Bear Down Momentum: U of A 2025-26
Dear University of Arizona family,
What a year it has been for the U of A! One of transformation, moving our great institution into a bright future while staying true to our identity and values.
We expanded pathways to learning opportunities by launching Arizona's first rural medical school branch in Yuma and modernizing our online education strategy to serve all learners, including the full integration of University of Arizona Global Campus into our university. We remain among the nation's top 20 public research institutions for the seventh consecutive year. Our student-athletes united campus and community through exceptional performances, like our men's basketball team reaching the Final Four for the first time in 25 years and Arizona Athletics capturing the Commissioner’s Cup for the first time in school history. And, we engaged thoughtfully in shaping the future of higher education by articulating our commitment to academic freedom, merit-based research funding, and institutional independence.
Since I shared my first annual letter with you, our community has accomplished much, and I have seen more of what makes the University of Arizona so special. I visited each of our colleges and many of our research institutes to hear from faculty, staff, and students about their work.
In Yavapai County I saw how our extension services create opportunity and impact, and in Phoenix we celebrated 10 years with Banner Health as our clinical partner in providing comprehensive academic medical care for the state. In Paris, I joined world leaders at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) headquarters to advance our research collaboration that has now expanded into a trilateral platform. In Taiwan, we formalized partnerships positioning Arizona at the center of the global semiconductor workforce.
It is fitting that this momentum builds as we celebrate 100 years of our iconic rallying cry, Bear Down. More than a simple motto, Bear Down encapsulates the U of A’s distinctive spirit and our capacity to persevere in every challenge.
Reshaping the university around our North Star
A year ago, we published Delivering on Our Promise, the University of Arizona’s strategic imperatives and our collective vision for excellence and impact over the next ten years.
Since then, this community has put that vision into practice, especially with the development and implementation of our Academic Success Goals. Through our Academic Advising Milestones initiative, all new first-time students now meet with their advisor during summer orientation and at least once during their first year, which is known to positively impact retention. Counseling services are now available at no cost to all main campus students, because mental health is foundational to student success. And beginning this fall, all first-year students will be expected to live on campus, where our data show they achieve an 11% higher GPA and a 50% higher graduation rate. To support increased residential demand, we have begun work on a new 1,368-bed housing facility opening in Fall 2028.
We are bucking the national trend by thoughtfully managing our student enrollment, and this strategy is seeing desired results, with more applicants accepting our admission offer. This is all while keeping resident undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees flat for the third consecutive year. This year, we achieved meaningful gains in our four-year and six-year graduation rates. We also adjusted our need- versus merit-based financial aid to meet a greater portion of unmet need for Pell-eligible Arizona students, moving toward a holistic awarding model that reduces financial stress.
We were proud to earn the new Intentionally Thriving Institution designation as part of our recertification with the Seal of Excelencia, which recognizes our commitment to retaining and supporting students on the pathway to graduation and lifelong success. Our commitment to our students continues with Arizona Online, which has earned top rankings, and our ROTC cadets, who have been named best in the nation. Our institution was recognized as one of the nation's top producers of Fulbright Scholars. Building on that distinction, seven faculty members were named Fulbright Scholars for 2026-27, while eight students earned Fulbright awards of their own.
We believe in the value of a global education, and part of that is our commitment to building something unique at the U of A, where study abroad is not just desirable but the expectation. We are on pace to triple participation within three years, with 941 students studying abroad this past year and meaningful increases among Pell recipients, military-affiliated students, and first-generation Wildcats. Students who study abroad have a 92% three-year retention rate and a 79.5% four-year graduation rate. Our commitment has been made possible in part by a $20 million gift from the Garcia Family Foundation, ensuring that students from all backgrounds can access this experience.
And our students have the opportunity to pursue their own research projects, working side-by-side with world-renowned experts across a comprehensive range of disciplines. Among them, 32 students representing various colleges presented their findings through our Big Idea Challenge, a transdisciplinary initiative designed to catalyze research with large-scale impact. All six faculty-led projects were enthusiastically renewed after their first-year review.
Driving discovery that moves the world
The U of A is one of the world’s best places to pursue discovery and innovation, a standing I was proud to see reaffirmed as we ranked among the nation’s top 20 public research universities yet again. This year, research awards grew approximately 17%, a result made even more significant given the headwinds facing research universities nationwide. We remain resilient through deliberate diversification: non-profit research expenditures grew 32% and private for-profit expenditures grew 22%.
Our strategy for the future relies on five key areas encapsulated in our strategic research initiatives: space science, technology, and national security; the promise of fusion energy; AI-driven health innovation; the future of sustainable mining and critical minerals; and environmental systems, water, and arid lands agriculture.
