University of Arizona in the News

Undergraduate enrollment at colleges and universities in Arizona has grown by 4.5% since spring 2019. At the same time, enrollment nationally has declined by 7.8%, according to a recent analysis by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Arizona was one of only eight states to see an enrollment increase. 

The University of Arizona and 19 other top U.S. research universities announced the formation of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities, dedicated to increasing opportunities for a population that has been historically underserved by higher education. "This alliance, has come together, 20 presidents and chancellors coming together, to rally around two common goals.

The James Webb Space Telescope recently took a hit to its sensitive primary mirror from a micrometeoroid "beyond what the team could have tested on the ground," according to NASA. The mirror that took the hit will be adjusted to counter the distortion and noise that resulted from the impact. "Webb got launched like a beautiful new car, and after you go to the parking garage a few times, there's going to be a few dings," said Marcia Rieke, an astronomer at the University of Arizona who leads one of Webb's instrument teams.

A Jaw-dropping moment this morning for TODAY Show anchor Savannah Guthrie during a segment on reunions. The University of Arizona alumna enjoyed a surprise reunion with fellow Wildcat Melissa Manas, her best friend from their undergrad days in Tucson. University Communications assisted with this coverage. 

The COVID situation, in terms of hospitalizations and deaths, is in a much better place now, but it is not the best science can do, and we must continue to advance against it, writes Deepta Bhattacharya, a University of Arizona professor of immunology, in this guest column.

The University of Arizona and 19 other top U.S. research universities today announced the formation of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities, dedicated to increasing opportunities for a population that has been historically underserved by higher education.

A new study identifies a second-century drought unmatched in severity by the current drought or previously identified droughts. The research finds that compared to the current 22-year drought in the Colorado River, with only 84% of the average water flow, the water flow during a 22-year period in the second century was much lower, just 68% of the average water flow. "Tree-ring records are sparse back to the second century," said Connie Woodhouse, a professor of geography and development at the University of Arizona and a study co-author.

The polarization of policing has made it politically difficult for firearm restrictions to pass at the federal level. Unlike gun control efforts of the 1990s, American police themselves now broadly opposed any limits on gun ownership. "The assault-weapons ban, it really wasn't supported from the perspective of this is gun control, but rather this is another tool on the war on crime," said University of Arizona professor of sociology Jennifer Carlson. "They see gun control in terms of this war that police see themselves fighting in urban streets."

If you like spice and you've not been acquainted with chiltepin before, there is much to learn about this tiny, incredibly significant chile pepper. It is considered the world's first chile to be domesticated. The University of Arizona notes that the chiltepin was first cultivated around 6,000 to 7,000 years ago.

When Willem de Kooning's "Woman-Ochre" went on display at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles on Tuesday, it was the first time the famous painting had been publicly exhibited since it was brazenly cut from its frame at the University of Arizona Museum of Art by a pair of thieves more than three decades ago. Now, after almost three years of painstaking work by Getty conservators, the damaged de Kooning has been restored and will be on display at the Getty until Aug. 28.