Arizona Board of Regents Update for August 2019

The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) has been busy as we get ready for the start of the new school year. Regents recently held a special board meeting, a Committee on Free Expression meeting, and a special public hearing on UA online and distance campus tuition rates.

Regents convened a special board meeting on August 22 to consider several important issues, many of which were UA items. Regents voted to approve the following UA items: appointment of Lisa Rulney as Senior Vice President for Business Affairs and CFO and Dr. Liesl Folks as Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost; the coaching contract for UA women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes; an amendment to lease terms for the UA Mineral Museum at Old County Courthouse; the awarding of $160,000 in state funding for the UA’s nationally recognized adaptive athletics funding; and approval of a handful of online and distance campus tuition rates for UA programs. Furthermore, regents also approved a change to the AZ high school graduate tuition rate and announced the board will be discussing and voting on the FY 2021 state budget request on September 5.

On July 22 the ABOR Committee on Free Expression met to discuss university policies and happenings regarding free speech and civil discourse over the past year. The committee consists of several members from all three public universities and is chaired by ABOR Executive Director John Arnold. The primary agenda item was discussion of the committee’s annual report that ABOR eventually approved at its August 22 meeting. The UA is highlighted in the report for earning a green light rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the adoption of the Chicago Statement by the UA Faculty Senate. More information on the committee can be found here.

ABOR also held a special public hearing on July 24 on the Tucson Campus for the public to weigh in on a few proposed tuition rates for UA Online programs and programs at the Yuma campus. Any time a university proposes establishment of a new tuition rate or a tuition increase, state law requires ABOR to provide a public comment hearing for the general public. The biggest proposal from the UA is establishment of a new Online Masters of Entrepreneurship program through the Eller College of Management. The UA had previously intended to open this program next school year, but significant interest from students helped us bring the program forward a year early. ABOR approved these proposals at its August 22 meeting.