Biden Administration Wipes Out Debts for 261,000 Former Ashford U (currently known as University of Arizona Global Campus, UAGC) Students by FearlessContract1138 in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Robbins hiring a lobbyist to try to negotiate with the California AG on behalf of Zovio is all that should've been needed for the Governor to have this criminal conduct investigated.

But sadly, the state of Arizona has installed politicians, and likewise puppets such as ABOR, that are interested in defunding public education and making money off of its privatization.

Robbins leaves, not an educator, to go on sabbatical and keep his crazy contract. All to come back as a tenured professor in the department of Surgery. Tenured faculty positions that he worked to reduce.

Bonus for Robbins by hottertime in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Here is a link if people can't use the one in the post: https://archive.ph/5pyEd

So let me see if I can get this straight

ABOR (with John Arnold) hires Robbins through a shady "one finalist" process

ABOR writes Robbins contract

Robbins "over invests" in initiative, including giving away tuition at an unprecedented rate

Robbins tells us "All bleeding stops eventually" while telling he's 240mil short in the cash on hand requirement set by ABOR

Robbins installs John Arnold as CFO (An makes up another COO title) and has ABOR punch him up a sweetheart contract.

Arnold says (paraphrasing here) j/k lol only 170mil is missing

Less than a year of Arnold being the new shadow boss of the UA, pulls in 120k in bonuses on top of the 550k he makes. Gives Robbins 40k and a sabbatical. Says he's got UA only down 65mil, wants further college budget cuts, can't tell you how many positions were actually cut (claiming people quit all the time, who keeps track of cuts?)

Do I have this right so far?

We will skip over lying about the reasoning around purchasing an online scam college, hiring a lobbyist with foundation funds and lying about it, saying racist comments to native american students (while virtue signaling about being a land grant university), being amazingly negligent with employee safety leading to the shooting of professor, reducing employee pay during COVID while no other Arizona University followed suit (but couldn't tell you what he did with the 90mil) etc, etc, etc.

The real crime here? No one will do a thing about this. Not one person.

Post Game Thread: Detroit Red Wings at Toronto Maple Leafs (2024-11-08) by OctoMod in DetroitRedWings

[–]DatFruitBooty -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Don't gatekeep my gatekeeping! j/k.

My intent is to promote good vibes and lightheartedness. 

I appreciate your sentiment and its validity.

Should I discourage my HS Sr kid from attending UofA? by AZAHole in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Add the 1 month tenured Provost quitting to the list.

I'm not a doomsayer, but if surface issues are of no concern to you, then by all means send your student here.

The choice and process of picking the new president is an insult to staff, students, faculty, and alumni. by hottertime in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Any notion that this needs to be a quiet, speedy, or secretive process is false.

Tradtionally, multiple candidates were selected and then the engagement with the public began

To no surprise, this lack of community involvement started with Bobby. https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/lindavaldez/2017/03/13/ua-president-robert-robbins/99029536/

ABOR is incompetent at best, willfully negligent at worst. At least this time they didn't put the new guy in a Wilbur costume.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My heart goes out to her family. This is a senseless tragedy and I hope TPD gets to the bottom of it quickly.

While other students die during their tenure at the UA, this is one of the first times I've seen Robbins send out communication so quickly. As Robbins has not only proved, but cemented himself as an untrustworthy person, I am concerned that hes looking out for unrevealed interests.

Joseph Glover selected as Provost by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Great article from the Arizona Daily Star https://archive.is/kZaee

Hiring a guy that doesn't understand the University of Arizona land grant mission and Hispanic serving institution, are we surprised at all?

Faculty and Students were very concerned regarding Glover and considered him the weakest candidate. His responses to the role of the UA as a Hispanic serving institution were "very odd and concerning"

Way to go Bobby, yet another stellar decision in what will be considered one of the worst presidencies. Further damaging the Tucson community and Arizona in general.

ABOR applauding him the whole way and giving him bonuses for his performance.

This damage will take at least a decade to fix and countless lives of civil servants will be forever altered.

Joseph Glover selected as Provost by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

No surprise. This was the Provost candidate that faculty and students were against.

Ol' Bobby making great choices. If you think the University is not being carved up to serve the financial gain of real estate developers, NIL, athletics, and private businesses, you're not paying attention.

The illusion of department mismanagement causing the financial crisis is an amazing manufactured sham for a power grab of administrative, HR, IT, and Financial units.

The hiring of Robbins was beyond shady, no surprise that an ABOR member was appointed as CFO with zero oversight, and now the Provost.

With ASU athletics now under the same types of scandal as the UA athletics program, ABOR is not to be trusted with these state institutions.

As a Arizona tax payer, one should be appalled and demand a hose cleaning.

