Patron 2026

Dear friends,

What a run the Wildcats had this year in basketball. Whether you followed their progress at home, with fellow fans at watch parties or in person in San Diego, San Jose or Indianapolis, this season will go down in U of A history. Tucson truly is a basketball town, and there’s nothing like a Final Four game to bring us together. This year also gave us many opportunities to cheer on the university’s academic and research successes — the U of A is a top producer of Gilman Scholars and Fulbright U.S. Scholars, among the top 20 public universities in a Time magazine ranking and home to the nation’s best Air Force ROTC program, and it generated over $1 billion in research expenditures. Our faculty garner national attention for their expertise: Three researchers were elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and President Suresh Garimella was named to the U.S. Department of Energy advisory committee.

And, of course, this is a special time of year, as we celebrate the graduating class of 2026. The U of A knows how to send newly minted alumni off in style, and it’s always a pleasure to see alumni and friends recognized, too. I’m thrilled that Cisco Aguilar ’00 ’04, Nevada’s secretary of state, was awarded this year’s Alumni Achievement Award. The U of A also conferred much-deserved honorary degrees on Alice Baker ’66 and Scott Stuber. Congratulations.

Finally, I want to thank all of you for including the U of A among your philanthropic priorities. This year, we’ve received gifts of incredible 
generosity and impact, including an endowed gift from Sarah Smallhouse ’88 to name the College of Science deanship and an anonymous $20 million gift supporting the Presidential Strategic Leadership Fund. These gifts and yours are part of the $3 billion Fuel Wonder campaign. We launched three years ago at Homecoming and expect to come full circle when we celebrate reaching our goal at Homecoming 2026

Bear Down and Go, ’Cats!