Sustaining our Excellence, Navigating Change
Dear students and colleagues,
Last week, I had the privilege of attending a showcase of our university’s interdisciplinary expertise at an annual engagement event in Phoenix. The following day, Arizona Board of Regents Chair Cecilia Mata highlighted the groundbreaking discoveries of our OSIRIS-REx mission and recognized accolades recently bestowed upon our faculty, staff and students. Clearly, our university continues to generate far-reaching impact throughout the world, thanks to your individual excellence and the collective strength of our institution.
To build on this foundation of excellence, we also continue to strengthen our financial health and, more than halfway into the fiscal year, we remain on track to close the remaining budget deficit and begin FY 2026 with a positive outlook. This progress has been made possible by the extraordinary efforts of our faculty and staff and their dedication to the success of our students.
As part of our commitment to invest in our faculty and staff, I am pleased to announce that we will provide salary increases in fiscal year 2026. I have made this decision with our senior leadership team despite the potential financial impact of the changing federal landscape.
In recent weeks, university leaders and teams across campus have been working together to understand the full scope of anticipated legislation, guidance and regulations from all levels of government. In preparation, we are engaging with federal and state agencies, higher education associations, peer institutions, and the Arizona Board of Regents.
As we assess the impact of the federal updates on our operations, research activities, and our faculty, staff, and students, we are taking a thorough and measured approach to determine the appropriate next steps. I emphasize to you that the implementation of the recent federal directives is a complex process, especially given potential legal challenges, variance in agency interpretations, and varying timelines, and it will take time to understand their full impact.
While our comprehensive review moves forward, we are providing guidance to our faculty members to mitigate the potential impact on our research activities. The Office of Research, Innovation & Impact (RII) has created a Federal Funding Updates webpage (requires NetID) to keep our research community informed of the latest developments.
Additionally, I acknowledge the uncertainty, questions and concerns raised by some members of our community. I want to assure you of two things regarding our mission and our values. First, these changes and our efforts to understand them do not change our commitment to our land-grant mission as one of America’s leading research institutions. We are and will remain committed to the work you do every day, to the success of our students, and to the impact we have on our state and the world.
Second, we will continue to uphold our university commitment to fostering a campus environment where everyone can thrive as we advance our academic, research and service missions.
As a public institution, we will also continue to adhere to all applicable laws at the local, state and federal levels. We are taking a proactive approach toward ensuring compliance with new policies and procedures that will impact higher education institutions in the coming weeks and months. This includes creating an inventory of our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA)-related programs, jobs and activities, and assessing the impact on the university community.
As developments continue to emerge and new information becomes available, our university leaders are committed to communicating timely updates and guidance. The Office of the Provost has developed a webpage with key resources while we navigate changes.
Moving forward, I know we will continue to work together as a university community, caring for each other and focused on our mission while remaining adaptable to the changing landscape in higher education.
Thank you for your unwavering commitment to our mission and community.
Sincerely,
Suresh
This email was sent to: students, faculty, staff, and DCCs.