SP&A Executive Search Recruits 23rd President for the University of Arizona
September 26, 2024 – SP&A Executive Search has helped to recruit Suresh Garimella as the 23rd president of the University of Arizona. The unanimous board vote follows a comprehensive national search fueled by the work of the U of A presidential search advisory committee and informed by robust community feedback. He succeeds Robert C. Robbins. “Dr. Garimella is student-focused and considers himself first and foremost a faculty member. With a 35-year career in higher education, Suresh is engaging, a great listener and a collaborative leader,” said Arizona board of regents chair Cecilia Mata. “Wildcats are part of our state’s DNA, and Dr. Garimella has shown he is the right leader at the right time to heal and grow Arizona’s land-grant university.”
Over the last five months, an 18-member search committee met dozens of times to gather feedback from the campus and community and vet all prospects in search of a leader who would match the qualities and experience needed to lead Arizona’s land-grant institution.
“One of the most exciting parts of this process was seeing the amount of quality leaders from across the country interested in becoming our next president,” said Cindy Rankin, associate professor of physiology and presidential search committee member. “This broad enthusiasm reinforced my long-held belief that the U of A is indeed a spectacular institution rich in tradition, deep in academics and connected with the community. Dr. Garimella stood out to me among the prospects. He is an internationally known scholar with the temperament and experience to unify our campus, and together capitalize on our uniqueness and strength to reach even greater heights. I’m honored to have been part of this truly collaborative effort to select our next president.”
“I join our University of Arizona family in welcoming Dr. Garimella to Tucson,” Mr. Robbins said. “His experience as a president at a public university and as an esteemed professor, researcher and published author will serve him well in his new role. In the weeks ahead, I look forward to partnering with Dr. Garimella and assisting him with the transition in any way possible. The U of A will be in good hands for years to come.”
Dr. Garimella, who will join the school later this fall, is currently the 27th president of the University of Vermont. Previously, he served as executive vice president for research and partnerships at Purdue University. Dr. Garimella is not only a highly cited scholar, researcher and professor of mechanical engineering, but he also helped increase and strengthen the research enterprises of both UVM and Purdue University. He has a strong financial management background, helped build both universities’ online education footprints and worked to diversify funding sources without increasing tuition. Additionally, he is a member of the National Science Board and served with the U.S. Department of State as both a Jefferson Science Fellow and a senior fellow in the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas.
“I am honored to be chosen by the board as the next president of the University of Arizona,” Dr. Garimella said. “I have long admired the U of A and its stature in the state of Arizona and far beyond. The institution demonstrates the best qualities of a land-grant university with exceptional leadership in research and health sciences, highly acclaimed faculty and staff, and a diverse student population comprised of the best and brightest from around the world. There are tremendous opportunities in front of us, and I look forward to collaborating with U of A students, faculty, staff and alumni to build upon our strengths as an institution and continue to lead in excellence here in Tucson and around the world.”
Founded in 1885, the University of Arizona was the first university in the Arizona Territory. It includes the Banner University Medical Center Tucson, which operates a separate four-year M.D. college in downtown Phoenix. Total enrollment is more than 42,100 students. The school offers 334 fields of study leading to bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees.
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SP&A Executive Search has experience with the University of Arizona. After a thorough national search that included very strong candidates, the firm just helped to recruit Joseph Glover as the school’s next senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, pending approval by the Arizona board of regents. “Dr. Glover is uniquely qualified to advance the University of Arizona’s mission while addressing the challenges we face as an institution. His experience and knowledge will be instrumental in shaping our collective future as a university,” said Dr. Robbins.
Dr. Glover has spent the majority of his career at the University of Florida, a highly-ranked, public, land-grant research university with a mission very similar to the University of Arizona’s. He currently holds the position of senior advisor to the president, previously serving as that institution’s provost and SVP for academic affairs for three different presidents, from 2008 to 2023, and serving in several academic leadership roles for the Department of Mathematics and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Finding Higher Education Leaders
SP&A Executive Search (formerly known as Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates) is a boutique woman- and minority-owned executive search firm specializing in and exclusively dedicated to serving the higher education and non-profit sectors. Prior to establishing SP&A Executive Search, the firm’s consultants served in leadership capacities at leading national and international executive search firms.
Over one-third of all the searches conducted by the firm have been for the positions of president and chancellor and an even larger proportion have been for the wide array of senior officers including: provosts, vice presidents for all functional areas, academic deans, directors, and other senior administrators.
Mr. Pimentel co-founded SP&A in 2007 and has led and managed hundreds of search assignments for a variety of public and private universities and colleges, nonprofit organizations, and governmental agencies over the course of the past 20 years. He has recruited candidates for both academic and administrative positions for university systems as well as individual campuses.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media