Prerana Sannappanavar

U of A Faculty Senate opposes Trump compact; provost says no decision yet The University of Arizona Faculty Senate approved a resolution calling on the UA to reject the White House’s compact requiring ideological, political and financial commitments in return for federal fu...

🚨: UA faculty senators voted to oppose the White House higher education compact — which has sent ideological, political and financial demands to nine universities including the UA in return for federal funding advantages. Read more:

tucson.com/news/local/e...

White House wants only 'limited' feedback from U of A on proposed deal In another development, two Tucson City Council members are asking the mayor and council to urge the University of Arizona against signing the White House deal.

NEW: The Arizona Daily Star @tucson.com has obtained the letter by the Trump administration to the U of A. It shows there is little wiggle room in the "compact" that the White House is offering the U of A and eight other schools, as opposition builds locally.
tucson.com/news/local/s...

White House wants only 'limited' feedback from U of A on proposed deal In another development, two Tucson City Council members are asking the mayor and council to urge the University of Arizona against signing the White House deal.

🚨: The White House letter to the UofA on the proposed higher education compact states an Oct. 20 deadline for UA President Suresh Garimella to get back with “limited, targeted feedback,” and a Nov. 21 deadline to sign onto the compact. Read my exclusive:

tucson.com/news/local/s...

Tim Steller's column: U of A's eager collaboration made it a Trump target For Star subscribers: When the Trump administration has demanded something, the University of Arizona's president has been eager to please. Now he must summon the courage to stand up to

Column: The University of Arizona has distinguished itself as compliant collaborators with the Trump administration's takeover of higher ed. No wonder they were invited to be among the president's 9 special pets. Fortunately, this "compact" is easy to reject.
tucson.com/news/local/s...

🚨: The 10-page proposed higher education compact by the Trump administration asks universities to: ban the use of race or sex in hiring and admissions; freeze tuition for five years; cap international undergrad enrollment at 15%; among others. Read the full list of demands here:

Conservative group says universities deserve White House's action Conservative Goldwater Institute says the compact the White House is asking the University of Arizona is a “damning indictment of our higher education institutions.”

🚨: A conservative Phoenix think tank says the compact the White House is asking nine universities to sign, including the University of Arizona, is a “damning indictment of our higher education institutions.” Read for more reactions to the compact:

tucson.com/news/local/e...

Faculty chair slams 'dirty compromises' White House asks of University of Arizona White House asks the U of A and eight other universities to pledge support for President Trump's political priorities in return for priority access to federal funds.

🚨: UA is one of nine universities in the U.S. to be invited by the White House to sign a new higher education proposed compact, with demands such as ending race and sex-based discrimination, quelling grade inflation, and promoting intellectual diversity.

tucson.com/news/local/e...

Pima Community College appoints provost Pima Community College has announced Ian Roark as its provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and workforce development.

Pima Community College has announced Ian Roark — who served in the interim role since 2024 — as its provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and workforce development. Roark has been with the college since 2015.

tucson.com/news/local/e...

U of A cuts back on financial aid for out-of-state students University of Arizona Provost Patricia Prelock says the UA intentionally changed its enrollment strategy to have smaller, “right-sized” classes, give more access to Arizona students and those who need...

UA Provost Patricia Prelock detailed the UA's new enrollment strategy, which included reducing the amount of merit-based financial aid for out-of-state students — one of the major reasons stated in UA's 2023 financial crisis. Read my exclusive:

tucson.com/news/local/s...

'Surveillance state': Groups ask U of A to stop using cameras that read license plates Critics are asking the University of Arizona to end its contract with Flock Safety, which has shared data across the country used for immigration-related searches.

🚨: Several community organizations are asking the UA to end its contract with Flock Safety, a license-plate reader company that has recently come under fire for sharing data it collects for immigration-related searches.

tucson.com/news/local/s...

