The leader of the world鈥檚 largest medical complex and an expert in computer engineering and informatics are in the running to become the next University of 蜜柚直播 president.
But the campus community will not get to meet the contenders before one of the two is ruled out.
Dr. Robert C. Robbins, president and CEO of Texas Medical Center, and Sethuraman 鈥淧anch鈥 Panchanathan, executive vice president and chief research and innovation officer at 蜜柚直播 State University鈥檚 Knowledge Enterprise Development, were named on Tuesday as finalists to replace UA President Ann Weaver Hart.
The 蜜柚直播 Board of Regents met behind closed doors in Phoenix on Tuesday to go over a short list of presidential hopefuls. Of those the regents were interested in, Robbins and Panchanathan were the only two who said 鈥測es鈥 when asked if they were willing to go forward, said Regent Ron Shoopman of 蜜柚直播, co-chair of the UA presidential search committee.
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鈥淲e feel they both have the potential to lead the UA into the future in a dynamic way,鈥 Shoopman said of the finalists.
Regents aren鈥檛 saying how many other names were on the presidential short list, which was put together by an advisory committee after a two-day marathon of interviewing hopefuls at a Phoenix-area resort.
Both finalists will be interviewed again on March 6 by regents, who will decide that day to eliminate one of the two contenders. Two days later, on March 8, the lone remaining finalist will come to 蜜柚直播 to meet with the campus community, Shoopman said.
Asked why regents are eliminating one finalist instead of inviting them both to campus, Shoopman said the search consultant that the board hired recommended the single-finalist approach.
Board of Regents Chair Greg Patterson said both contenders are 鈥渙utstanding candidates and highly respected academic and research leaders.鈥
Panchanathan, founding director of ASU鈥檚 school of computing and informatics, has a special interest in technology that increases the quality of life for people with disabilities.
He received his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Ottawa. Panchanathan has been with ASU since 1997.
鈥淚 am honored to be at this stage in the board鈥檚 process to find the next president of the University of 蜜柚直播,鈥 he wrote in an email after being named a finalist.
Robbins joined Texas Medical Center in 2012, where he has introduced new research initiatives in several areas including genomics and regenerative medicine.
The organization he now leads is many times larger than the UA. The Texas Medical Center system, with more than 100,000 employees and a $20 billion consolidated operating budget, comprises 57 institutions including 21 hospitals.
Before Texas, he was a professor and chaired the department of cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.
He holds a medical degree from the University of Mississippi.
Robbins could not be reached for comment.