The announcement came Feb. 1 during a press conference that included UA President Eugene G. Sander, City of Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny and several members of the Chandler City Council and University leadership.

The UA College of Education and Eller College of Management each are expanding programs into Chandler, while the School of Information and Library Science will be offering a foundational course.

The offerings will be held at the Chandler Community Center, located at 125 E. Commonwealth Ave., where the UA will utilize about 9,000 square feet of space for classrooms and offices.

“One of my goals has been a university presence in downtown Chandler and this could not present a better fit for our community,” Tibshraeny said.

“As President Obama noted to me during his visit last week, we need to ensure a solid workforce development plan is in place to meet the needs of our high-tech employment sector. These programs do just that," he added.

University officials called the announcement an expansion of a continuing and an exciting partnership with the City of Chandler.

"The UA is continuing to develop new and innovative pathways to provide students across the state with access to our academic programs," Sander said.

"I am grateful to the City of Chandler for its creative and collaborative approach to increasing access to a UA education," Sander said. "The UA is firmly committed to expanding its presence in Maricopa County."

The programs are:

• UA College of Education's Teach Arizona program. The fast-track secondary teaching certification and master's degree program plans to offer three graduate programs begin in Chandler beginning in May. The program has been operating successfully in Tucson for 11 years. 
• Also in May, the college's Math & Science Teacher Education/Retention Industry Partnerships, or MASTER-IP, program will be offered. The program is funded by Science Foundation Arizona with matching funds from business and industry. Now in its third year in Tucson, the program partners with Tucson Values Teachers, providing middle and high school STEM teachers with three consecutive summers of business/industry internships – with pay at industry wages – combined with a master's degree.
• And the college's Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies will offer the graduate education specialist program in school psychology in May. 
• UA's Department of Management Information Systems, or MIS, will offer the graduate certificate in enterprise security during the fall of 2012 with three three-credit courses covering a range of principles and concepts related to information assurance, cyber security and information technology security.
• During the spring, MIS also will offer a master's in management information systems. The 31-credit graduate program is specially tailored for Chandler participants via online and on-site teaching. Graduate certificate courses in security and business intelligence/analytics will count toward the degree.
• The third MIS offering is a graduate certificate program in business intelligence and analytics, which will be available in the spring of 2013. The program is intended to cover the increasingly relevant skills in data analytics and business intelligence in a variety of real-world scenarios.
• The UA School of Information Resources and Library Sciences will be offering IRLS 504, "Foundations of Library and Information Services." It is the first course the school's graduate students take, providing an introduction to the library and information professions.

With the announcement, members of the local business community said they are eager to see the UA expand into Chandler.

"I think it's really great to have this university presence in Chandler," stated Mike Sims, the human resources director for Orbital Sciences Corporation, a participating company of the UA's MASTER-IP.

The program provides middle and high school teachers with internships through local businesses.

Sims said: "The great thing about this is the opportunity for industry to partner with educators to give them a real taste of what goes on behind the scenes in the private sector."