The Kyl Institute for National Security launched this year to accelerate collaboration between academia, government, and industry on research with national security applications. The U.S. Space Force selected the U of A to lead the $8.6 million Space Strategic Technology Institute for Ultra-High-Resolution Imaging. This initiative complements our longstanding global leadership in space discovery. Our researchers continue deploying innovative technologies across the solar system, from the Pandora mission managed from our Multi-Mission Operations Center to instruments being built for the Lazuli Space Telescope, while advancing fundamental insights like how supermassive black holes form and evolve.
Health and human flourishing run through much of what we do. Our researchers are using artificial intelligence to develop personalized cancer vaccines, create smart bandages that predict wound infections, and detect early signs of frailty. There are approximately $30 million in active grants dedicated to AI-driven health innovation, part of a campuswide total of roughly $100 million in AI and machine learning funding that underscores our commitment to leading in this transformative space. In parallel, a $43.6 million NIH award—the first of its kind in Arizona history—now supports the Southwest Center for Advancing Clinical and Translational Innovation, accelerating the translation of research into new treatments.
We are positioning Arizona as the epicenter for sustainable innovation in industries vital to our state's future. The Arizona Hub for Agricultural Innovation bridges discovery and field-ready solutions in soil health and water conservation. MiningWerx, supported by one of only 14 accredited mining engineering programs in the country, will modernize mining practices to ensure secure access to critical minerals through strategic collaborations with industry. Simultaneously, we are combining our world-class expertise in optics and engineering with private and federal partners to accelerate the commercialization of fusion energy, advancing clean, abundant power sources that will sustain our society.
Beyond these priorities, we deliver transformational impact. Tech Launch Arizona translates university research into real-world economic benefit, generating $459.7 million in economic output and supporting 3,070 jobs statewide in FY 2025 alone.
Engaging with our Arizona and global communities
As a land-grant university, engagement with our communities is central to who we are. The discoveries we make and the students we educate are our most meaningful contributions to Arizona and the world.
Nowhere is this clearer than in Yuma, where the U of A’s expertise in areas like soil science and water resources management supports an agriculture industry that generates $4.4 billion in state economic activity. Yuma is now home to our latest commitment to address the need across all of Arizona of approximately 500 additional physicians to meet current demands. We are rising to stem that deficit with the state’s first rural medical school branch and 3-year MD program in partnership with Onvida Health.
We have deepened partnerships with Arizona's community colleges to build seamless transfer pathways. Nationally, transfer students can lose up to 30 credit hours in the transfer process. That number should be zero, and we are working to make it so. We developed a transfer pathway optimization tool designed to minimize time to degree and reduce credit loss for students pursuing sequential associate and bachelor's degrees. Through UAGC, we launched an Associate-to-Bachelor's degree pathway available to all Arizona community college students at $295 per credit. We believe a university education should be accessible regardless of where a student begins.
This year, we celebrated a decade-long collaboration with Banner Health that has redefined academic medicine and healthcare delivery across the state, generating $59 billion in economic impact while training more than 1,900 physicians and healthcare professionals. Together, we have invested $2.4 billion to modernize infrastructure, expand opportunities, and build a pipeline of qualified caregivers to meet critical workforce needs.
As Arizona emerges as a global semiconductor hub, the U of A is shaping the ecosystem that will sustain it. This year we formalized a partnership with National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan to establish a Talent and Innovation Hub, producing culturally competent engineers and technicians. We also joined partners in Kaohsiung to deepen collaboration in semiconductor technologies, research and workforce development. We are positioning our state and our students at the center of the world's most critical technology industries.
This year, I joined global university leaders at CNRS to advance the France-Arizona Institute that tackles grand challenges from climate resilience to food security and human health. The institute was renewed and expanded to include Mexico's Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Meanwhile, our partnership with Kazakhstan's Kozybayev University exemplifies how our microcampus network catalyzes collaboration around the world, translating academic cooperation and joint research projects into real-world innovation.
Solidifying a strong foundation for the future
We have continued to solidify our fiscal foundation. We balanced the budget in FY 2026 and have again developed a balanced budget for FY 2027. S&P Global Ratings revised the university’s credit rating outlook to stable, citing improvements in our operations, more transparent reporting and oversight of financial performance. This commitment to transparency is central to Arizona Forward, our new budget model. By distributing revenue to colleges based on teaching, enrollment, and research activity, this model aligns resource allocation with our mission and creates clear incentives for student success and research excellence.
These improvements benefit both our national standing and morale on campus. The changes that enabled this progress are thanks to the hard work of thousands of faculty and staff, whose discipline and dedication make it possible for us to achieve our mission.
We modernized how we communicate with our campus community during critical moments, launching SafeCats, as well as completing comprehensive updates to our Emergency Response and Crisis Communications Plans.
