The Arizona State Museum has remained closed for more than a year after the Arizona Board of Regents declined to act on a $50 million funding request in 2024. Now University of Arizona leaders say they are pursuing a different path forward.
In September of 2024, the school requested $50 million in system revenue bonds for the museum’s upkeep — including repairs to the electric and plumbing. The board declined to fund the museum at the time, with Regent Gregg Brewster saying “I would rather see us polish the young people of Arizona with $50 to $90 million in state-funded education than I would like to see the UA have to stand up and deliver because the state has ignored this project for years and years.”
The Arizona State Museum is operated by the University of Arizona, but state statute puts the onus of managing the museum on the Arizona Board of Regents…