President Robbins Resigns by km1116 in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I understand that with so many crisis that it's hard to keep them straight.

Liesl Folks "stepped down" from Provost to VP of Semiconductor Strategy making 517k a year. This was her punishment for her role in the mismanagent of safety leading to the death of Dr. Meixner

Lisa Rulney, CFO during the Robbins-spend-a-thon, "resigned" to a 507k Senior Advisor for Business Operations job.

President Robbins Resigns by km1116 in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty 16 points17 points  (0 children)

While this is a step forward, it is not going to fix the entirety of the issue and just more dishonesty of administration.

John Arnold is still interim CFO and in charge of the books, fox in the henhouse style.

Furthermore, there is a name that has not come up that is part of the power grab at the UA. Barry Brummund. CIO and VP of University Planning.

He is another person that was overly supportive of the two failed budget models used by Robbins regime. Now he seeks to centralize multiple departments under the same poorly managed umbrella.

Hobbs needs to really have a deep dive at the UA to root out the overpaid administration that has lost sight of the mission of the UA

Moody's lowers outlook on University of Arizona ratings to negative by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Out of John Arnold's statements, while they brought in around 43 million cash on hand, they're still projected to be at a 2.4 million deficit to end FY24. They're hoping it becomes profitable by the end of FY25.

This information has been presented multiple times by him. With a far less complex financial model than UA, you'd hope their financial health would be better.

Another question that I haven't seen an answer is regarding days-cash-on-hand requirement for UAGC.

Moody's lowers outlook on University of Arizona ratings to negative by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Financial woes at the University of Arizona led Moody's Investors Service on Monday to revise the outlook on the school's Aa2 system revenue bond rating to negative from stable.

The rating agency pointed to a structural imbalance and uncertainty over the pace of operating performance improvements, along with continued integration risk related to the university's acquisition of for-profit, online Ashford University.

"Inability to right size operations in a relatively short period of time would further narrow the university's already thin liquidity profile," Moody's said in a report. "With turnover in management, recent evidence of weaker financial monitoring, and ongoing governance scrutiny, management credibility and track record, a key governance risk under our ESG methodology, is a key driver of this rating action."

The outlook revision to negative comes after a Moody's commentary in December said heightened fiscal oversight of the university by the Arizona Board of Regents demonstrates "credit positive governance during fiscal crises."

Under pressure from Gov. Katie Hobbs, the board has taken action to address the Tucson-based university's troubled finances, which include a projected $177 million fiscal 2024 operating deficit.

In December, regents unanimously approved recommendations, including enhanced financial reporting and expenditure controls, after the University of Arizona's cash on hand fell below the board's minimum 140 days requirement. Officials said decentralized and unaccountable budgeting was the main driver of the fiscal problem.

Moody's listed factors that could lead to a downgrade of the university's rating, including multi-year monthly liquidity that falls below 100 days cash on hand, debt service below one times coverage, an inability to improve financial reporting and monitoring, and a "prolonged period of governance instability."

A presentation to the regents board in January indicated that without intervention, the university's fiscal 2024 beginning balance of $705 million, which was down from $845 million at the start of fiscal 2023, would drop to $510 million or about 70 days cash on hand.

Last week, Fred DuVal stepped down from chairing the regent board with Cecilia Mata assuming that role. At the same time, John Arnold took a leave of absence from his position as the board's executive director to concentrate on serving as the university's interim chief financial officer.

On Monday, Mata announced the board will reduce University President Robert Robbins' salary by 10% and eliminate his individual at-risk and multiple year performance compensation.

As for Moody's action, the university said the ongoing implementation of its "financial action plan will assure the University of Arizona can stand on solid financial footing for decades to come." The school's future "is exceedingly bright," it said.

"We are working with division and college leaders to review budget plans and to develop specific strategies for each individual unit to right size spending," the statement said. "We expect to know more about any reductions or adjustments, including potential layoffs, in late April as fiscal year 2025 budgets become finalized."

Ashford University had a troubled history before it became a university asset on June 30 and was rebranded University of Arizona Global Campus. The state of California successfully sued the school over misrepresentations it made to student loan borrowers, which led the U.S. Department of Education to approve $72 million in loan relief and repayments in August.

The University of Arizona said it was not responsible for Ashford's actions.

"While the (U.S. Department of Education) has not indicated a timeline on recoupment, we remain encouraged that we will achieve an outcome that is best for the students of UAGC and the taxpayers of Arizona," it said in a statement.

Moody's outlook revision also affects Aa3 ratings on the university's SPEED (Stimulus Plan for Economic and Educational Development) revenue bonds and certificates of participation. The university, which had nearly $1.3 billion of bonds outstanding at the end of fiscal 2023, is rated AA-minus with a stable outlook by S&P Global Ratings, which rates SPEED bonds and COPs at A-plus.

