Andrew Comrie serves as the Chief Academic Officer for the Arizona Board of Regents. He is responsible for system strategy, planning and analysis in academic affairs, including fostering academic access and excellence at all three of Arizona’s public universities.
Dr. Comrie is a geographer, interdisciplinary climate scientist, and former Provost at the University of Arizona. He holds an academic appointment as Professor in the School of Geography, Development & Environment, with joint appointments in Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences and in Public Health.
His research is in two broad areas. The first links climate with health, pathogens and vectors as well as with broader atmospheric environmental issues, and focuses on questions such as How do disease patterns shift in space and time with changes in climate? The second draws on his experience as a senior institutional leader, and examines questions in higher education such as How do resources flow to support the university’s multiple missions?
Dr. Comrie has published widely in specialized and interdisciplinary international journals and his work has been funded by federal, state and local agencies. He has served as editor and editorial board member for respected international scholarly journals and on many professional committees and boards. He is the author of the open-access book Like Nobody’s Business: An Insider’s Guide to How US University Finances Really Work.
How do university finances really work?
From flagship public research universities to small, private liberal arts colleges, there are few aspects of these institutions associated with more confusion, myths or lack of understanding than how they fund themselves and function in the business of higher education. Using simple, approachable explanations supported by clear illustrations, this book takes the reader on an engaging and enlightening tour of how the money flows. How does the university really pay for itself? Why do tuition and fees rise so fast? Why do universities lose money on research? Do most donations go to athletics?
Grounded in hard data, original analyses, and the practical experience of a seasoned administrator, this book provides refreshingly clear answers and comprehensive insights for anyone on or off campus who is interested in the business of the university: how it earns its money, how it spends it, and how it all works.
‘Like Nobody’s Business’ is a remarkable piece of work. The book describe all aspects of the enormously complicated business of higher education in terms of the flow and utilization of resources—human but predominantly financial. In doing so, the author addresses all the issues that are perennially discussed and contested in the popular media, in both governmental and nongovernmental policy forums, and in academic studies. This book simply provides a wealth of information on topics large and small, but especially on the chief foci of policy and controversy in American higher education.
— Roger Lewis Geiger, distinguished professor of education at the Pennsylvania State University
I am pleased to say that anyone who’d like to know more about the economics of higher education now has a resource that I recommend wholeheartedly. Andrew C. Comrie […] has written the most accessible, thorough, and fair-minded account of how colleges and universities have responded to cost pressures and resource limitations that I have read. […] In addition to the book’s balance, readability, and depth of research, its topical coverage is exceptionally broad. This volume will certainly become the one-stop reference and go-to resource for information about revenue and expenditures by institutional type, the revenue significance of out-of-state and international students, the economics of public-private partnerships and outsourcing, the costs of the research, the size of athletic subsidies, the viability of fossil fuel disinvestment and socially responsible investing, and the financial benefits of a degree.
— Steven Mintz, columnist for Inside Higher Ed and professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin
Employment
- Chief Academic Officer, Arizona Board of Regents, November 2021 – present.
- Professor, School of Geography, Development & Environment, University of Arizona, July 2005 – present.
- Director, May 2021 – March 2022.
- Associate Director, August 2019 – May 2021.
- Joint appointments in Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences & Public Health.
- Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs in Arid Lands Resource Sciences, Ecosystem Genomics, Entomology & Insect Science, Global Change, Remote Sensing & Spatial Analysis, and Statistics & Data Science.
- Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost , University of Arizona, August 2012 – June 2018.
- Associate Vice President for Research & Dean of the Graduate College, University of Arizona, January 2006 – July 2012.
- Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona, July 1999 – June 2005.
- Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona, August 1992 – June 1999.
Education
- Ph.D. Geography, The Pennsylvania State University, August 1992
- M.Sc. Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town, June 1988
- B.Sc.(Honours) Atmospheric Science, University of Cape Town, December 1985
- B.Sc. Geography, University of Cape Town, December 1984.
Honors & Awards
- Winner of Choice Review’s Outstanding Academic Title for Like Nobody’s Business, 2022
- Lifetime Achievement Award, American Association of Geographers, Climate Specialty Group, 2020
- Andrew C. Comrie Doctoral Fellowship, an endowment established by the Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs in honor of my strong commitment to interdisciplinary research and study, University of Arizona, 2018
- Advocate Award, Graduate and Professional Student Council, University of Arizona, 2016
- Distinguished Service Award, African American Community Council, University of Arizona, 2015
- Phi Beta Kappa, Honorary member, 2013
- Honored Faculty Award, Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs, University of Arizona, 2012
- Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary International (Tucson Sunset), 2011.
- Excellence in Mentoring Award, Honors College, University of Arizona, 2011
- Special Contribution to American Indian Education Award, University of Arizona American Indian Alumni Club, 2007
- Research Professorship, University of Arizona, Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute, 2000
- Faculty Appreciation Award, Business and Public Administration Student Council, University of Arizona, 1997
- Visiting Fellow, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, University of Arizona, 1996-1997
- J. Warren Nystrom Award for Best Ph.D. Dissertation nationally, Association of American Geographers, 1993
- Hans Neuberger Award for Outstanding Teaching, Department of Meteorology, The Pennsylvania State University, 1989
- W.M. Talbot Trophy for Outstanding Contributions to the Department of Geography, University of Cape Town, 1984
Board Service
Administrative
- Leadership Council member, Cradle to Career Community Partnership for K-20 Education, Pima County, Arizona, 2016-present
- International Council member, ITMO University, 2016-February 2022
- Board of Trustees member, University of Arizona Foundation, 2012-2018
- Executive Council member, Committee on Academic Affairs of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), 2016-2018
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)/American Council on Education (ACE) advisory roundtable, 2016
- Member Representative, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), 2014-2018
- Advisory Board member, Parents and Family Association, University of Arizona, 2013-2019
- Member, Higher Education Advisory Committee, Educational Testing Service (ETS), 2013-2014
- Board member, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Board (incl. service as member of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and Finance Committee), 2010-2014
- Executive Committee Member, Association of American Universities (AAU) Association of Graduate Schools (AGS), 2010-2012
- International Review Panelist, German Universities Excellence Initiative, German Research Foundation (DFG) & German Council of Science and Humanities (WR), 2011
- Board member and Executive Board member (2010), Council of Graduate Schools, 2008-2010
- National Stakeholder Advisory Committee for the Professional Science Master’s Degree, 2010
Academic
- Science Board member, France-Arizona Institute for Global Grand Challenges, CNRS & UArizona
- Editor for the Americas, International Journal of Climatology, 2004-2012
- Editor, Climate Research, an international journal, 2001-2003
- Editorial Advisory Board, Progress in Physical Geography, 2009-2022
- Editorial Board, Environmental Science & Policy, 2007-2022
- Editorial Board, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 2006-2012
- Editorial Board, The AAG Review of Books, 2013-2015
- Editorial Advisory Board of the international journal Atmospheric Environment, 2000-2008
- Review Editorial Board of the international journal Climate Research, 1999-2000
- Board member, Applied Climate Committee, American Meteorological Society, 2003-2005
- Board of Directors, Climate Specialty Group, American Association of Geographers, Chair 2002-2004, Secretary-Treasurer, 1998-2000
- Peer Review Panelist, National Science Foundation, 2002-2004
- Board of Governors, Arizona-Nevada Academy of Sciences, 1995-1999