The annual Arizona League of Cities Towns conference is the Super Bowl of Arizona local government.  Last week, the conference drew more than 1200 people, including 600 local elected officials, many state legislators, Governor Doug Ducey, and Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Martha McSally to the JW Marriott resort in Tucson.

This week began recruitment for the Arizona Legislative Internship Program. State Relations would like your help promoting the program to students interested in gaining real-world work experience while participating in the legislative process and expanding their professional networks. 

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.

Tucson Primary Election Day is August 27, and registered Democrat voters in the City of Tucson have been mailed their Primary Election ballot. This is a good time to remind all University of Arizona employees and DCCs about political activity policies. 

Government and Community Relations had an opportunity to speak at the Cooperative Extension System’s (CES) annual conference this week. It was a great opportunity to explain our role to this important segment of the University and discuss how our efforts can benefit each other.  

The Decennial Census is quickly approaching and GCR is leading efforts to be sure the UA has a complete count.  Students and renters are both traditionally hard groups to count, so it will take a well-organized campaign to get the word out about the importance of participating.

The Tohono O’odham Nation had their tribal elections on May 25 to elect new leadership for Nation. Ned Norris, Jr. and Wavalene Saunders are the newly elected Chair and Vice Chair for the Nation. Both were sworn into office on June 14. 

GCR recently helped coordinate a lunch meeting between President Robbins, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry, Tucson City Manager Mike Ortega, along with other UA, County, and City leaders.

On June 20, the University of Arizona was one of nine universities nationwide to receive the inaugural Seal of Excelencia from Excelencia in Education. Founded in 2004, Excelencia in Education is dedicated to creating evidence-based pathways to increasing success of Latinx students in higher education.