1. Hart’s first year in Tucson
Since coming to the UA a year ago, UA President Ann Weaver Hart has impressed administrators and government and business leaders in the state.
In her first year as UA president, Hart has gotten to know leaders in Arizona, collaborated with faculty and administrators to work on a new academic plan and is now working on executing the plan. Hart is also working with administrators to create a budget that will support the academic plan.
2. Student loan interest rates almost double
As the deadline approached for Congress to stop student loan interest rates from doubling, student leaders across the nation, among them Morgan Abraham, president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, signed a letter asking Congress to seek a long-term solution.
With Congress failing to reach a deal by the end of June, interest rates doubled for new subsidized federal Stafford loans. Congress was able to reach a deal by the end of July in which student loan interest rates will be determined based on the financial market, meaning the rates will increase as the economy improves. In the 2013-14 school year, the interest rate is 3.86 for undergraduates and 5.41 for graduate students.
3. ASA lawsuit against the Arizona Board of Regents dismissed
A lawsuit filed against the Arizona Board of Regents by the Arizona Students’ Association was dismissed by a U.S. District Court. The Arizona Students’ Association, a student organization that lobbies for affordable and accessible higher education, filed the lawsuit in February 2013 claiming that the board had violated the First Amendment rights of ASA.
The claim referred to the board’s decision to change a $2-per-student, per-semester fee to an opt-in fee, requiring students to explicitly agree to the fee before paying. The court dismissed the lawsuit determining that the board’s decision did not violate ASA’s First Amendment rights.
4. UA campus trees to provide food for students
The UA Campus Arboretum began a mesquite harvesting project this summer by installing nets onto the trunks of mesquite trees on campus to harvest seed pods, which will be used to make flour. UA Dining Services will use the flour in several dishes on campus.
The Office of Sustainability will work with Linking Edible Arizona Forests to harvest citrus and olives later in the year.
5. World first: University of Arizona Medical Center surgeons use robotic technology to implant HVAD
Two surgeons at the University of Arizona Medical Center performed the world’s first robotic implantation of a ventricular assist device.
Dr. Zain Khalpey and Dr. Robert Poston used robotic instrumentation to implant the HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device on four patients as of the end of July. The golf ball-sized device circulates the blood from the left ventricle, the largest chamber of the heart, and into the aorta, the artery that supplies blood to most of the body.
6. UA, Arizona State University rank among top 100 universities
The UA was ranked one of the top universities in the world in a list compiled by the Center for World University Rankings. The center took into account factors such as quality of education, excellence of faculty, alumni employment and quality of research. The UA ranked 78 on the list, following closely behind ASU, which ranked 73.
compiled by Stephanie Casanova
Follow her at Twitter.com/_scasanova_
