Celebrating our First Year Together: U of A 2024-25
Dear University of Arizona family,
Thank you for an amazing first year!
From Homecoming last October through the height of the Arizona summer (and the far-too-occasional glorious monsoon storm), I have felt the warmth of our community. Arizona is a special place—both the university and the state—and Lakshmi and I are so pleased to be here with you as we build on 140 years of tradition and impact.
These past months have brought a bounty of experiences that have turned my appreciation for a globally respected university into love for this community. It started before I officially arrived, as I noted in my Day 1 campus message. And then, on my first day on campus, after a gracious welcome outside Old Main, I toured the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab where we build the world’s largest and most precise mirrors that enable mind-bending discoveries about the nature of the universe.
Since those beginnings there has been so much more—the Outstanding Faculty Awards where I met some exceptional members of our faculty, our wonderful Staff Social on the Mall (the first in what will be an annual tradition), a visit to Yuma and our massively successful partnership with the agricultural industry, an awe-inspiring tour of Biosphere 2, amazing work on display at the Undergraduate Biology Research Program’s annual conference, performances by our talented dance and music students, student celebrations of Diwali and Nowruz, and a recent tour of the impressive New Frontiers of Sound, a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center, among many other wonderful experiences.
At every step the U of A has surpassed its excellent reputation, and I am very happy to report here in my first annual letter that the University of Arizona today is vibrant, resilient, and ready for a bright future of leadership and impact.
We came together to craft a bold vision and set a strong foundation for our future
The past year has not been without challenges, but the fortitude of our community has allowed us to address them head on. I have been energized by the way we came together to forge a strong vision for the future with our strategic imperatives, Delivering on Our Promise. The collaborative process through over a dozen generative sessions with hundreds of faculty, staff, students, and partners was inspiring, and made clear the sense of purpose that drives this university. We have made bold commitments to our students, to advancing knowledge and innovation, and to our land-grant mission of engagement, each area reflecting the U of A’s distinctive excellence, our rootedness in place, and our promise as a global force for good.
Our success in implementing the imperatives will rest on the foundation of financial stability we have created over the past year. Thanks to the work of many in our community, we have re-envisioned how we operate and have zeroed out the budget deficit. I am proud we have done so without raising tuition for in-state students while providing well-deserved raises for employees. This accomplishment relied on new operational efficiencies, revenue growth, modernization of our athletics operations, careful financial management, and improved performance across the organization. This discipline will allow us to deliver on our promise to our students and to the communities we partner with across Arizona and around the world.
Leadership team assembled, university aligned
Vital to continuing our momentum is the cohesive and experienced leadership team we have assembled to help align, inspire and lead our community for years to come.
We took steps to more clearly define the role of each university leader, and have made organizational changes geared towards accountability, mission success, and operational efficiency. This includes combining colleges, which now all report to the provost, and reorganizing student support services to ensure a more holistic, clearly accessible and comprehensive focus on student success, our North Star. The new structure better supports our research and engagement missions, and encourages faculty, staff, and student collaboration across colleges. In particular, the changes foster sustained excellence in our health programs that are vital for Arizona’s health, economy, and societal wellbeing.
With the clear vision of Delivering on Our Promise, implementation underway led by Provost Prelock, and a cohesive, aligned team, the U of A’s future is bright.
Research powerhouse
The U of A is among the top 20 public universities nationally, reaching over $1 billion in annual research expenditures in 2024 and overcoming significant headwinds to grow again by 3.5% this past year, thanks to our faculty, staff, and students. While these are impressive figures and we plan to grow further, we are most focused on the transformative impact of this work in advancing knowledge and helping our communities.
Some highlights from the past year include development of treatments for diseases related to Pfas (aka "forever chemicals”); using precision medicine to better understand and treat chronic pain; the world’s first Petahertz-speed phototransistor that operates in ambient conditions; leading global efforts to protect crops by staying ahead of insects’ resistance to the genetic strategies used to control them; rewriting the history of humanity’s relationship with dogs; a study of the psychology of coolness that went viral in the press; the milestone 60,000th volume being added to the collection at our world-renowned Poetry Center; and a study of fossils that upended the timeline and location for arachnids’ evolution.
Our researchers continue to rule the world of space discovery, from the James Webb Space Telescope’s continuing revelations to the discoveries from OSIRIS-REx’s samples of asteroid Bennu that may point to the organic origins of life. The seeds for future leadership also came further into view this year—the Vera C. Rubin Observatory celebrated its first images and will soon start a decade-long survey of the southern sky, powered by a U of A-built mirror and sensors, while the Mirror Lab began initial testing of the high-tech support structure that will be part of the Giant Magellan Telescope and the exoplanet observation mission Pandora moved closer to launch.
