Arizona Board of Regents announces new medical school at NAU
Northern Arizona University is getting a new medical school at its campus in Flagstaff.
The Arizona Board of Regents announced the decision Sept. 29 as part of a call for its public universities to close the health care workforce gap, committing millions of dollars to the effort.
The university expects the medical school to prepare the next generation of doctors to meet primary care needs in rural, underserved and indigenous communities across Arizona. This all falls under the AZ Healthy Tomorrow initiative, which will look to rapidly advance the health care workforce in the Valley and elsewhere in the state.
“Arizona’s public universities are driving our state forward and responding to meet the health care needs of residents,” said Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs in a statement. “Building an Arizona for everyone means ensuring people across the state have access to quality, affordable health care.”
The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) voted Sept. 29 to request $153 million in FY2025 state budget in order to expedite the AZ Healthy Tomorrow initiative — $56 million has already been allocated in partnership with the Governor’s office.
“Our state’s population is growing yet Arizona ranks among the top five states with the most severe health care workforce shortages. We must act now to make sure our families and loved ones have access to the care they need,” said ABOR Chair Fred DuVal, who has served in his role since he was appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey in 2018. “We are asking our universities to hit the accelerator and grow more qualified medical professionals. The result will be greater access to quality care for residents across the state.”
Arizona State and the University of Arizona have also joined NAU in building new medical campuses and upgrading their current infrastructure as a part of the initiative.
Arizona State announced in June that it would be launching a new medical school that will focus on engineering, clinical medicine and biomedical science. The University of Arizona also stated that it would be doubling the number of medical gradates from its medical school, along with expanding its current partnership with Banner Health in order to create a more unified academic medical center.
Pay raises also on tap for Arizona university leaders
This news comes just a day after an ABOR vote to boost the pay of Arizona’s top university leaders for the upcoming year.
According to the Arizona Republic, each of the three university presidents from Arizona State, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University, were approved on Sept. 28 for an approximate 3% salary raise, as well as bonuses.
The bonuses provide what the Board of Regents considers “at-risk compensation” for the university leaders and are tied to major goals established by ABOR that can take years to accomplish.
ASU’s Michael Crow obtained the highest amount of at-risk compensation with $150,000 in adjusted bonuses. NAU President José Luis Cruz Rivera received $135,000 and the UArizona’s Robert C. Robbins accumulated $132,500.
With the addition of the bonuses, their base salaries and contracts were extended as well.
Crow will see his base salary move to approximately $834,000; his compensation package will also include a $175,00 contribution to his retirement fund, a $70,000 housing stipend and a $10,000 annual automobile allowance.
Robbins’ new base salary comes in at $816,000, with Cruz Rivera seeing his salary come to $594,000. Both presidents are also set to receive retirement contributions and other perks.