U of A shuts China micro-campuses under U.S. House pressure The University of Arizona has shut down its four micro-campuses in China, after a U.S. government report released last week criticized such partnerships and said “the Chinese Communist Party exploits

🚨: UA has shut down four of its micro-campuses last week after a U.S. congressional directive found that the partnerships between U.S. institutions and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) “facilitate technology transfer and pose national security risks.

tucson.com/news/local/s...

University of Arizona confirms 19% drop in new students this fall The University of Arizona confirmed Thursday that fall 2025 enrollment of first-year students dropped by 19%, mostly due to declines in out-of-state and international students.

🚨: It's confirmed: University of Arizona's fall 2025 enrollment shows a drop of 19% in first-year students, and an overall decline of 9% in international students and 23% in out-of-state students. Read my exclusive:

tucson.com/news/local/s...

University of Arizona President Garimella to get $285K in bonuses As expected, the Arizona Board of Regents approved $285,000 in bonuses for University of Arizona President Sureseh Garimella at its meeting Thursday in Flagstaff.

The Arizona Board of Regents has approved UA President Suresh Garimella's annual bonus of $285K at Thursday's board meeting in Flagstaff.

tucson.com/news/local/e...

U of A president set to receive $285K in bonuses University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella is set to receive $285,000 in bonuses from the Arizona Board of Regents for achieving goals.

🚨: UA President Suresh Garimella — close to completing his first year in the role — is set to receive $285K in bonuses for completing annual goals set by the Arizona Board of Regents. This is on top of his annual base salary of $810K. Read my exclusive:

tucson.com/news/local/s...

U of A gets $20M gift to expand study-abroad access The Garcia Family Foundation to expand study-abroad opportunities for students with financial need.

NEW: The University of Arizona has now received a donation of $20 million from the philanthropic Garcia Family Foundation to expand access to study-abroad programs for students with financial need, the largest donation to the UA's study abroad program.

tucson.com/news/local/e...

U of A, UNM receive $43.6M grant 'aimed at improving people's health' In the midst of federal funding cuts by the National Institutes of Health under the Trump administration, the primary agency for medical and public health research in the U.S. is

The University of Arizona and the University of New Mexico will be receiving a joint seven-year $43.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, to fund research programs aimed at improving the health of people living in Arizona and New Mexico.

tucson.com/news/local/e...

PCC faces up to $10M in funding cuts; US gov't 'has become unreliable' "It’s really difficult to make forward-looking plans for an institution," Pima Community College board chair says in the face of federal funding cuts.

🚨: PCC faces a loss of up to $10 million in federal funds with cuts in TRIO, child-care, adult education and HSI-related funds. At a recent board meeting discussing these cuts, PCC Governing Board Chair Greg Taylor said the uncertainty is a "nightmare."

tucson.com/news/local/s...

U of A, UNM receive $43.6M grant 'aimed at improving people's health' In the midst of federal funding cuts by the National Institutes of Health under the Trump administration, the primary agency for medical and public health research in the U.S. is

NEW: In the midst of federal funding cuts by NIH, the University of Arizona and University of New Mexico received a joint $43.6 million grant to fund a broad range of research programs to better the public's health in the two states.

tucson.com/news/local/e...

U of A creates $415,000 post, names former provost finalist The University of Arizona has named a former provost candidate from Purdue University as senior vice provost, a new position directly reporting to Provost Patricia Prelock.

🚨: The UA has now created a new 415,000 administrative post of senior vice provost, filled by a former provost finalist, Jenna Rickus, who visited the UA in the spring from Purdue University. Rickus will be joining the UA Sept. 29.

tucson.com/news/local/e...

Provost: U of A student retention, graduation rates must improve For Star subscribers: The student retention rate at the University of Arizona is 84%. The four-year graduation rate is 55%.

🚨: UA provost told faculty senators that their retention and graduation rates are not acceptable and need to be improved. The goal is - increase retention rates by 2% each year for the next 3 years and graduation by 2% each year over the next 5 years.

tucson.com/news/local/s...