Our leadership team has also continued to come together, building the cohesion and alignment necessary to drive our long-term vision forward. We welcomed new academic leaders, including new deans in Fine Arts, Agriculture, Pharmacy, Law, Optical Sciences, and Education. We completed comprehensive organizational reviews of University Information Technology Services, Human Resources, and Facilities Management, implementing changes in each that reduce duplication and clarify responsibilities. We fully integrated health sciences administrative functions into university operations, creating a unified academic and research enterprise that elevates health as a university-wide priority.
We announced the realignment and modernization of our online portfolio to ensure that both Arizona Online and UAGC are optimized for the needs of students. Our accreditor reaffirmed UAGC's accreditation for six years with six commendations and no areas of concern. The U.S. Department of Education formally designated UAGC as a public institution and released restrictions on growth.
Our faculty earned recognition across disciplines this year that should spark pride in all Wildcats. Two professors were named Guggenheim Fellows and two more were elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, while our Senior Vice President for Research and Partnerships Tomás Díaz de la Rubia was named a National Academy of Inventors Fellow.
We have also strengthened our university programs that recognize staff and faculty accomplishments, from the second annual Staff Social on the Mall to our first annual Convergence Awards. We are also developing a renewed recognition process for staff years of service and retirement. United by our North Star of success for every student, our faculty and staff all contribute to the U of A’s mission. It is important that we celebrate their achievements and express gratitude for their service.
Powering excellence with our supporters
The past year was the best for fundraising in the U of A’s history, as the U of A Foundation reached $425 million in support for the fiscal year, which is an increase of more than $85 million from the prior year. We are also deeply grateful that the university surpassed the $3 billion goal of the Fuel Wonder campaign.
Every time I meet with our donors, I am impressed with how deeply they care about the University of Arizona and gratified by their faith in our mission.
Uniting the community with Athletics successes
When our men’s basketball team went to the Final Four for the first time in 25 years, it was clear to me how much Arizona Athletics is an integral part of the Tucson community. The Wildcats finished 36-3 and won both the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships. Rallying behind the Wildcats brought together Tucson and fans from all over. On the football field, we won nine games, reclaimed the Territorial Cup, and earned a trip to the Holiday Bowl.
Across the department, 17 of 22 programs advanced to postseason competition, including our triathlon team capturing its second consecutive national championship. Volleyball advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, men’s tennis advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history, and men’s golf had their best finish in the NCAA Championship since 2004. This success resonated far beyond our campus, as the U of A led the Big 12 in social media engagement and appeared in more than 120 ESPN broadcasts to extend our national visibility.
Arizona Athletics captured the Big 12's Allstate Commissioner's Cup for the first time in school history, an award that recognizes academic excellence alongside competitive achievements and community engagement.
Our student-athletes achieved a department-record 92% graduation success rate, with seven programs posting a perfect 100%. For the 17th consecutive semester they have held an average GPA of 3.0 or higher. Their postgraduate employment jumped from 74% to 95% over the past two years.
To sustain this momentum, we extended long-term agreements for seven head coaches, securing leaders who are building winning cultures across our programs, including football and men’s basketball. We are also securing the future of Arizona Athletics through the university’s first-ever naming rights partnerships, which include our newly re-named Casino Del Sol Stadium and McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. The Wildcat Club generated approximately $50 million in commitments, making FY 2026 the most successful fundraising year in department history.
Looking forward
As nearly 14,000 graduating Wildcats have learned this year, commencement does not mean an end to education, and likewise, a successful year does not mean the end of our work. Just as our students will always be learning, we will always be improving how we educate, reaching for even greater research heights, and fostering partnerships with our community collaborators.
In the coming year, we will finalize our five-year Capital Plan and Campus Master Plan, laying out a long-term vision for how our physical campus evolves to serve students and support research for decades to come. We will begin implementing recommendations from the Campus Community Project to improve residential life and dining. And we will open our new Welcome Center and our One Stop, a centralized service point where students can access support from Admissions, Financial Aid, the Registrar, and the Bursar in one location, that will transform the initial campus experience for prospective students and their families.
I am grateful to our faculty and staff for their dedication to our mission, and to our students, whose success remains our North Star. We are strengthened by the unwavering support of our community partners, alumni, donors, and sponsors. My thanks to the governor and our state legislators for their partnership in securing Arizona’s future. Finally, I want to thank the Arizona Board of Regents for their leadership and their critical role in ensuring the University of Arizona remains a resilient keystone institution for our state and and a model university for our nation.
As we celebrate 100 years of Bear Down, we are already looking forward to the next 100 years of being a force for good.
With sincere gratitude and great optimism,
Suresh Garimella
President
Previous Annual Letters:
Celebrating our First Year Together: U of A 2024-25
Joining the U of A Community