A note from new University of Arizona president, Suresh Garimella
Thank you for the warm welcome I have received here in Tucson. The Sonoran Desert is a tad bit different from Vermont, but Lakshmi and I are already starting to feel at home.
When I think about this great institution, I think about potential. Potential for excellence. Potential for even greater impact. Potential for connection to our community in Tucson and Pima County and across all of Arizona.
As Arizona’s flagship land-grant university, we have a unique commitment to the state and its people. Reading the stories in this magazine, you can feel that commitment, whether it’s through the research being done into how to make agriculture more sustainable in the face of climate change, or through the mental-health initiatives that support our students as they make the extraordinary adjustment from high school to college and college to the world beyond. Success starts with opportunity, and making those opportunities accessible to everyone — even if just through a helping hand at a difficult time — is essential to our mission.
There’s fun to be had, too. Imagine the incredible journeys of the 15th-century altarpiece paintings shipping out from the university’s art museum for restoration; the explosion of pickleball on campus; and the great research being done by our cognitive science department in the field of spontaneity — something I imagine we could all use a little more of in our lives.
There is no institution in the state as comprehensive as we are in terms of reach and depth of expertise. I think, again, about potential. We have so much to build on as we advance our mission and impact. I look forward to building together.
Bear Down,
Suresh Garimella
President
University of Arizona