It has been a great first four weeks of the Fall 2021 semester. I have enjoyed seeing students back on campus, and, for those of you who are here, I hope you have as well. I appreciate your continuing efforts mitigating the spread of the delta variant and, more generally, for your care and compassion for all the members of our campus community. 

The University of Arizona is updating its Administrative Directive on Face Coverings in light of changing public health conditions in Southern Arizona and updated guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Pima County.
 

With the guilty verdicts announced in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin this afternoon, I want to acknowledge the emotional toll the events of the past eleven months, since the death of George Floyd, has taken on all of us, particularly Black members of our University community.

I am pleased to submit the University of Arizona’s tuition and mandatory fees proposal for the 2021-2022 academic year. As a reminder, more than 99% of continuing undergraduate students will experience no increase in tuition or mandatory fees for 2021-2022, due to their enrollment in the tuition guarantee program.

Arizona Board of Regents Chair Larry E. Penley sent the following message to the University of Arizona community today. 

We are pleased to announce the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) has approved Ashford University's application for a change of ownership. This approval allows for the acquisition of Ashford University from Zovio Inc. by The University of Arizona Global Campus (Global Campus), an Arizona nonprofit corporation. 

Thank you for your continued commitment to the health and safety of our community as we complete the fall semester. For the Spring 2021 semester, we will continue to offer four course formats, in-person, flex in-person, live online and iCourse. For courses with in-person components, we anticipate starting the semester in Stage 2, described in the full message, based on the most current data trends and continued consultation with our public health experts, epidemiologists, and campus community. The specific stage classifications and ramp-up plan have been adjusted from Fall 2020 (see the breakouts in the full message at the link). 

Over the past several months, as part of our commitment to shared governance and transparency, my team and I have consulted with numerous stakeholders across campus as we have explored every avenue to finance the mission of our incredible institution through the pandemic crisis. 

Given timing constraints, our responsibility to begin addressing our revenue shortfall, and the desire to preserve as many student, staff and faculty jobs as possible, I have decided to move forward with the proposed furlough and furlough-based salary programs, to begin on Aug. 10.