Successor to murdered UA leader will leave the university. What’s next for his department?
The University of Arizona professor who took over leadership of the Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences after its previous leader was murdered by a former student announced Thursday he will resign his position from the university.
The news comes two days after former UA student Murad Dervish was convicted of first-degree murder for shooting and killing professor Thomas Meixner on UA’s campus in 2022. Interim Department Head Chris Castro said he will officially leave UA on July 1 to work at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Castro cited the new job as one of the reasons for the announcement's timing.
"This was not an easy decision for me to make and came after much contemplation and personal reflection," Castro wrote in an email to the Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences department.
UA professor Peter Troch was already slated to become the department's next head. UA professor Jen McIntosh will become the new associate department head.
Castro has worked at UA for more than 18 years, joining as a faculty member in 2006. He worked as associate department head before Meixner’s death, later taking over.
"I will have a special place in my heart forever for my fellow department victims of the October 5th tragedy and the Meixner and Cotter families," Castro wrote. "I pray that continued psychological support, the recent Meixner family settlement with the university, and the conclusion of a criminal trial will bring all of them some measure of solace and peace."
He received UA’s Distinguished Head/Director’s Award earlier this month for his work that “positively impacts the lives of students, colleagues, and communities locally, nationally, and internationally.” Castro has donated the $1,000 award back to his department in memory of the late Meixner.
Castro was close to Meixner for multiple years before his death. He later told reporters he would have been with Meixner the day of the shooting, but was out of town.
Castro reported the threats made to him and others in the department multiple times in the lead-up to the shooting, he told the Tucson Sentinel in 2022. An independent report released last year showed the university failed to adequately respond to threats made by the former graduate student, ones they were informed of months before the shooting. The report laid out weaknesses found in UA's threat assessment protocol.
Those weaknesses "prevented the University from accurately assessing, managing, and coordinating action to mitigate a real and present threat." Following Meixner's death, the UA police chief and provost both stepped down.
In his email to his colleagues, Castro thanked both university leadership and safety officials for their support in the aftermath of Meixner's death. He encouraged those leaders to continue to protect the department in the coming years.
Castro also got involved in the university’s multi-million dollar budget shortfall. The department requested an external audit of the university’s finances, which was later voted on and endorsed by the faculty senate. While a full external audit has not taken place, the university contracted Ernst & Young to analyze the finances of the athletics department and the University of Arizona Global Campus — the university's controversial online school.
Helen Rummel covers higher education for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at hrummel@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter:@helenrummel.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: UA hydrology department head to resign from university
