May 15, 2020

UArizona Begins Distributing CARES Act Funds to Students

TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arizona has received $15.4 million for student emergency relief through the CARES Act and will use all of the funds to provide emergency financial aid grants to students within one year of students applying for the grants.

The University of Arizona disbursed the first batch of funds on May 14 to 8,013 eligible undergraduate, graduate and professional students who experienced disruption as the result of COVID-19 and were displaced from campus housing, lost funding for meal plans, had to unexpectedly travel long distances and/or live in rural areas of Arizona.

The university is awarding the emergency relief as follows:

  • approximately $5 million in direct grants to students
  • approximately $5 million via an application process embedded in the current Student Emergency Fund process
  • approximately $5 million during summer session and the fall semester

According to federal guidelines, these funds are available exclusively to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus. Funds cannot be granted on need alone or due to financial loss because of COVID-19.

University of Arizona Vice President for Enrollment Management Kasey Urquidez will be available today, Friday, May 15, at 11 a.m. (PT) to answer media questions regarding CARES Act disbursement. The Zoom availability will be recorded and made available immediately following.

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Media contacts:
Pam Scott
University Communications
Office: 520-621-2194 | Cell: 509-570-4610
pscott@arizona.edu
 
Alexis Blue
University Communications
520-626-4386
ablue@arizona.edu

The University of Arizona, a land-grant university with two independently accredited medical schools, is one of the nation's top public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. Established in 1885, the university is widely recognized as a student-centric university and has been designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. The university ranked in the top 20 in 2018 in research expenditures among all public universities, according to the National Science Foundation, and is a leading Research 1 institution with $687 million in annual research expenditures. The university advances the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships as a member of the Association of American Universities, the 65 leading public and private research universities in the U.S. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $4.1 billion annually. For the latest on the University of Arizona response to the novel coronavirus, visit the university's COVID-19 webpage.