ASU Vision Online-Spring 2003 Vol. 6 No.2

Founders' Day is celebrated annually by Arizona State University to recognize the founders of Tempe Normal School in 1885. This year, March 12, Founders' Day honored excellence demonstrated at the institution since its founding. Recognized for that excellence were two alumni, three faculty members, a staff member and six graduating seniors.

During its 118 years, ASU has had many programs and projects that have earned national acclaim. Those efforts were recognized during this year's event. Included were the Center for Indian Education, the Hispanic Research Center, the Center for Asian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies and the African-American Studies program. The university has also seen the Institute of Human Origins move here; one of the first complex computers placed on campus in the mid-1950s; and introduced the Valley to KAET-TV, a public television station that has had many firsts itself.

The Cancer Research Institute was introduced in the 1960s. In 1993, the Computing Commons building opened, and in 2000, ASUSat1 was launched, a project that had a mission of collecting images and data and transmitting them to the University's Engineering Research Center.

Eleven colleges have been founded in the past 50-plus years, and three have had substantial donations: The Katherine K. Herberger College of Fine Arts; the Barrett Honors College; and recently the W.P. Carey School of Business. Other notable units include the Morrison Institute for Public Policy, Institute for Studies in the Arts, PRISM and the Center for Environmental Studies.

And with construction due to begin soon, the Arizona Biodesign Institute will be a world-class facility upon completion.

Faculty, staff, alumni and graduating seniors were also honored. The Alumni Achievement Award went to Susan Bitter Smith '77, '82 M.B.A, and the Young Alumni Achievement Award was won by Derrick Hall '91. The Faculty Achievement Awards were presented to Helen E. Reed, a professor in the department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, for Service; to Jay Boyer, the chairman/coordinator of the Film Studies Program in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences for Teaching; and Brooks D. Simpson, a history professor in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences for Research. Each faculty member will receive a grant of $1,500.

The Staff Achievement Award went to Myrna Morgan '84, executive assistant in the English Department. Students receiving awards include Michael Leingang, male leadership; Maureen Salloom, female leadership; Phil Root, male scholar; Sandra Bensley, female scholar; Gabriel Escontrias, male service; and Ellen Morrison, female service. Also, two $250 book scholarships were presented.

This year's celebration will be staged in the university's Historic Corridor, and will once again showcase Old Main, the university's oldest building.

Young Alumni Achievement Award

Derrick Hall '91
Senior Vice President of Communications, Los Angeles Dodgers

Derrick is the Senior Vice President, Communications, for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He reached that position in a very short time. He is responsible for a $2 million budget and for implementing all of the franchise's external initiatives. He works in the nation's second largest media market and deals with many of the nation's most prominent sports journalists. Previously Derrick was an L.A. media member working in television and radio, plus he teaches a sports public relations class at USC. His love for ASU involves an annual "ASU Day" at Dodger Stadium, and he provides Sun Devil alumni groups with complimentary tickets, tours of the stadium and meet-and-greet sessions with former ASU stars such as catcher Paul LoDuca and Rick Monday of the Dodgers' broadcast team. He has also spoken on ASU alumni panels in Los Angeles and is involved with the L.A. chapter of the ASU Alumni Association. He was honored in 2002 with induction into the Hall of Fame of the College of Public Program's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. It's been said he bleeds Maroon and Gold.

Alumni Achievement Award

Susan Bitter Smith '77, '82 M.B.A.
Executive Director, Arizona Cable Telecommunications Association

Susan's professional and political activities have made her a household name. She has been executive director of the Arizona Cable Telecommunications Association since 1980, and has also been vice president and co-owner of Technical Solutions, a Phoenix-based public affairs firm since 1988. Susan is also the CEO and lobbyist for the State Grade Association; has been a chairman of the Board of Directors of the ASU Alumni Association; is a past chairman of the Walter Cronkite School of Telecommunications Endowment Board; was an honorary chairman of the ASU MBA Council; and was a director of the Morrison Institute of Public Policy. She has been honored numerous times, such as Arizona Society of Association Executives Executive of the Year in 1988 and again in 1998. She is also a past chairman of the American Society of Association Executives, the first Arizonan ever to hold that position, and is a past president of the Arizona Society of Association Executives. Susan was a founder of Arizona Women in Cable and the Valley of the Sun Cable Club. In 2001, the ASAE awarded her its highest honor - the Key Award.

