New university outreach post

A new vice presidential position for university outreach at UA was announced Thursday at the Arizona Board of Regents meeting at Northern Arizona University, said Anne Barton, assistant executive director for public affairs for the board.

The regents appointed Eugene Sander, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and vice provost, according to the meeting agenda.

Sanders will oversee the UA programs and initiatives related to academic access and outreach while maintaining his position as dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, according to the meeting agenda.

Sanders will receive $250,000 yearly as the vice president of outreach, according to the meeting agenda.

Regents supplement UA College of Medicine-Phoenix with ‘innovative’ funds

The Arizona Board of Regents approved to donate $100,000 of the regents’ innovation fund to support planning of the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix program in 2007, Barton said.

The innovation fund is part of the state’s Technology and Research Initiative Fund, which is generated from a portion of the state’s sales tax, Barton said.

The regents allocate the annual $1 million innovation fund to technology and research programs, Barton said.

The fund will also provide $200,000 for the Arizona Water Institute, a collaboration between Arizona’s public universities, state agencies and private businesses for research, education, community assistance and economic development of water related issues.

The innovation fund will also provide $500,000 for the regents’ grant program for improving student learning and $180,000 for information technology grants.

Cancelled shows become lawsuit horror for UApresents

The regents gave the OK for the UA and UApresents to enter a settlement with the Little Shop of Horrors Touring Company, Barton said.

The $83,856 settlement is a result of a lawsuit filed by the touring company of the Broadway show “”Little Shop of Horrors,”” after officials from UApresents cancelled the shows in December because of mounting debt and a lack of ticket sales, according to the board of regents’ meeting agenda.

Prior to the cancellation in July 2005, the non-profit arts group tried to reschedule performance dates of the show from February to January of 2006, but a written contract between the two parties was never finalized, according to UA’s legal counsel.

UApresents is a department of the University of Arizona and the campus host for international performing arts, according to the UApresents Web site.

The settlement is about half the estimated damages claimed by the touring company, according to the UA’s legal counsel.

Stoops’ contract extended

A contract extension of UA’s head football coach Michael Stoops was unanimously approved by the board of regents, Barton said.

The UA athletics department will extend Stoops’ contract to December 31, 2010 from December 31, 2008, according to the board of regents’ meeting agenda.

The board also approved of contract extensions for the head coaches of the UA’s women’s golf team, men’s and women’s track and field and cross-country teams, men’s golf, women’s tennis team, gymnastics team and soccer team.

UA to plan for building renewal

The regents granted approval for the UA to begin plans for residence hall renewal projects and to finish building an agricultural research center, said Joel Valdez, senior vice president for business affairs.

The Glen G. Curtis building at Yuma Agricultural Center will house agricultural research and is funded by a gift from Glen Curtis, Valdez said.

The residence hall renewal, funded by the state, will help maintain aging residence halls, Valdez said.

The UA will need the regents’ approval before implementing the plans, Valdez said.