Robert Robbins
22nd President of the University of Arizona
Incumbent
Assumed office June 1, 2017
Preceded by	Ann Weaver Hart
Personal details
Born	Robert Clayton Robbins (1957-11-20) November 20, 1957 (age 66) Laurel, Mississippi, U.S.
Children	2
Education	Millsaps College ( BS) University of Mississippi ( MD)
Medical career
Field	Cardiothoracic surgery
Institutions	Stanford University Medical Center Columbia University National Institutes of Health Emory University Texas Medical Center
Sub-specialties	Heart transplantation
Research	Stem cells for cardiac regeneration Cardiac transplant

Robert Clayton Robbins (born November 20, 1957), known professionally as Robert C. Robbins or R.C. Robbins, is an American cardiothoracic surgeon and the 22nd and current president of The University of Arizona. In the spring of 2023, the Faculty Senate at the University of Arizona gave R.C. Robbins a vote of “no confidence” due, in part, to the university leadership’s inaction regarding a violent student who would go on to fatally shoot a professor in October of 2022. ^[1] He received a pay raise in October of 2023 from the Arizona Board of Regents. ^[2] This was followed by his decision in December 2023 to enact hiring freezes, eliminate the Salary Increase Program and Pay Structure Increase for staff and faculty and Tuition Guarantee Program for students, and restrict purchasing by university departments due to the University of Arizona’s poor financial position. ^[3] Previously, he was the president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, from 2012 to 2017.

Early life

Robbins was born in Laurel, Mississippi, and raised by his maternal grandparents, where he spent much of his childhood at the local community college, where his grandfather was a math professor. ^[4] In high school, Robbins was inspired to pursue medicine, in part due to the lack of local physicians. He later earned his first undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Millsaps College. In 1983, he received his medical degree from the University of Mississippi. ^{[4] [5]}

Controversies

Apologizes to Indigenous Students for Remarks

In November 2019, an incident occurred at the University of Arizona involving President Robert Robbins and a group of Native American students. The Indigenous students, affiliated with the organization Voices of Indigenous Concerns in Education (VOICE), demanded an apology from Robbins following remarks they deemed offensive regarding his heritage. ^[6]

President Robbins unexpectedly attended a Native Students Outreach, Access, and Resiliency (SOAR) class, where he revealed that he had taken a DNA test similar to the one taken by Elizabeth Warren. In his comments, Robbins claimed to have taken the test "to prove his Cherokee ancestry" and expressed a desire to take a second test after the first one returned negative, citing his "very high cheekbones" as a reference.

Following the incident, VOICE shared an open letter on their Facebook and Instagram pages, recounting the details of the encounter and expressing their disappointment. The letter highlighted that two Native students later attended Robbins's office hours to explain how his comments had offended them. During this meeting, Robbins offered an apology. However, the university's office did not respond to subsequent follow-ups from the students, who were seeking to schedule a time for Robbins to apologize to the entire SOAR class, as the president had expressed a willingness to do so.

The letter from VOICE, which emphasized the University of Arizona's status as a land-grant institution on ancestral grounds of Native tribes, called for several actions. These included a personal apology from Robbins to the SOAR class, increased collaboration between the university and its community, the establishment of a new position on the president's leadership team reflecting the interests and voices of tribal communities, greater diversity in the president's leadership team, and support from Robbins for the growth and sustainability of Native programs on campus.

Subsequently, the University of Arizona published an official apology from President Robbins in response to the concerns raised by VOICE. ^[7]

Career

After receiving his medical degree in 1983, he continued work as a resident at the University of Mississippi until 1989, with an emphasis in general surgery. He then began a residency at Stanford University Hospital, specializing in cardiothoracic surgery until 1992, before working as a pediatric fellow at Emory University School of Medicine and Royal Children's Hospital in Australia. ^[5] Beginning in 1993, Robbins acted as the director of the cardiothoracic transplantation laboratory at the Stanford University School of Medicine until 2012, becoming the chair of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2005. ^[8] During his time at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Robbins maintained active roles in a variety of public and professional service, including serving on the education committee for the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and the strategic planning committee for the American Heart Association. ^[5]

On November 5, 2012, Robbins left Stanford's school of medicine to work as the president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center, ^[9] before becoming the 22nd president of the University of Arizona in 2017. ^{[10] [11]} In 2021, he was given a one-year contract extension (to 2024) and an 8% pay raise, for a total compensation estimated at $1 million per year. ^[12] Amidst a financial crisis, Robbins announced his intention to step down in 2026 at the latest. ^[13]

Publications

Robbin's publications include more than 300 peer-reviewed journal articles, spanning a variety of research topics including the investigation of stem cells for cardiac regeneration, cardiac transplant allograft vasculopathy, bioengineered blood vessels, and automated vascular anastomotic devices. ^[14]

Selected publications

• Haematopoietic stem cells adopt mature haematopoietic fates in ischaemic myocardium (2004) ^[15]
• Bridge-to-transplant with the Novacor left-ventricular assist system (1999) ^[16]

References