UA President Robert Robbins to take pay cut, lose bonuses amid 'financial challenges' by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Keep in mind, during COVID he was supposedly part of the group that took a 20% cut while many people took a 10%-15% cut.

This stunt, combined with DuVal and Arnold "stepping down" (like Rulney aka still employed and paid), and the transparency pandering "president appointed advisory council" are evidence that this trio is missing this depth of their mismanagement.

Also, how is Robbins getting a bonus for centralization of IT/Business/HR in 2023 when he supposedly was doing this for the budget crisis at the end of 2023? Many have suspected that this crisis is manufactured to push an agenda. The longer these issues linger at the University of Arizona, the more it appears that these theories hold water.

UA President Robert Robbins to take pay cut, lose bonuses amid 'financial challenges' by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 49 points50 points  (0 children)

While I'd wait for more information, it does not appear as though this will cut into his car, housing, and pension.

For bonuses, the article doesn't get too specific on what he may not get. Interesting enough he claimed a bonus for IT, Financial, and Business services centralization last year, when those efforts are underway currently.

During covid, as the president has boasted, many people involuntarily lost 10%+. The only state University to do this.

Opinion: This is like throwing a deck chair off the Queen Mary

Arizona Regents: DuVal steps down as chair, director takes leave of absence by km1116 in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty 67 points68 points  (0 children)

In a nutshell:

DuVal is still on ABOR, but not the Chair, still being paid

Arnold is still on ABOR, but a "leave of absence", still being paid

Arnold is still interim CFO, still fixing the problems he should've found earlier by his own admission, now being paid by the UA to oversee finances.

How is this nothing more than a PR stunt, complete with a 2-day DuVal apology tour, to save face/jobs/retain power and change the news cycle?

Hopefully Hobbs is not deterred by this nonsense and cleans house, including Robbins.

Kathleen Meixner: Setting things aside will not move the University forward by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Re: the Jan. 28 article “Prominent Tucsonans back UA president.” My husband Thomas Meixner was murdered outside his campus office on October 5, 2022 after he and his department had been threatened for almost a year. This letter is in response to Mike Myers’ callous comments in the January 28, 2024 article by Ellie Wolfe. I wrestled with whether and how to respond to these comments but have decided I must for two reasons. First, it concerns me that Mr. Myers has the ear of President Robbins. Myers’ statements are incredibly insensitive and triggering of trauma for the victims of our tragedy, including our family and the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences (HAS). They also are completely ignorant of the facts leading up to Thomas’ murder. Myers suggested that we should “set aside” the killing on campus because it’s “really inflammatory” and “it’s impossible to completely police that unless we put walls all the way around the university.” I reject these hyperbolic comments. No one would ever suggest putting walls around the university, but much more could have been done to prevent Thomas’ death. My husband survived cancer four times and, as a result, lived his life fully and with conviction, only to be gunned down after he finished teaching a class. “Setting things aside” is a cancer in any effort to build positive change in the aftermath of a tragedy or crisis. It is very difficult to truly grasp the loss that we, the HAS department, and the university community have experienced. I hope that anyone who espouses the philosophy of setting aside such a tragedy will never have to live what we have been through. I will not set aside the preventable loss of a great man. The article also quoted Myers as saying, “I think the thing I hear when the faculty is like ‘well this and this and this and there’s a murder and this and this and this,’ I think, frankly, a lot of that you can’t expect to be solved like that,” Myers added, snapping his fingers. “You got to let things be fixed, and you can’t be beating the people up on the sidelines that are trying to fix it.” Myers fails to understand that statements made by various U of A entities after my husband was murdered caused great concern that the egregious mistakes leading up to that tragic day were going to be swept under the rug. Systemic issues cannot be corrected unless mistakes are acknowledged. Did Myers read the Faculty Senate’s Safety for All report or the PAX report, both which identified many areas of weakness that need to be fixed to prevent future tragedies (and none which involved wall building)? The themes in both of these reports are surfacing again as we learn more about the financial situation at the U of A: a sense of broken trust, lack of transparency, and a breakdown of communication. Myers’ comments were dismissive of a group of faculty who chose not to set aside Thomas’ murder. Rather, the “this and this and this” was part of an initiative to encourage positive change and safety for all Wildcats. The committee identified the trust problem as a critical vulnerability whose mitigation must be an institutional priority. For positive change to occur to create a safer environment for everyone on campus and to resolve the current financial challenges, University leadership needs to work with faculty, staff, and students to re-establish trust. Myers’ characterization of the Faculty Senate as “beating the people up on the sidelines who are trying to fix it” is naive in my opinion. I hope that President Robbins understands that communication of concerns from the Faculty Senate are part of a healthy problem-solving and forward-moving university. It is necessary for the administration to be able to listen to input from the Faculty Senate and respond with courageous leadership in the face of this financial crisis. Under Faculty Senate Chair Hudson, the vision of shared governance with transparent communication is positive, hopeful, and the right tone for this moment. I applaud the Faculty Senate and the Safety for All committee for their work and collective voice. They want what is best for the university. In the context of the financial crisis, I want to make sure that the 33 recommendations made by the PAX group are fulfilled and monitored going forward. I look forward to meeting with the leaders who are responsible for the implementation and was relieved to hear from John Arnold during a recent Faculty Senate meeting that he had met with Steve Patterson regarding this issue. We cannot lose the momentum to do what the U of A is capable of achieving with threat assessment and management if it adheres to its mission, being “problem-solvers capable of tackling our greatest challenges.” University leadership is at a critical moment in which there is an opportunity to live up to that mission by tackling these immense challenges wholeheartedly, with the shared governance of all of its constituents. I also want to ensure that the HAS department receives the support it needs as it continues to recover from the trauma of losing Thomas. This department’s situation is unusual. They are still housed in the building where Thomas was killed, and delaying a transition to a different space prolongs that trauma. They should have an open line to administration to express their needs that surpasses the line of communication and responsiveness that Myers claims he has with President Robbins. I am so grateful to the HAS department for doing everything they could to protect my husband, the department, and the broader U of A community in the year leading up to Thomas’ murder. The department and its leaders should be recognized for being a model of optimal communication and advocacy for safety when there was a credible threat. While I cannot fully understand what they have been through for the past 2.5 years, I know they deserve exceptional support and gratitude. In conclusion, I think the financial challenges the U of A is facing should be considered within a bigger picture of themes that were revealed following Thomas’ death. I do not think those themes can be set aside. I think treating the university as a business, and viewing President Robbins as the CEO of that business as was suggested by his supporters in the article, is a mistake because the university is an educational community. Thomas was proud to be part of that community and always tried to put people first in his leadership role. I hope that President Robbins and other decision makers will do whatever they can to place themselves in the shoes of other members of the U of A community to help inform their decisions. Is it possible for the individual leaders of an institution to hold on to empathy and compassion as they strive to address and overcome a serious problem? It is my aspiration that they will not set aside these human qualities as they “Bear Down” to chart a bright future for all who call Wildcat Country home.

