The Arizona Board of Regents today announced two candidates, Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief research and innovation officer of Arizona State University’s Knowledge Enterprise Development, and Robert Clayton Robbins, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Texas Medical Center for the position of the 22nd president of the University of Arizona.
“Both Drs. Panchanathan and Robbins are outstanding candidates and highly respected academic and research leaders,” said ABOR Chair Greg Patterson. “The University of Arizona is a highly prestigious research institution and land-grant university, and our search has attracted tremendously talented individuals from across the nation. It is crucial the next president has a clear vision for the successful future of the university and student success, and the ability to implement that vision in today’s changing national and international higher education markets. We must count on this next president to drive the university’s success in multiple state-wide, national and international markets, including with other Arizona public universities, and to make an immediate and lasting contribution to the future of the UA.”
The board indicated that it hopes to convene interviews with both candidates on March 6.
The successful finalist will be invited to a campus visit on March 8.
Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, Ph.D., is currently the executive vice president and chief research and innovation officer of Arizona State University’s Knowledge Enterprise Development. In this role, he is responsible for advancing research, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development at ASU. During Dr. Panchanathan’s tenure at ASU, the university has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as No. 1 on its “Most Innovative Schools” list for two consecutive years. He holds an ASU Foundation Chair in computing and informatics and is the director of the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing (CUbiC).
Dr. Panchanathan was the founding director of the ASU School of Computing and Informatics and was instrumental in founding the Biomedical Informatics Department at ASU. He was also the chair of the Computer Science and Engineering Department. He also is a professor in the ASU School of Computing Informatics and Decision Systems Engineering.
Dr. Panchanathan’s research interests are in the areas of human-centered multimedia computing and ubiquitous computing environments for enhancing the quality of life for individuals with disabilities.
CUbiC’s flagship project iCARE for individuals who are blind and visually impaired won the Governor’s Innovator of the Year-Academia Award.
Dr. Panchanathan received his doctoral degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Ottawa, Canada.
Robert Clayton Robbins, M.D., joined the Texas Medical Center (TMC) as president and CEO in 2012.
Since then, he has significantly enhanced the TMC’s commitment to collaboration, introducing five cross-institutional research initiatives centered on innovation, genomics, regenerative medicine, health policy and clinical research. TMC, the largest medical complex in the world, is at the forefront of advancing life sciences.
An internationally recognized cardiac surgeon, Robbins has focused his clinical efforts on acquired cardiac diseases with a special expertise in the surgical treatment of congestive heart failure and cardiothoracic transplantation. His research work includes the investigation of stem cells for cardiac regeneration, cardiac transplant allograft vasculopathy, bioengineered blood vessels and automated vascular anastomotic devices.
Prior to joining TMC, 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.
Robbins was elected to the Houston branch of the Dallas Federal Reserve board in 2015, board of directors of the Welch Foundation in 2014 where he currently serves as treasurer, and as the president of the American Heart Association Southwest Affiliate in 2016. He served on an independent Blue Ribbon Committee to evaluate the Veterans Affairs health system and the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston honored him as the 2016 International Citizen of the Year. Robbins is the author of more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and a former guest editor of the Circulation Surgical Supplement.
His educational background includes a B.S. in chemistry from Millsaps College, medical degree from the University of Mississippi, general surgical training at the University of Mississippi, cardiothoracic training at Stanford University, post-doctoral research at Columbia University and the National Institutes of Health, and congenital heart surgical fellowships at Emory University and Royal Children’s Hospital.