July 8, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2020
̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ Board of Regents announces
a series of meetings to select interim president
WHO: The ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ Board of Regents.
WHAT: The ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ Board of Regents will meet later this week and next week to finalize the selection of an interim president for the ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡. The board expects that an interim president will be appointed on or about July 15 and will serve in the interim role for up to 18 months. The schedule of meetings will be to select finalists for the position, conduct interviews with them and finalize the appointment of an interim president for the ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡. The process for selecting an interim president can be found at .
Board agendas will be available later today on BoardDocs at
WHEN: The Board of Regents meetings include:
- Thursday, July 9, 1-3 p.m.: The board will discuss and adopt attributes for the interim
president, evaluate the candidate pool and select a short list of finalists. The discussion
of candidates will be in executive session.
- Friday, July 10, 9-10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.: The board will announce the
list of finalists during the morning meeting and conduct candidate interviews in executive
session during the morning and afternoon meetings.
- Monday, July 13, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.: The board will continue its candidate interviews
in executive session.
- Tuesday, July 14, 11 a.m. -1 p.m.: The board will meet in public session to provide an overview of the interview process then move into executive session to select the interim president. An announcement will follow in open session.
WHERE: Except for the executive sessions, the board meetings will be live streamed at
BACKGROUND: On June 30, the Board of Regents met to approve the process for appointing an interim
president following UA President Jim Johnsen’s resignation. Michelle Rizk, Vice President
of University Relations & Chief Strategy, Planning and Budget Officer, has been serving
as acting president. Over the past several weeks, regents have met with 16 stakeholder
groups including alumni, faculty, student, community leaders and university staff
to compile a list of attributes to consider when selecting the interim president.
Additionally, the board has been accepting nominations of those interested in the
position. The candidate pool will be reviewed by the board using the attributes adopted
at the July 9 meeting.
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For more information, contact Roberta Graham, associate vice president of public affairs at 907-360-2416 (cell).