This core of excellence is central to our national leadership as a top research university and enables ourstrategic pursuit of areas of research with transformational impact. We are grateful for a $20 million investment of TRIF funds by the Arizona Board of Regents through which the U of A launched four new initiatives in space technologies, AI and health, fusion commercialization, and sustainable mining, adding to our strength in the area of water, soil and desert agriculture, each of which will positively impact our state. The Office of Research and Partnerships has recruited esteemed scientists to lead these efforts, and we are engaging potential partners including the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, site of the first-ever demonstration of fusion ignition.
There is no dearth of creative new ideas among our faculty as over 70 teams, each with faculty from three or more colleges, submitted exciting proposals for our Big Idea Challenge. The six awardees receive $250,000 over two years along with strategic guidance to support their innovative advances into brand-new research areas that stand to attract major extramural funding. The university also reported more inventions than ever before this past year.
Enabling the level of success that has distinguished the U of A requires robust partnerships, as we have clearly advocated. Op-eds in The Hill and Arizona Republic, along with sustained engagement with our federal delegation and other leaders in Washington, D.C. have made the case for federal research funding. We have prioritized relationship-building with business, philanthropic, and other partners, and have found creative ways to continue supporting the work of our excellent faculty, such as with the widely lauded Bridge Funding program.
Engagement throughout Arizona, across the nation, and around the world
As Arizona’s land-grant university, the U of A has a physical presence in each of the 15 counties, and we proudly partner with the 22 Native Nations in the state.
As with research expenditures, it’s not just the numbers that matter, but the reach they represent and the impact our scale enables. We are uniquely positioned to work with all of Arizona because of our partnerships across the entire state.
I’ve been fortunate to work at three stellar land-grant universities for most of my career, and this level of engagement and impact is something I believe in strongly. In the coming year, we will double down on this part of our mission, looking to expand on the example set by Extension and its support for the agricultural industry, for the health and wellness of families and communities, and the education and training the mission provides. We will foster engagement through student learning opportunities, such as the network of shelters built by CAPLA students in southern Arizona, and through the policy and technical advice our experts can provide, as with service on the Arizona Humanities Board and Arizona Space Commission or the convening influence of the Water Resources Research Center’s Annual Conference.
Engagement also means working with partners in industry, and we have an amazing example in the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture, which I visited in December. An aerial tour with Salt River Project leaders demonstrated the sheer scale of the project that makes modern-day Phoenix possible. I have thoroughly enjoyed the offerings of Arizona Arts, and we are committed to the role that this organization plays in our community, as both an entry point to the university and a democratizing force for culture and creative expression. And I have been grateful to learn about our partnerships with Native Nations and the ways that we can continue to strengthen them, as well as our national leadership as a Hispanic Serving Institution and the benefits brought about for our students, faculty, staff, and community.
The university’s land-grant mission means we have a responsibility to help sustain Arizona’s workforce. We launched a 1-year MBA, and in healthcare we have taken a critical step to launch a 3-year MD program at both our colleges of medicine, expanded the successful MEPN accelerated nurse education program and the distinctive BSN-Integrative Health program that help keep more qualified healthcare professionals in Arizona, and launched a Master of Science in Midwifery program to help fill crucial gaps in care.
Workforce development spans the disciplines, including those that are sometimes overlooked, and I was pleased to see that the College of Humanities was featured in an article from the Hechinger Report, focused on career preparation in languages, literature, and the life of the mind, noting the 76% increase in humanities majors at the U of A and the job preparedness they bring.
I shared my thoughts on the importance of our comprehensive land-grant mission and engagement in an op-ed for the Arizona Farm Bureau and other outlets.
Proud of our faculty, staff, and student achievements
The accomplishments of our faculty place us among the nation’s best, and this past year that excellence was on full display. Mary Stiner was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. (I am delighted to be part of her cohort this year with my election to the National Academy of Engineering.) Shibin Jiang and Abhijit Mahalanobis were elected fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, and five faculty and staff members were recognized with prestigious early career awards. Janko Nikolich, Jiang Wu, and Dennis Zaritsky were named Regents Professors. In the social sciences and humanities, Bojan Louis was awarded a USA Fellowship, and Tyler Meier was recognized for sustained contributions and leadership by the Arizona Humanities Council.
Arizona International earned the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization, reflecting, as Dean of International Education Jenny Lee put it, “our longstanding commitment to making global education accessible, innovative and impactful.” This is after our record-breaking year of 17 Fulbright faculty scholars in 2023, which ranked the U of A #1 nationally.
