University of Arizona President Robert Robbins is taking a pay cut, but he doesn’t mind it. In fact, he asked for it.
Robbins became a central figure in the school’s financial crisis. The Tucson-based university is trying to overcome a $177 million budget shortfall caused by a miscalculation of cash reserves.
Cecilia Mata, incoming chair of the Arizona Board of Regents, announced Monday that the regents will take action at an upcoming meeting to reduce Robbins’ base salary by 10% and eliminate other compensation.
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Mata said in a statement that Robbins is “committed to these cuts and the message they send as the University of Arizona comes together to meet our financial challenges and emerge from this process a stronger, more resilient institution. I support it.”
Robbins makes about $816,000 a year and has a base salary of more than $1 million, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Other compensation includes retirement allowances, car allowances, and performance-based bonuses.
People walk on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson on October 8, 2022. (Joel Angel Juarez/Republic/USA TODAY NETWORK)
“I recommended to the Arizona Board of Regents a significant reduction in total compensation, which was accepted,” Robbins wrote in an email to university officials on Monday.
The regent oversees the state’s public university system.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs sent a letter to board members in January saying the root of the University of Arizona’s financial crisis is a lack of accountability, transparency and leadership. She urged the board to take action.
In the months since the financial crisis surfaced, the university’s director of athletics, Dave Heake, has been replaced, and its chief financial officer, Lisa Rulney, has resigned.
On the board, Chairman Fred Duvall has stepped down from his leadership role but will remain on the board. The board’s executive director, John Arnold, has taken leave to serve as the university’s chief financial officer.
Mata, who replaced Duvall, said regents are committed to reining in the university’s finances.
So is Robbins. His proposals include freezing hiring and compensation, cutting financial aid for out-of-state students, ending the Guaranteed Tuition Program for freshmen starting in fall 2025, increasing ticket prices for sporting events and pausing major construction projects. An outline of the recovery plan was presented.
Robbins also told reporters that part of the university’s financial woes are due to unpaid loans the school provided to its athletics department in recent years. Robbins said resources have been depleted ahead of the school’s move from the Pacific 12 Conference to the Big 12 next year.
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“This happened on my watch,” Robbins told the Arizona Daily Star. “I have full responsibility for that. And I have full responsibility for implementing the plan and solving this problem. And I fully intend to do that.”
