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University of Arizona

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The University of Arizona (UA) is a public research university in Tucson, Arizona. It has a student body of 44,831 as of 20171 and conducts approximately $600 million in research activity per year, which is funded from both public and private sources. 2 UA is particularly active in the research fields of astronomy and medicine.

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Education designated UA a “Hispanic-Serving Institution,” as over 25 percent of its students identified as Hispanic. 3 The designation opened up new sources of federal funding to the university, which already has the highest rate of federal funding for any heavily Hispanic university, according to the National Science Foundation. 4

UA has a notably left-leaning activist student population. In 2016, a coalition of student organizations launched a grievance group called the Marginalized Students, and published a list of demands that included a $500,000 diversity budget, mandatory sensitivity training, trigger warnings, and separate living facilities for minorities. 5 In March 2019, a video went viral of UA students shouting at a Border Patrol agent who was speaking to a class. The incident resulted in misdemeanor charges for the students, which prompted hundreds of students to protest throughout campus. 6

UA employs several prominent left-of-center academics, including Noam Chomsky, a professor of linguistics. 7 In 2018, it was revealed that UA had received over $400,000 in funding from the Pioneer Fund, a non-profit grantmaker which promotes eugenics. 8 The funds were applied for by Aurelio Jose Figueredo, who directs the graduate program on human behavior and evolutionary psychology. 9

History

Founded in 1885, the University of Arizona was the first university in the Arizona Territory, predating Arizona statehood. 10 Its website claims that its first graduating class in 1895 consisted of “two women and one male.” 11 UA cites inclusion and compassion among its core values. 12

Following the financial crisis of 2008, the Arizona legislature reduced funding for UA and other state universities, which prompted UA to hike tuition. 13 In 2008, the school’s revenue derived 15.9 percent from tuition and almost 30 percent from state funding. In 2018, over 30 percent of revenue came from tuition, while state appropriations made up just 12.7 percent. 14

As of the 2018-2019 school year, the University of Arizona has the most expensive tuition of any public university in Arizona, with an in-state rate of $12,447 per year. 15

Leadership

The current president of the University of Arizona is Robert C. Robbins, a cardiologist who was previously president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center in Houston.

UA is governed by the Arizona Board of Regents, a state-appointed 12 member body. 16 Eight volunteer members are appointed by the Governor to staggered eight-year terms; two students serve on the board for two-year appointments, with the first year being a nonvoting apprentice year. The Governor and the Superintendent of Public Instruction serve as voting ex-officio members. 17

According to the New York Times, the Arizona legislature has recently taken a direct role in fostering academic programs from the state budget, breaking with the usual arrangement in which universities decide how to spend public money. 18 Among programs being funded by lawmakers is the University’s Department of Political Economy and Moral Science, which teaches subjects including justice, diversity, and social and environmental policy. 19

Federal Government Grants and Contracts

The University of Arizona receives significant federal grant money for research and other purposes, in part stemming from its high Hispanic enrollment.

As of FY 2016, UA received $211,508 in federal grant money for science and engineering, the highest amount for any High-Hispanic Enrollment Institution, according to the National Science Foundation. 20 Further, the school’s 2018 designation by the Department of Education as a Hispanic Serving Institution opens access to additional federal grants for “student scholarships, student support services, support faculty development, innovation and curriculum.” 21

At the same time, UA has been criticized for its involvement with U.S. government border enforcement efforts. 22 In 2008, the Department of Homeland Security awarded the university a $17 million, six-year grant to create the Center for Excellence on Border Security and Immigration (BORDERS). Through this initiative, the University has contributed to research on border security tactics and helped private companies gain access to DHS contracts. 23

UA has a history of research in aeronautics and astronomy. It is the fourth most awarded public university by NASA for research. 24 The UA was awarded over $325 million to lead NASA’s 2007 mission to Mars to explore the Martian Arctic, and $800 million for its mission to collect samples from an asteroid. 25

The university has also received grants for technology research and development. In July of 2015, Vice President Joe Biden announced that a New York-based public-private partnership involving the University of Arizona was selected to receive $110 million in federal funding to launch the Photonics Institute. The Institute was formed in response to President Obama’s fall 2014 announcement of Integrated Photonics as a major component of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation program. 26

Overall, 30 percent of the university’s revenue comes from grants and contracts. 27

