Dr. Alexandre Sugiyama

Just heard via email and on the Bill Buckmaster Radio Show that Dr. Alexandre Borges Sugiyama has been appointed to the TUSD School Board seat vacated when Judy Burns passed away in October.

Dr. Sugiyama is of Japanese/Portuguese ethnicity (his parents emigrated from Brazil), and is a lecturer at the Eller School of Management at the UA, along with fellow TUSD Board member Dr. Mark Stegeman, who is an Associate Professor there. Sugiyama got his Ph.D. from the UA in 1998, click here for his website and photo.

He got his B.S. in Economics from Cal Tech (1991), his M.A. in Economics also from the UA (1994), and has been a Lecturer here since 2002 (adjunct lecturer for 2 years, Lecturer since 2004 to present). After he got his Ph.D. Alex worked at American Express in Phoenix till 2000, as an Econometrician, then Manager of Risk Management.

Coincidentally Dr. Sugiyama shares my maiden name (though we are not related), and my husband and I have met with him over coffee. He is married with two young daughters. His wife was a 3rd grade teacher at Carrillo Elem. School.

Dr. Sugiyama’s contact info:
520.621.4831 office
520.621.8450 fax
sugiyama@eller.arizona.edu
McClelland Hall 401H

Pima County School Superintendent Linda Arzoumanian made this appointment today, from a field of 54 applicants, including former TUSD board member Bruce Burke, and former candidates for school board positions over the years — Marilyn Freed, Miguel Ortega, Armand Salese. Three applicants were interviewed by Dr. Arzoumanian before she made the final selection after the first round of interviews: Ronald Michaels, Ross Sheard, and Dr. Sugiyama, who will be sworn in on Tuesday, January 3 at 5:30 p.m. at the TUSD Board meeting room, 1010 E. 10th St.

The TUSD Governing Board sets policy for Tucson Unified School District, the largest school district in Tucson (K-12), and meets monthly at 1010 E. 10th Street in the Robert D. Morrow Education Center. Their website is http://www.tusd.k12.az.us/contents/govboard/govboard.html. Governing board members are unpaid volunteers, and are usually people passionate about education, with education backgrounds.

Who filed to run for the 2 seats on this board this year? Each term is for four years. With 2 openings, these are the names below of candidates who gathered about 400 signatures to be on the Nov. 2nd ballot, by the deadline of 5 p.m. yesterday August 4th, per the office of Linda Arzoumanian, School Superintendent.

1. Dr. Cassandra Bolden, Program Facilitator (educational programs) of Tucson Urban League
2. Adelita Grijalva, incumbent board member (has served 2 terms since 2003)
3. Michael Hicks, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Manager for City of Tucson, Dept. of Transportation
4. Miguel Ortega, Council Administrative Assistant to Ward 3 Councilwoman Karin Uhlich (formerly Chief of Staff)
5. Armand Salese, J.D., attorney in private practice, ran for this office before in November, 2004

Current board members:
–President : Judy Burns (term expires 12/31/2012)
–Clerk: Miguel Cuervas (term expries 12/31/2012)
–Bruce Burke, J.D. (not seeking re-election this year)
–Adelita Grijalva, seeking re-election this year, daughter of Congressman Raul Grijalva (CD 7), who is also up for re-election
–Dr. Mark Stegeman (term expires 12/31/2012)

Good luck to these non-partisan candidates, as governing T.U.S.D. is not an easy job, with upcoming school closures and a struggling budget due to the economy. Interim Superintendent is Dr. John Carroll.

Questions about these T.U.S.D. candidates and other school district Governing Board candidates can be directed to 520-740-8451 (Pima County School Superintendent’s Office).

Photo of Dr. Cassandra Bolden not available at press time

Board member Adelita Grijalva

Michael Hicks

Miguel Ortega

Armand Salese, J.D.