University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella welcomed the Arizona Board of Regents to campus Thursday for the board's first meeting at the U of A since Garimella assumed his role as the university's 23rd president in October.  


In his remarks to the regents, Garimella reflected on the university's recent research success, including the appointment of accomplished scientist and executive Tomás Díaz de la Rubia as senior vice president for research and innovation. A nationally renowned materials scientist and engineer, Díaz de la Rubia will oversee approximately $1 billion in research activity in addition to leading the commercialization arm of the university.  


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Garimella also discussed the breadth of the U of A's strength as a leader in interdisciplinary research, describing visits he attended with three major partners that all took place on Oct. 23: a National Science Foundation team that visited campus to consider a five-year renewal for the university's Center for Quantum Networks, which is working to develop the quantum internet; a symposium at University of Arizona Health Sciences' Comprehensive Center for Pain and Addiction with the president and other leaders from Oklahoma State, which is a central strategic partner in the center's ambitious goals to combat the opioid crisis; and a gathering with the president and other leaders of CNRS – the NSF's French counterpart – which in 2021 chose the U of A as the site for its first major international collaborative center, the France-Arizona Institute for Global Grand Challenges.  


The U of A has been shining in athletics as well. Garimella congratulated the women's triathlon team on winning the NCAA Division 1 Triathlon title on Nov. 9, at a race hosted by USA Triathlon, an accomplishment made even more impressive by the fact that the team is only in its second year.  


During Thursday's meeting, the board also received a financial update from John Arnold, senior vice president and chief operating and chief financial officer, who highlighted impressive strides made by the university's dedicated faculty, staff, researchers and administrators.  

Thanks to the hard work of colleges and divisions to adjust spending and enhance efficiencies, the university is projected to end fiscal year 2025 with 76 days cash on hand, an improvement of nine days from the original budget projection in June. The university projects to close the remaining $65 million budget deficit and to begin FY 2026 with a positive budget outlook. Additionally, the university employment headcounts and payroll expenditures have returned to levels comparable to the first quarter of fiscal year 2023.  


The athletic department is experiencing a financial upswing thanks to streamlined expenses and strong ticket sales. Overall season ticket sales are up 11% for football, 4% for men’s basketball and 17% for student tickets. Expenditures are on track to decrease by more than 6%. These trends demonstrate a strengthening financial direction for athletics.

Additional U of A highlights from this week's ABOR meeting: 

• More than 30 U of A undergraduate students, representing all U of A colleges with undergraduate programs, shared their transformative research and scholarship experiences during a Student Showcase at a regents reception on Thursday evening.
• On Friday, a group of graduate students and faculty will have a private breakfast with the regents to discuss their research, its impact, and the importance of interdisciplinary work for tackling major global challenges in line with the university’s flagship land-grant mission. 
• The board approved four U of A centers as new standalone academic organizational units: the Arizona Research Center for Housing Equity and Sustainability in the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture's Drachman Institute for the Built Environment; the Health Equity Research Center in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health; the New Frontiers of Sound Science and Technology Center in the College of Engineering's Department of Materials Science and Engineering; and the Western Environmental Science Technical Assistance Center for Environmental Justice in the Zuckerman College of Public Health.