University of Arizona President to take pay cut as school deals with financial crisis

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – As University of Arizona President Dr. Robert C. Robbins takes his own financial hit for the university’s woes, Gov. Katie Hobbs is set to meet with the Arizona Board of Regents this week.

Hobbs has called out Robbins, the university, and ABOR about what she calls a lack of progress in dealing with the financial crisis.

Robbins’ cut adds up to $350,000, but the millions of dollars remaining for UA to make up have faculty and regents trading jabs.

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“We encourage President Robbins to establish new faculty leadership and to seek out faculty who are interested in contributing to real solutions rather than posturing and undermining potential progress,” ABOR Treasurer Lyndel Manson said during the Feb. 22 meeting.

Manson was responding to criticism by the UA Faculty Senate toward ABOR, which has been considered responsible for allowing the university to now face a $177 million shortfall that will mean budget cuts and job losses. But her response drew Hobbs’ attention. Hobbs called the regent’s behavior appalling and unacceptable.

She’s expected to meet with regents this week.

The board is also expected to cut Robbins’ base pay by 10% and cut at-risk and performance compensation, which adds up to $350,000. He told the university community that he asked for the cut:

“To be successful, all of us doing our part and working together, as one Wildcat community, is imperative. That begins with me. I recommended to the Arizona Board of Regents, and it has accepted, that my total compensation be significantly reduced,” he wrote.

Leaving unfilled and soon-to-retire positions vacant could be account for $27 million in savings, but a report by Axios said that the University of Arizona Global Campus, or UAGC, formerly the online Ashford University, could face a $72 million repayment to the U.S. Department of Education for student loan forgiveness.

“We are in the process of initiating the recoupment action, which has not yet gone to UAGC,” the DOE said in a statement to 13 News.

13 News reached out to the university about the repayment plan and received the following statement.

“The University of Arizona is not responsible for the actions of Ashford University,” the school said. “When the Department announced last year that it was approving borrower defense to repayment (BDR) claims of students who attended Ashford University, the University of Arizona made clear that these BDR claims were based on Ashford’s actions prior to UAGC acquiring Ashford. While the Department has not indicated a timeline on recoupment, we remain encouraged that we will achieve an outcome that is best for the students of UAGC and the taxpayers of Arizona.”

How that repayment would add to UA’s burden is unknown.

ABOR, now with a new chair since that meeting last month, will meet with Hobbs about the university’s financial situation and for continuing murkiness over university decisions like the Ashford purchase.

The board will likely have a special meeting within the next few weeks to approve Robbins’ pay cut.

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