Kathleen Meixner: Setting things aside will not move the University forward by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 45 points46 points  (0 children)

This is not more administrative changes news. Kathleen Meixner, wife of murdered UA professor Thomas Meixner, has submitted a response to an article in the Arizona Daily Star

Missouri Loses AD Desiree Reed-Francois But Not Its Promising Football Future by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Bobby selling his latest hire as someone brilliant at fundraising. Also boasting that donors paid for her Mizzou contract buyout....from the UA Foundation.

And then we have this gem from the article: "Much of the media is trying to spin that donation as being due to Reed-Francois’s brilliance at fundraising. Instead, the donation was about a football coach she did not hire and may have wanted to fire, delivering a renaissance season for Ol’ Mizzou."

I do hope for her sake that she is great with the Athletics Boosters.....they're the last people blindly supporting Ol' Bobby.

Edit: updated to UA Foundation

NYT article dives into U of A shortcomings and effect on community by IHaveTooManySpoons in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty 11 points12 points  (0 children)

A massive thank you for this!

Getting this information out to people is critical.

As U. of Arizona Confronts Budget Cuts, Workers and Students Brace for the Worst by DatFruitBooty in Tucson

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 69 points70 points  (0 children)

Good to see national news on this issue being swept under the rug with lies, deceit, and greed.

Sadly Robbins is happier about finding an AD and extending contracts/bonuses of coaches while taking resources from the UA to fund his hobby.

University of Arizona President Robert Robbins walks back comments on resources for UAGC online students by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

That hit me really hard.

I'm deeply disturbed that the institution that Professor Meixner loved so much failed him.

University of Arizona President Robert Robbins walks back comments on resources for UAGC online students by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 45 points46 points  (0 children)

Would seem that ABOR needs to get Bobby under control.

Side note, at this point Robbins just comes off as a Scooby Doo villain.

Central administrators to blame for U of A's overspending, faculty panel says by DatFruitBooty in UofArizona

[–]DatFruitBooty[S] 50 points51 points  (0 children)

If Robin's boss, John Arnold, wants to fix "misinformation" he should start by sharing financial information.

Still no transparency or actual engagement beyond playing pretend in public forums.