Dive Brief:

• University of Arizona President Ann Weaver Hart is facing pressure to resign over her continued participation on the DeVry University Board of Directors, and the latest call comes from a group of 21 elected officials in the Arizona legislature.
• The senators and representatives took their stand in a letter to the editor of the Arizona Daily Star, writing in support of Rep. Macario Saldate’s previous request that Hart make a choice between DeVry and the University of Arizona — since she has decided not to leave the DeVry board, they say she should resign from the U of A.
• The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Hart has remained committed to her position with DeVry because she wants to help the embattled for-profit chain “achieve the highest standards of academic quality, access, and opportunity for all of their students.”

Dive Insight:

The University of California, Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi stepped down from her own position with the DeVry board in March following an outcry in California. Lawmakers there, too, have called for her resignation. DeVry board members receive $70,000 per year for their services. In both cases, critics have said the academic leaders are putting personal profit over the best interests of students. In Arizona, an online petition says Hart’s position is a conflict of interest because both the University of Arizona and DeVry offer online programs in similar disciplines.

In California, system President Janet Napolitano is supposed to approve moonlighting activities such as participation on the DeVry board, which she did not do in Katehi’s case. Other institutions might take this opportunity to review their own policies before the scandal moves beyond Arizona, as well.