been chosen as the new leader of the University of Arizona.
The Arizona Board of Trustees voted Friday to appoint Garimella to succeed Robert Robbins, who has been president of the Tucson-based university for the past seven years and had planned to step down at the end of his contract or sooner if his successor is chosen first.
Robbins left after the university faced a budget deficit resulting from a miscalculation of cash reserves.
Robbins, who has taken responsibility for the crisis, said some of the school’s financial problems also stemmed from unpaid loans the university had made to the athletic department in recent years. Robbins said the funds had been depleted ahead of the school’s move from the Pacific-12 Conference to the Big 12 next year.
Robbins is praised for his contributions to student retention and his successful fundraising campaign for the university.
Before leading the University of Vermont, Garimella was executive vice president for research and partnerships at Purdue University.
The University of Arizona had approximately 42,000 undergraduate students and another 11,000 graduate students last school year.