Even if you end up one of those students who don’t bother to learn to the names of their professors until the end of the semester, you should be able to recognize the most important names on campus. Here are a few to get you started:
Robert Shelton
President Robert Shelton was inaugurated in 2006 as the 19th president of the university. Prior to his appointment, he was provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since his inauguration, he has expressed a commitment to becoming one of the top research universities in the nation.
Meredith Hay
It took a committee of 27 people and nearly a year-long search to find her, but Executive Vice President and Provost Meredith Hay was eventually hired in 2008. Hay left her position as vice president of research at the University of Iowa to become the UA’s chief academic officer and overseer of all UA academic programs.
Melissa Vito
Vice President for Student Affairs and UA alumna Melissa Vito held various positions at the university for almost three decades, first in financial aid and later as dean of students. In 2007, she assumed her role as vice president to oversee student involvement and non-academic support services. Vito supervises many of the departments that will matter the most to you in college, including Arizona Student Unions, Campus Recreation, Greek Life and Residence Life.
Greg Byrne
Athletic Director Greg Byrne was only 36 years old when he began as the athletic director at Mississippi State in February of 2008. He was the youngest in the country. On May 1, he officially replaced Jim Livengood as the Wildcats’ new athletic director. It’s still early, but he’s already made his mark by introducing social media to Arizona athletics by regularly updating his Twitter feed in an effort to make Arizona more visible. And he’s been forgiven for being a former Arizona State Sun Devil.
Sean Miller
Men’s basketball coach Sean Miller left behind a top 25 team at Xavier after five seasons there for the Wildcat basketball squad. While some speculated the move was a mistake, Miller began restructuring Arizona basketball from within in 2009. He began with a team of just six, and then added eight more players. He will continue to make efforts to rebuild and improve Arizona basketball in his second year and hopefully get the program back to where it belongs: the NCAA tournament.
ASUA (and President Emily Fritze)
The Associated Students of the University of Arizona, the UA’s undergraduate student government, is comprised of the ASUA Senate, two vice presidents and a student body president, Emily Fritze. Fritze, a political science senior, and the rest of ASUA work mostly under-appreciated jobs. You’ll only take notice of their names just before ASUA elections. But the organization represents student concerns to the state legislature, provides free legal service to students, organizes the annual Spring Fling carnival, has made campus sustainability a priority and is responsible for the recognition and support of nearly 500 clubs.
Arizona Board of Regents
You will most likely hear the words “”board of regents”” after a couple choice expletives during a discussion about tuition increases. But ABOR, the governing body of Arizona’s public university system, plays a role in forming policy on tuition and fees, financial aid, legal affairs, strategic plans and academic and student affairs. The board is comprised of 12 members, including the governor, the superintendent of public instruction and two students.
Mike Stoops
You’re not a Wildcat if you don’t know Stoops. But luckily, after one home football game,there’s no way you will ever forget his name. The UA head football coach, Stoops was hired in November 2003, after coaching at Iowa, Kansas State and Oklahoma. Since then, he has led UA football to Las Vegas Bowl in 2008 and Holiday Bowl in 2009, helping Arizona to finish second in Pac-10 standings last year.
— Kristina Bui is a journalism sophomore. She can be reached at arts@wildcat.arizona.edu.
