By Ann McBride
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Arizona International Campus of the University of Arizona has its name, logo and curriculum.
Now all it needs is a home Ÿ even a temporary one.
During Tuesday's Arizona Board of Regents meeting, Regents John Munger and Hank Amos expressed concern that UA President Manuel Pacheco was straying from the board's wishes.
Amos said during a telephone interview yesterday that he thought Pacheco was to first consider the former IBM facility as an interim location and, if that was not possible, to then pursue other options. He was concerned that Pacheco had contacted Pima Community College prior to speaking with Donald Pitt, a key negotiator of the IBM property.
Pacheco said during the meeting that he had contacted Pitt and requested that he reserve 100 acres at the IBM location as directed by the board.
Pacheco was out of town and unavailable for comment.
Tuesday's discussion began when the regents moved to approve the minutes from their October meeting. President Eddie Basha decided to postpone their approval so the board could listen to a tape of last month's meeting and determine exactly which motion had been voted on regarding the new campus.
Even though the issue was discussed, it had no affect on the UA's site search, which it has been conducting since the vote in October.
"Operationally, there is no difference for us," said Celestino Fernandez, provost for the new four-year campus.
He said he will bring forward several recommendations regarding an interim location for the new campus at the board's January meeting.
Since the October meeting when the regents rejected a downtown site and directed Pacheco to explore a three- to five-year temporary site, Fernandez said he met with Pima Community College Chancellor Bob Jensen to discuss possible sites.
Fernandez said they ruled out the Downtown Campus due to lack of space, but they are continuing to explore possibilities for an interim location at the East, West and Desert Vista Campus sites.
In regards to a permanent location with Pima Community College, Fernandez said this would involve building on a separate piece of land as a joint development between the two colleges.
Concerning the IBM facility, Fernandez said he has talked with a consulting firm about conducting a study of the 1,000 acres at the facility. The study would assess which 100-acre site would serve as the best location for the campus.
The regents also directed the UA to explore any other possible sites.