This Friday, I will have the honor of conferring degrees on nearly 6,700 students at the University of Arizona’s 155th Commencement at Arizona Stadium, including bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees from across the disciplines.

As Commencement 2019 rapidly approaches, I know many of our students are thinking about their future with excitement. More than a few of our graduates already have their next steps planned out, while others are charting a course among many options as this chapter of their lives comes to a close.
 

Events of the past several weeks have prompted debate over First Amendment rights, campus safety and the presence of Border Patrol on our campus. Discussion of these topics through statements and letters cannot enable understanding in the same way that real one-to-one interaction can inform our views. As I wrote earlier, we are planning a Campus Conversations series to begin this important dialogue.

My absolute top priority as president of the University of Arizona is the safety of every person on campus and every member of our campus community. Following the publicity surrounding protests against the Border Patrol for being on campus, students, faculty, staff and others on both sides of the issue have been targeted with hateful emails, social media posts and, most concerning, threats from external organizations and people who are not part of the University.

I am very pleased to announce that I have appointed Lisa Rulney as the University of Arizona’s Senior Vice President for Business Affairs and Chief Financial Officer. Lisa has served as interim CFO since October, and she will assume the permanent role immediately. 

I want to update you on developments regarding last week’s incident with the Border Patrol officers on campus and to reaffirm the University of Arizona’s relationship with the leadership and the women and men serving in U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

I am writing to let you know we have lost a pillar of the community: Don Diamond, chairman of venture capital firm Diamond Ventures, has passed away.

I am pleased to submit the University of Arizona's tuition and mandatory fees proposal for the 2019-2020 academic year. As a reminder, more than 99% of continuing undergraduate students will see a 0% increase in tuition and mandatory fees for 2019-2020, due to their enrollment in the tuition guarantee program.