The regents approved the UA Presidential Search Committee's Statement of Leadership Characteristics, which will be used by the committee to assess the credentials of prospective applicants, said Fred Boice, regent and chairman of the search committee.
About 350 faculty, staff, students and community members reviewed and added to a draft of the statement during 20 campus and community forums that were held in October, Boice said.
Boice said there are close to 100 presidential prospects under consideration.
The statement includes 13 leadership characteristics and 18 experience and background characteristics that are desired of the presidential applicants by the committee, according to the statement.
Although presidential candidates will not be required to possess all the characteristics described in the statement, it will aid the presidential search committee in the search.
Desired leadership characteristics for presidential candidates include a highly communicative relationship with faculty, students, administrators, appointed personal and staff, as well as a strong commitment to the diversity of thought.
The future UA president should also have a strong understanding of the UA's importance to the state, the Tucson community and other Southern Arizona communities, and should take a proactive role in moving UA products of discovery into the marketplace.
Experience and background characteristics desired in the new UA president include having a strong record of scholarship, a proven ability to attract and retain outstanding faculty, students, administrators, appointed personnel and staff, and a strong record of seeking the opinions and meeting the needs of students.
Residence Life to upgrade 2 dorms
The Arizona Board of Regents approved Residence Life building renewal plans for Manzanita-Mohave and Cochise residence halls Friday.
The plumbing system in Manzanita-Mohave and the fire sprinkler system in Cochise will be replaced during the summer of 2006.
The replacements are part of phase two of five-phase building renewal plan that will be completed by 2009, said Joel Valdez, vice president for business affairs.
The estimated cost of the Manzanita-Mohave and Cochise project is $3.9 million and will be funded by System Revenue bonds.
The remaining Phase 2 projects, as well as the mechanical, electrical and plumbing system renewal of Maricopa and Arizona-Sonora residence halls, will be completed in the spring and summer of 2006.
Renewal plans for Maricopa and Arizona-Sonora were delayed for a year because of a missed deadline in obtaining a review by the Joint Committee on Capital Review to sell bonds by Residence Life, Valdez said.
The renewal plans should be completed during the summer, and the four residence halls are expected to be ready to house students by the fall, Valdez said.
Linguistics recieves new degree
The regents approved adding a new master's of science degree in human language and technology in the linguistics department of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
In its first year, the two-year graduate program is expected to serve about five students with linguistics and/or programming backgrounds, according to the degree proposal.
The program will provide coursework in the areas of speech technology, stochastic language processing, language data structures and business management, said Provost George Davis.
Regents also approved adding the Jack and Vivian Hanson Arizona Film Institute to the College of Fine Arts.
The institute will provide and support "educational programs, public events, creative projects and research to lead individuals to successful careers in the film industry," according to the program proposal.
Institute activities will include sponsoring faculty research and creations in filmmaking, supporting student internships and filmmaking, and hosting and sponsoring events relating to the art and business of filmmaking, according to the proposal.
Davis said the institute is going to be funded by a $7 million gift from the Jack and Vivian Hanson Foundation.
Seventy percent of the gift will fund the institute, and 30 percent will go toward the UA Museum of Art, Davis said.
In other academic business, the regents also approved the basic medical sciences department for the UA College of Medicine's Phoenix Program.
Davis said the department will include fundamental sciences studies, such as cell biology, anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, pharmacology and pathology.
The department is being created for the UA College of Medicine's Phoenix Program to serve all the needs of the students who will be in the program until the program is able to grow and include multiple departments, Davis said.
Davis said including all the areas of study into one department will be more manageable for the staff and faculty that will run the program when it begins July 2007.
UA to sell lands at auction
In other business, the regents approved the UA's plans to sell a portion of the land at the Maricopa Agricultural Center and 2,300 acres of land in Pima County.
The UA will sell 320 acres of the land at the Maricopa Agricultural Center, one of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences experiment stations, at an auction.
The land to be sold is a section of a demonstration field, separated from the center's research facilities by the Santa Cruz Wash, said Mercy Valencia, assistant vice president of the real estate administration.
The funds received by selling the land will go toward programs for the college, according to the request.
The UA will also sell 2,300 acres of undeveloped land near Ajo Highway between Sandario Road and San Joaquin Road at an auction.
The lands were appraised at about $10,000 per acre, Valencia said.
A portion of the proceeds will go toward the UA budget and the rest will go to relieving the UA debt, Valdez said.