The presumed president of the University of Arizona met students and faculty members at a forum on Wednesday.
Dr. Robbins Clayton the only was named the only finalist for the job on Monday by the Arizona Board of Regents.
“I would be shocked if I don't take a major pay cut,” Robbins said.
Dr. Robbins is a heart surgeon and is the president and CEO of Texas Medical Center.
“I'm not motivated by money,” Robbins said. “I'm motivated by the mission and the passion that I have to return to academia.”
The university of Arizona employees around 12,000 people, he said, and there is an opportunity to improve the school’s economic impact by building relationships with businesses.
Robbins said that the university is accessible to the West Coast, to venture capital money, as the economic conditions in California get more challenging; he said that the university can benefit from companies moving here an relocating. “We’ve seen that in Texas,” he said.
The Board of Regents is expected to finalize the lone finalist and start contract negotiations on 13th March.
“I would hope that I can go for at least 10 good, hard, productive years,” Robbins said, “but maybe 15.”
Indian-origin Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan were along with Dr. Robbins Clayton
Panchanathan is the executive vice president and chief research and innovation officer at Arizona State University’s Knowledge Enterprise Development.
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