July 13, 2017

New UA President Connects with Valley Philanthropists

Dr. Robert C. Robbins (left); Susan Silverman, Stevie and Karl Eller (right)

On June 5, almost 100 of The University of Arizona’s most ardent supporters gathered at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia to welcome Dr. Robert C. Robbins, the newly-appointed president of the university.

Robbins assumed his position as the 22nd president of The University of Arizona on June 1, 2017. Previously, he served as president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center in Houston from 2012 to 2017. Prior to his time in Houston, Robbins served as professor and chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, founding director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, president of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, president of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association, president of the American Heart Association Western States Affiliate, president of the Bay Area Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and chair of the American Heart Association Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia Council, among other roles. In 2016 he served as president of the American Heart Association Southwest Affiliate.

In his new role, Robbins seeks to prepare students for their dream careers as well-educated, civically engaged leaders in a rapidly changing, technologically advanced world. “We will strengthen existing relationships and build new collaborations to take The University of Arizona to even higher levels of achievement, working to solve the 21st century’s most complex, global challenges,” Robbins says.

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