University of Arizona President Ann Weaver Hart could be replaced in less than the two years remaining on her contract if a successor is found sooner, the chairman of the Board of Regents says.
Hart announced Friday she will not seek an extension on her contract when it ends in June 2018.
“She will most likely not end up serving as president for the entirety of that period, but that’s what’s remaining on her existing contract,” said Jay Heiler, chair of the Board of Regents.
Heiler said the search for Hart's successor will be lengthy, but it is likely it won't take the full two years. The search that led to Hart's hiring four years ago took about one year, during which the UA was led by an interim president, Eugene Sander.
The first step in the search will be for the regents to decide what kind of leader they want at the UA.
"And what the institution most needs at this point in its life and its context and among its peer institutions," Heiler said.
All of that is to be determined in the coming months, and he said the university has several leadership needs:
"It will need a very strong academic leader, who also combines their academic accomplishment with business acumen," Heiler said. "And the type of competitive intelligence to lead a great university in a time of significant change and increasing competitive dynamics."
Heiler said the regents will hire a professional firm to conduct the national search for Hart's successor.
Hart became UA president in July 2012 and has endured several controversies in her tenure, including over her taking a board position with DeVry Education Group, a private higher-education company.
UA leaders, including Faculty Senate Chairman Lynn Nadel, said after Hart's announcement Friday that they give her credit for improvements in the institution.
Hart said in her announcement via email to the university's faculty and staff that she will remain as a professor on campus in the College of Education after she steps down as president.
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