Our rankings reflect this excellence: 26 among U.S. public institutions and 102 globally, out of nearly 22,000 institutions evaluated by the Center for World University Rankings—placing us in the top 0.5% of the world; placement on the Princeton Review’s Best 391 Colleges list; excellence in graduate education, including top ten programs in space sciences, Management Information Sciences, Earth sciences, photography, and legal writing; as well as top rankings in water resources, entomology, and so many more throughout the university.
Our students’ accolades and achievements this past year demonstrate the same. We were excited with the news that Bryce Wilson was awarded a Churchill Scholarship to study clinical neurosciences at Cambridge University, and Ojas Sanghi won a Truman Scholarship, with plans to pursue a master’s degree in technology and policy or doctorate related to artificial intelligence. Also exciting—the U of A team winning the Regents Cup in a strong team showing, coming in first and second in the storytelling competition and second in the Oxford debate.
Wildcat Nation stands strong in the Big 12
In its first year in a new athletic conference, the U of A’s status as a national leader—longtime member of a Power 4 conference, and multiple national championships in major sports—was impressive.
Our student-athletes, dedicated coaches and staff, and amazing fans are even more remarkable, and the results speak for themselves: our Women’s Triathlon team brought home the national title in only the second year of the program’s existence, we celebrated a national championship for our amazing Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team, and Wildcats won three Big 12 titles (Men’s Tennis, Women’s Golf, and Baseball) in our first year in the conference. At every turn, Arizona performed at the highest level on the biggest stages.
Our fans showed up again and again as well, teaching me the true meaning of Bear Down spirit. From the Red-Blue Showcase in my second week to Caleb Love’s heroics against Iowa State, or Baseball’s never-say-die run through the postseason, our Wildcats inspired all ages. We’re off to a strong start for Fall sports in 2025, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings.
The excellent performance of our student-athletes carried over to the classroom. The Wildcats set a record-breaking GPA across all sports in Fall 2024 only to break it again in the spring. The priority we place on academic success will continue, and I wouldn’t be surprised if more records are set.
Donors, alumni, and the extended U of A community power our success
The U of A community extends far beyond our campuses, and not just because of the statewide presence driven by our land-grant mission. With over 350,000 alumni, thousands of dedicated donors, fans and supporters throughout the nation, the U of A is a beloved institution.
We have had a highly successful year in fundraising, bringing us close to our $3 billion campaign goal. Examples include a generous gift from Pat Gerleman for scholarships for the Pre-Medical Admissions Pathway and Honors Early Assurance programs in the College of Medicine – Tucson, an anonymous gift to the Center for University Education Scholarship, support from Humberto and Czarina Lopez and from Ginny Clements and Tom Rogers toward an endowment for cardiovascular research at the Sarver Heart Center, the Edwin and Alma Lakin Holocaust, Human Rights, and Comparative Genocide Endowment with partial support from Paul and Alice Baker, a mining education and research gift from Tim and Rhonda Snider, and a Skoll Foundation gift for the Ending Pandemics Academy in the College of Public Health. With details to be announced soon, we received a transformational commitment of $20 million to elevate study abroad programming and support at the U of A.
Our donors give generously because they believe in what we’re doing here at the U of A. I have sensed their passion repeatedly when interacting with our supporters this year, and as we continue to build momentum, I know that these partnerships will continue.
Looking forward
As I said at my installation, the U of A is distinctive among our peers in part because of how we have drawn our strengths from our unique home. Like the Saguaro—a keystone species that plays a crucial role in the Sonoran Desert ecosystem—the U of A is a keystone institution for our state. As the U of A thrives, so too does Arizona, and I again want to thank the members of the Arizona Board of Regents for entrusting me with the honor of leading this great institution.
In the year to come, we will face challenges, as will our state. Uncertainty will likely continue to affect institutions of higher education. Nevertheless, we will continue to thrive because our common vision gives us clarity and focus, and our strategic imperatives have defined our direction.
Indeed, Provost Prelock has been hard at work with our academic leadership team to develop academic success goals (ASGs) that will bring our values and priorities to life. The resilience I have seen over the past eleven months, the excellence that defines the U of A, and the deep support we have from our community will continue to sustain us. We will continue to deepen our roots and expand our horizons. We will continue to explore and innovate. And we will continue to find strength of purpose and common cause in our shared work to deliver on our promise as Arizona’s keystone institution.
With sincere gratitude and great optimism,
Suresh Garimella
President