University of Vermont president picked to lead the University of Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Suresh Garimella, president of the University of Vermont since 2019, has been selected to serve as the new leader of the University of Arizona. The Arizona Board of Regents voted Friday to hire Garimella to replace Robert Robbins, president of the Tucson-based university for the last seven years. He planned to resign when his contract ended or earlier if his successor were picked sooner. Robbins’ exit comes after the university experienced a budget shortfall stemming from a miscalculation of cash reserves. Robbins has said some of the school’s financial troubles also were due to unpaid loans the university provided to the athletics department. He accepted responsibility for the crisis.