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his place — I knew it crazy, because I’m prone to get off schedule a
was good, but I didn’t little bit.”
know how good,” Robbins, who starts his workday around
Robbins says. “We’ve 7:30 a.m. — after a morning dose of ESPN’s
got great professors and “SportsCenter” and political talk shows — likes to
“Tgreat staff. We train tell people he works a 25/8, rather than 24/7, job.
great students, and everybody has incredible Late hours don’t bother him, and he even says he’s
school spirit and pride about this university.” fond of after-hours meetings.
Since he assumed his position as the UA’s “My view is that if you start at 7 o’clock at
22nd president on June 1, Robbins, 59, has been night, then the only limitation is 7 o’clock the
busy meeting with and talking to as many next morning, so we could meet for 12 hours. You
university stakeholders as he can. That includes don’t have to sleep,” he jokes.
alumni, donors, legislators, regents, business Robbins’ willingness to pull all-nighters
and community leaders, faculty, staff and — is probably the result of his former career as a
perhaps most important — students. cardiac surgeon; he’s accustomed to working on
“I’m going full speed ahead, trying to engage “surgeon’s time.”
with stakeholders and listen to what it is they “As a surgeon, you get up really early in the
want,” he says. “There are thousands of people morning, and at least one to two nights a week,
with opinions about everything from athletics you’re up all night operating,” he says.
and academics to running a university. So I’m Despite his busy schedule at the UA, Robbins
trying to take it all in and engage with them seems to have boundless energy and enthusiasm
about the vision and direction of the university.” for his job. How does he keep it up?
It’s important to Robbins, who introduces “It’s fun!” he says.
himself as “Bobby,” that students and others see “I’m learning so much from all the
him as accessible. amazing programs we’ve got here — whether
“I’ve told all the students I’ve met to stop it be Biosphere 2, the Mirror Lab, the Center for
me anytime they see me on campus; stop me, Creative Photography — and I’m really excited
because I’m going to be out there. And I think about all the opportunities,” he says. “Thinking
they like that they have free license to do that,” about how I’m responsible for leading all this
he says. Smiling, he adds, “It drives some people is pretty humbling, and I take it as a great
opportunity. I’m excited about getting everybody
else excited.”

‘I’VE TOLD ALL THE STUDENTS From Rural Mississippi to the Pac-12

Robbins comes to the UA after serving five
I’VE MET TO STOP ME ANYTIME years as CEO of Texas Medical Center in Houston,

the largest medical network in the world.
THEY SEE ME ON CAMPUS; Before that, he served as professor and chair
of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery
STOP ME, BECAUSE I’M GOING at the Stanford University School of Medicine,
where he was founding director of the Stanford
TO BE OUT THERE.’ Cardiovascular Institute.
But his love of academia began long before his
time working on a college campus.
Raised by his maternal grandparents in rural
southern Mississippi, Robbins fondly remembers
spending much of his childhood on a junior
college campus, where his grandfather worked as
a math professor.
“I ran wild on that campus,” he recalls. “I
would sit outside the window in a tree and

28 ARIZONA ALUMNI MAGAZINE