Arizona congressional delegation staff members visit campus

The University of Arizona welcomed congressional staff members from nine of Arizona's 11 congressional offices, including representatives from the offices of Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, and the offices of Reps. Raul Grijalva, Andy Biggs, Greg Stanton, David Schweikert, Eli Crane, Juan Ciscomani and Debbie Lesko. 

The four-day visit, sponsored by the Government and Community Relations Federal Relations team and Research Development Services, centered on the theme of "Arizona Identity: Our Land-grant Mission," hearkening back to the establishment of the university in 1885, from the U of A's earliest days focused on agriculture, mining and engineering, and how the university has broadened these legacies into the modern world. 

The staff met with interim Provost Ronald Marx, interim Senior Vice President for Research Elliott Cheu, and deans and other leaders from the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences, the College of Engineering and the College of Veterinary Medicine. The staff learned about the university's cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research in food security, desert agriculture, mining, engineering and more. 

The group had the opportunity to learn from experts and tour several of U of A's incredible facilities focused on research, education and history preservation, including the Arizona State Museum, the San Xavier Underground Mining Laboratory, the Human-Animal Interaction research house, the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center and Biosphere 2.

The staff also had the opportunity to meet with U of A President Suresh Garimella during his first week as president, and hear about his vision to preserve the U of A's important legacy and reputation while leading the university to new heights.