Staff Achievement Award

Myrna Morgan 84
Executive Assistant to the English Department, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Myrna, executive assistant in the English Department, has been described as flexible, skilled, supportive, organized, informed and one of the true heroes of ASU. If there were more room, there would be more superlatives. She is the person most directly responsible for hiring faculty associates in the department, assigning instructors and teaching assistants and opening and closing sections for 558 English classes every year. She oversees the staffing for one out of every 10 classes on the main campus. She is a skilled and knowledgeable manager of people, supervising her staff with a gentle touch that sustains morale through the most stressful times. Myrna is the point person for all activities related to personnel and is responsible for the payroll and benefits details for 85 rank faculty, 100 teaching assistants, 43 part-time faculty associates and two academic professionals. She is a highly effective manager of the myriad of details involved in serving the needs of a growing student population, and is highly respected by all whose lives she touches. She makes an essential contribution to a positive, efficient and productive teaching community.

Faculty Achievement Award for Teaching

Jay Boyer
Professor, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Jay has been an educator, scholar, professor and writer for more than 25 years in the Department of English at ASU. In 1995 he was honored as Arizona's Professor of the Year, awarded by the Council for the Advancement and Study of Education and the Carnegie Foundation, and also received the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award. He numbers among his former students published novelists, artists, screenwriters, motion picture directors and many others working in other careers. Jay's skill in the classroom is undisputed, and he consistently ranks in the highest tiers of effective professors at ASU. He was one of the first professors to offer courses in film studies and has served as the chair/coordinator of the Film Studies Program for nearly 20 years. He regularly teaches American lit courses and has compiled an impressive list of publications in both film studies and literature. One of his most impressive contributions is the work he did with the Arizona Humanities Council, helping to create the Consortium of Arizona Humanities Scholars, an organization dedicated to making the expertise of scholars visible to all.

Faculty Achievement Award for Research

Brooks D. Simpson
Professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Brooks is one of the country's noted authorities on the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era politics. Since 1987, he has published 40 books, book chapters and articles in a variety of publications. His four monographs have all been chosen by the History Book Club as a Main Selection, and his latest work, "Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph over Adversity, 1822-1865," was reviewed in the New York Times and received its recognition as a "Notable Book of the Year." Simpson is committed to passing on his research skills through training graduate students in ASU's History Department. He provides service not just inside the department but also inside and outside of ASU. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Abraham Lincoln Association and the Blue and Gray Education Society, in addition to sitting on many committees at ASU. Brooks has been at ASU since 1990 and has a distinguished record of research and publications. He carries full teaching responsibilities in the History Department and also serves as a faculty mentor for the department's Preparing Future Faculty program.

Faculty Achievement Award for Service

Helen L. Reed
Professor, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering & Applied Sciences

Helen joined the ASU faculty in 1985 and her contributions to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering have been numerous, creative and significant. She is a professor who truly understands what industry wants from graduating students and is willing to go out of her way to help her students get there. She created and developed the ASUSat Lab, a satellite where more than 500 students have participated in its projects. She provides an excellent example of accomplishments that occur at ASU with hard work, leadership and motivation. She also has been active in building relationships with related industry, both locally and nationally. Helen and the team regularly participate in lab tours for high-school students, prospective ASU students and community members. Her involvement with the National Moon Buggy competitions has involved many students as they have designed and built the Moon Buggy and competed with other universities throughout the country. Her peers have selected her Professor of the Year, Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor, and she also won the Presidential Young Investigator Award.

Founders' Day winners