How U of A is dividing pay raises sparks faculty debate University of Arizona raises on Oct. 1 to be a combo of merit, across-board increases; faculty say the process was confusing, not well-communicated.

🚨: UA's first Faculty Senate meeting of the new academic year sparked a debate about the Salary Increase program, announced in the spring, which is giving faculty and staff some across-the-board pay raises and some merit-based. Read my exclusive:

tucson.com/news/local/s...

Photography archive, $1 million gift donated to U of A center Photography was Benn Mitchell’s passion and his craft, and he wanted all the money he made in the arts to go back into the arts, says his widow, Esther Mitchell.

📸: University of Arizona's Center for Creative Photography receives the archives of internationally-recognized photographer Benn Mitchell, who is well-known for his street photography in New York City, magazine photography and Hollywood photography.

tucson.com/life-enterta...

U of A to lose 43 jobs, $6 million a year as U.S. ends SNAP-Ed The University of Arizona will be laying off 43 staff members due to termination of the federal nutrition education program known as SNAP-Ed, faculty leaders said this week.

🚨: University of Arizona will be losing $6 million annually in federal funds and 43 jobs part of its Cooperative Extension due to the federal termination of SNAP-Ed, as stated at the academic year's first Faculty Senate meeting. Read my exclusive:

tucson.com/news/local/e...

U of A is closing 40-year-old writing program The Writing Skills Improvement Program offered support services to the University of Arizona community as well as to middle and high school students.

The University of Arizona has terminated a 40-year-old writing program which provided writing instruction, by specialists with professional degrees in writing, to not just UA students but also to middle and high school students in Tucson. Read more:

tucson.com/news/local/e...

U of A will no longer receive federal SNAP-Ed nutrition money The University of Arizona will no longer receive federal funding to deliver nutrition education and healthy living resources across 12 Arizona counties as part of the national Supplemental Nutrition A...

🚨: The UA is shutting down SNAP-Ed — a national program that offers nutrition education and healthy living resources to underserved communities — now that it's been eliminated from the federal budget. Read my latest:

tucson.com/news/local/e...

PCC’s enrollment continues growth trend Pima Community College’s fall 2025 first-day enrollment marks an increase of 8% year-over-year, making this the 10th consecutive semester over the last three years witnessing enrollment growth.

With the fall 2025 semester starting, Pima Community College marks it's 10th consecutive semester of first-day enrollment growth of 8% year-over-year. This is the college's third year of witnessing enrollment growth. Read my latest:

tucson.com/news/local/e...

U of A email estimated 20% drop in new students this fall Most of the projected decline is in out-of-state and international students as the fall semester begins Monday, Aug. 25.

🚨: The University of Arizona could be seeing an approximate decline of 20% in the fall 2025 new student class, majority of which would come from out-of-state and international students, according to a June email by the enrollment office. Read my latest:

tucson.com/news/local/s...

2 faculty leaders decry U of A cuts to Cooperative Extension funding The money comes from the state and shouldn't be cut by the University of Arizona, say faculty leaders Leila Hudson and Katie Zeiders.

🚨: UA's Cooperative Extension program faces a spending reduction at the university level for the second year in a row, said faculty leader Katie Zeiders. "To cap, restrict, or limit these funds goes against legislative intent," she said. Read my latest:

tucson.com/news/local/e...

Millions allocated to help Arizonans cover college costs The newly approved Arizona budget allocated millions in funding for scholarships to help lower-income students attend a state university or college.

NEW: Arizona's FY26 budget has allocated an additional $16.3 million in one-time funding for the Arizona Promise Program, a guaranteed scholarship program for eligible low-income Arizona students. This brings the total funding to $54 million.

tucson.com/news/local/e...

U of A cancer lab turns to crowdfunding to support research A University of Arizona cancer research lab, facing difficulties in getting federal funding, has started a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for its work.

A University of Arizona cancer research lab, waiting for grant funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, has applied for a crowdfunding initiative and raised about $5,030 as of Friday. Read more:

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