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Timothy P. Slottow is a leader in the higher education industry. He is the seventh president of the University of Phoenix, appointed in June 2014 by the institution's Board of Trustees after 16 years at the University of Michigan.
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Slottow was appointed president of the University of Phoenix on June 20, 2014. In 2015, his opening message of the newly published Academic Annual Report, he wrote that “The purpose of this report is to provide a picture of the institution today and to outline areas for progress tomorrow,” said University of Phoenix President Tim Slottow. “It describes our vision and approach to higher education. It outlines our challenges. It defines some of the characteristics of our students, our academic programs, and our faculty. This is an incredibly exciting time for University of Phoenix and I am thrilled to be part of it. I hope that everyone committed to improving higher education in America will take a closer look at who we are, how we educate and what we accomplish.”
In October 2015, Slottow wrote to an open letter to alumni of the University of Phoenix after the U.S. Department of Defense placed its MOU with the school in probationary status.
Slottow has published his views of University of Phoenix in Inside Higher Ed, including his view in response to columnist Matt Reed's column about whether the University was a "good" school. He also wrote about the White House College Scorecard upon data released in September 2015.
Education
After high school, Slottow went to UC Berkeley. Alongside his studies, he performed as a gymnast. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree and later earned an M.B.A. from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley.
After college, he went to work in various positions at Amtrak, the city of Seattle, and Accenture.
Business career
In 1998, he was hired as the executive vice president and CFO at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. At the University of Michigan, Slottow managed thousands of employees and served as the leader and manager of building construction, IT services, investment management, and HR. He steered the University of Michigan during the recession, managing a $6.5 billion budget and a $16 billion asset portfolio.
While at Michigan, Slottow intervened in a major dispute between the university and Coca-Cola about alleged human rights violations. Slottow supported, and ultimately won, an investigation into Coca-Cola’s labor practices. In late 2005 and early 2006, UofM stopped buying Coca-Cola products. Allegations surfaced about alleged human rights violations by Coca-Cola. The University requested that Coca-Cola audit the alleged violations, but the company refused. After four months of suspended contracts between UofM and Coca-Cola, Slottow worked with the university’s administration to resume contracts with Coca-Cola in exchange for independent investigations into the alleged violations. A branch of the United Nations (the International Labour Organization) was one of the organizations that agreed to investigate the labor practices. In his public letter to Coca-Cola, which Slottow co-wrote with another Michigan executive, he said “We respect the reputation and track record of ILO in advancing the rights of workers around the world.”
An article about Slottow in the University of Michigan’s student newspaper, The Michigan Daily, praised Slottow for “wide-ranging responsibility for a $5.2 billion enterprise” and said “Timothy Slottow couldn’t be more of an exception.”
In 2014, he was hired to run the University of Phoenix. After he announced his departure from Ann Arbor, the president of the University of Michigan publicly praised one of his greatest accomplishments during his tenure: growing the University of Michigan endowment fund to $8.4 billion. At the University of Michigan, Slottow oversaw operating revenues, financial and physical assets.
Personal life
Slottow is married to Marie Slottow/ For his “silver” wedding anniversary (25 years), Slottow danced with his wife—a competitive ballroom dancer—at the Michigan Theater for a benefit for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.