[CED/CD/EAT] Eller Advisory Committee - Ashford University Acquisition

[Silvertooth, Jeffrey C - (silverto)]

FYI...

Jeffrey C. Silvertooth, Ph.D.
Associate Dean
Director for Extension & Economic Development
Division of Agriculture, Life, & Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension
Forbes 301, Bldg. #36
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ       85721-0036
520-621-7205

From: Hingle, Melanie D - (hinglem) <hinglem at arizona.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, August 4, 2020 9:19 AM


Dear Colleagues,



Based on the discussion at the Faculty Senate meeting on Monday August 3, 2020, the Eller College Advisory Committee would like to share the attached document and the following statement with Faculty Leadership.

Thank you
Melanie





"Along with the attached letter that was previously sent to President Robbins, Provost Folks, and the Arizona Board of Regents, the Eller CAC provided the following context.



The College Advisory Committee was asked to review the potential acquisition of Ashford University's assets in June 2020. Please see attached for the letter we sent to President Robbins, Provost Folks, and the Arizona Board of Regents. In this document, Ashford University is referred to as Antelope University, Zovio is referred to as Zebra, and the acquisition is referred to as the "DigiCat Project." We were required to sign an NDA disclosure before knowing the details of the transaction. Given this, we modified the contents of the letter to avoid the disclosure of classified information per the NDA. That said, the changes we made to the attached letter are highlighted in blue font-and contain the same tone and conclusions as the prior letter. All black font text is verbatim from the original letter that was sent via email on June 19, 2020.



As you will note, we  believe this acquisition is a "catastrophic mistake for the University of Arizona" that will "impair the value of the University of Arizona, expose the University of Arizona to litigation, impede our ability to compete in the high-quality online space, and harm relationships with current and prospective donors and faculty." We regret that President Robbins is moving forward with this acquisition and wanted you to know the stand the College Advisory Committee took on June 19, 2020, where we asked President Robbins, Provost Folks, and the Arizona Board of Regents to "abandon the DigiCat project immediately."



-- Eller College Advisory Committee"


Melanie Hingle, PhD, MPH, RDN
Associate Professor | Department of Nutritional Sciences<http://nutrition.cals.arizona.edu/> | College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Vice Chair of the Faculty, 2020-22 | https://facultygovernance.arizona.edu/
The University of Arizona
hinglem at arizona.edu<mailto:hinglem at arizona.edu>
+1.520.621.3087
1177 E. 4th Street | Shantz Building, Room 328 | Tucson, Arizona | 85721
Twitter: @hinglem


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