References

  1. “2017-18 Fact Book – Students – Headcount.” Factbook.arizona.edu. Accessed August 12, 2019. http://factbook.arizona.edu/2017-18/students
  2. “Never Settle In Action.” Archived from Arizona.edu. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20170208034245/http://neversettle.arizona.edu/plan-in-action
  3. Mace, Mikayla. “University of Arizona’s new Hispanic Serving Institution designation will help with grants, programs.” Arizona Daily Star. Apr 6, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://tucson.com/news/local/university-of-arizona-s-new-hispanic-serving-institution-designation-will/article_41b84174-4294-5886-bdf6-963a642099dc.html
  4. “Federal Science and Engineering Obligations to Academic Institutions Reach $31.6 Billion in FY 2016.” NSF.gov. July 30, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2018/nsf18310/
  5. Soave, Robby. “Freedom of Thought Is on Life Support at the University of Arizona.” The Daily Beast. April 13, 2017. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.thedailybeast.com/freedom-of-thought-is-on-life-support-at-the-university-of-arizona
  6. Leingang, Rachel. “On Tucson campus, University of Arizona students see different sides to free speech debate.” Arizona Republic. April 10, 2019. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2019/04/10/fallout-university-arizona-continues-weeks-after-border-patrol-protest-ua/3428852002/
  7. Stellar, Tim. “The outrage! Chomsky makes how much at UA?!” Arizona Daily Star. Aug 12, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://tucson.com/news/local/steller-column-the-outrage-chomsky-makes-how-much-at-ua/article_a2fce3de-7f00-5a0a-8acd-453095ef844a.html
  8. Kunzelman, Michael. “University of Arizona accepted $458,000 from infamous eugenics fund.” Associated Press. Aug. 24, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2018/08/24/university-arizona-took-money-eugenics-group-pioneer-fund/1090261002/
  9. Kunzelman, Michael. “University of Arizona accepted $458,000 from infamous eugenics fund.” Associated Press. Aug. 24, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2018/08/24/university-arizona-took-money-eugenics-group-pioneer-fund/1090261002/
  10. “About us — you and the university, that is.” Arizona.edu. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.arizona.edu/about
  11. “We’ve Always Been About Tomorrow.” Arizona.edu. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.arizona.edu/about
  12. “Our values.” Arizona.edu. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.arizona.edu/purpose-values
  13. Rau, Alia Beard. “As Legislature has cut university funding, tuition revenues have soared.” The Republic. May 1, 2017. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona-education/2017/05/01/arizona-tuition-hikes-have-generated-1-1-billion-more-universities/307733001/
  14. Kunz, Kathleen B. “A Closer Look at Arizona’s Funding for Higher Education.” Tucson Local Media. Jul 18, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.tucsonlocalmedia.com/back_to_school/article_d77578f0-89f8-11e8-a856-f33110f6df79.html
  15. Kunz, Kathleen B. “A Closer Look at Arizona’s Funding for Higher Education.” Tucson Local Media. Jul 18, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.tucsonlocalmedia.com/back_to_school/article_d77578f0-89f8-11e8-a856-f33110f6df79.html
  16. “Board Members.” Azregents.edu. August 12, 2019. https://www.azregents.edu/board/board-members
  17. “Board Members.” Azregents.edu. August 12, 2019. https://www.azregents.edu/board/board-members
  18. Saul, Stephanie. “Arizona Republicans Inject Schools of Conservative Thought Into State Universities.” The New York Times. Feb. 26, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/us/arizona-state-conservatives.html
  19. “Political Economy and Moral Science.” Arizona.edu. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://moralscience.arizona.edu/
  20. “Federal Science and Engineering Obligations to Academic Institutions Reach $31.6 Billion in FY 2016.” NSF.gov. July 30, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2018/nsf18310/
  21. Mace, Mikayla. “University of Arizona’s new Hispanic Serving Institution designation will help with grants, programs.” Arizona Daily Star. Apr 6, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://tucson.com/news/local/university-of-arizona-s-new-hispanic-serving-institution-designation-will/article_41b84174-4294-5886-bdf6-963a642099dc.html
  22. Miller, Todd. “Follow the Money: The University of Arizona’s Border War.” NACLA.org. March 22, 2012. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://nacla.org/article/follow-money-university-arizona%E2%80%99s-border-war
  23. Miller, Todd. “Follow the Money: The University of Arizona’s Border War.” NACLA.org. March 22, 2012. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://nacla.org/article/follow-money-university-arizona%E2%80%99s-border-war
  24. “Federally financed higher education R&D expenditures, financed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, ranked by NASA R&D expenditures, by R&D field: FY 2016.” National Science Foundation. Archived from the original. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180222044803/https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/herd/2016/html/HERD2016_DST_62.html
  25. “The eyes of the world… and beyond.” Arizona Board of Regents. Archived from the original. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20060211012654/http://uaadvancement.arizona.edu/leading/eyes.php
  26. “Never Settle In Action.” Archived from Arizona.edu. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20170208034245/http://neversettle.arizona.edu/plan-in-action
  27. Kunz, Kathleen B. “A Closer Look at Arizona’s Funding for Higher Education.” Tucson Local Media. Jul 18, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://www.tucsonlocalmedia.com/back_to_school/article_d77578f0-89f8-11e8-a856-f33110f6df79.html
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