ASU Vision Online -Summer 2003 Vol. 6 No.3

ASU Main

Institute headed for Brickyard

ASU has created the Institute for Computer and Infor- mation Sciences and Engineering (ICISE) to centralize the university's key academic and research programs in computer science, and to help build its computer science department to world-class stature.

The new institute will be housed in leased space at the Brickyard complex on Mill Avenue in Tempe. The move to the Brickyard will give the university an additional 130,000 square feet of academic and research space for its computer science & engineering department (CSE) and provide the facilities ASU needs to create a top-ranked program.

"ASU intends to build a host of world-class academic and research programs as we pursue our goal of creating the new American University,"said ASU President Michael Crow. "The Institute for Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering is our newest initiative, joining others including the Arizona Biodesign Institute and the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict."

Crow launches tech transfer

Taking Arizona State University technology from the research lab to the marketplace more rapidly and with greater ease is the role of Arizona Technology Enterprises, a new entity being developed through the ASU Foundation to serve as ASU's technology venturing enterprise.

The move is further evidence of ASU's rapid shift from an agency to an enterprise model. Through its alignment with the ASU Foundation, the endeavor will have substantially more flexibility to stimulate and bring about new technology driven ideas and companies.

ASU President Michael Crow says creating the new entity is part of ASU's progression as a nimble, fast-paced, and responsive entrepreneurial organization. He already has refocused the university's proceeds from Proposition 301 to support the Arizona Biodesign Institute, and is expanding the university's research infrastructure to create new and high value economic opportunity for the state.

"We need to be as creative as we can, and use our creativity to catalyze economic opportunity,"said Crow. "ASU already is Arizona's leading technology transfer enterprise, and, by breaking the traditional mold, we can go further and get even better."

Legislature invests in ASU, Oks research infrastructure construction

In addition to passing the 2004 budget, the Arizona Legislature approved $440 million for research infrastructure at the state's three universities. Arizona State University should realize $185 million of that.

"This year we saw unprecedented acknowledgement by our government leaders that investing in higher education is a key to the state's future,"said ASU President Michael Crow of the state's budget that includes $312 million for ASU. "With Arizona facing a $1 billion budget deficit, it is extraordinary that ASU has been allocated a budget that includes no cuts from the prior year."However, Crow did acknowledge disappointment that the budget didn't include enrollment growth funds.

There was great anticipation leading up to the vote on the research infrastructure bill.

"This is great news for all of us at ASU,"said George Watson, a professor of journalism & mass communication and immediate past president of the ASU Academic Senate. "If you look at other universities with strong, well-funded research programs, all of their other programs are top-notch as well. With state funding for research infrastructure, and the Proposition 301 monies available for research-related operations, other money is available to invest in and lift up those programs that aren't research intensive."

Crow said the research infrastructure bill is for infrastructure alone -- not operations, not staff, not overhead. It was critically important to keep Proposition 301 funds and revenue from the tuition increase out of the negotiation. He said the bill ensures investment capital that can be applied immediately toward research-intensive facilities.

Crow said it's now up to ASU and the other universities to move forward to keep their commitments to the state.

"We will build these buildings and implement programs in a way that will enable the buildings to pay for themselves,"Crow said. "That means filling them with entities that have the capacity to pay their own way, or the ability to bring in funds from somewhere else to pay their way."

He said the buildings are for the most competitive research with the highest probability for success. They will be built to benefit Arizona, using local workers and purchasing from local companies.

The buildings will have more than an employment and economic benefit to Arizona. They will house programs that reach out to local schools, economically disadvantaged communities and citizens with debilitating illnesses.

"The state of Arizona has put its faith in our ability to build an entire new technology-based industry that, over the next 10 to 20 years, will transform Arizona to a knowledge-based economy with high wage jobs, world-class educational institutions and thriving enterprises that we can't even imagine today,"Crow said.

He said more information about construction projects related to the infrastructure bill would be coming over the next few months.

ASU continues USA Today leadership

Collin Raymond, an ASU senior who spent a year in Mongolia working on bank reform, was named to the 2003 USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team. Esther Ellsworth, a senior majoring in biology and society, is among 20 students named to the second team. Both entered ASU in 1999 as freshman National Merit Scholars.

They are the 12th and 13th ASU students to earn the newspaper's recognition in the past 11 years. Eight of those 13 have earned prestigious first-team honors, the best record of any public university in the nation, and tied with Duke. Only Harvard has more.

Fulbright awards roll in; NSEP grant awarded

Three more ASU students have won Fulbright awards for a year of graduate study and research abroad, bringing the total number so far to six, tying the best record ever for ASU. In addition, an undergraduate has just won a National Security Education (NSEP) grant to study in Mexico next year.

Brenna Lissoway and Robert Niebuhr, both graduate students in history, will study in New Zealand and Croatia, respectively. Danielle Ross, history senior, has been awarded a Fulbright to Kazakhstan. Orietta Verdugo, a junior majoring in industrial engineering, has received an NSEP grant to attend the Instituto Technologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey next spring.

ASU playwright honored at Kennedy Center

James E. Garcia, a journalist and playwright enrolled in the master's program in playwriting at Arizona State University, won first place in the nation's most prestigious playwriting contest for university students.

Garcia beat out more than 600 other playwrights in the category for 10-minute plays at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, held April 14-19 in Washington, D.C. Grand prize was $1,000.

The winning work is entitled "The Crossing."The story was inspired by the death of 14 immigrants in the Arizona desert two years ago.

"I was extremely surprised to win,"Garcia says, "given there was so much good work submitted. By my calculation, at least three other plays could have won first place and I would not have been disappointed. ... It's a tremendous honor.

Students earn NSF fellowships

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has recognized 24 present and former ASU students for academic and research excellence. Students winning Graduate Fellowship Awards include: Vladas Griskevicius, Cinnamon Jill Hayes, Sophia Kenrick, Alison Polasik, Justin Pucci, Robin Roth and Nick Schmerr. Seventeen other students received honorable mentions.

These awards represent NSF's most prestigious recognition of students, said Gregory Raupp, associate vice president for research at ASU.

"Our students will work with distinguished research faculty mentors and will engage in cutting-edge research in important topics ranging from human perception to new technologies for water purification,"he said.

NSF seeks to support students and their research in science, mathematics and engineering in the United States. The NSF Graduate Fellowships offer recognition and three years of support for advanced study to approximately 900 outstanding graduate students in mathematical, physical, biological, engineering and behavioral and social sciences and to research-based Ph.D. degrees in science education. Awards carry a stipend of $27,500 per year and an annual cost-of-education allowance of $10,500, paid to Fellows' institution in lieu of tuition and fees.

Sophmore wins Udall Scholarship

Christopher Vicente, an ASU sophomore majoring in business management and American Indian studies, has been selected as one of 80 students nationwide to receive the Morris K. Udall Scholarship in recognition of his interest in and commitment to the environment, Native American health care and tribal public policy and academic excellence.

Vicente, from Gallup, N.M., is a member of the Zuni Pueblo tribe. He describes his future as focused on "community building, economic development and the creation of social benefit programs through the process of entrepreneurship, whether it be at the individual or the tribal level.''

18-year-old wins Goldwater honor

Lubna Ahmad, an 18-year-old sophomore majoring in bioengineering, received the Goldwater Scholarship, the nation's highest undergraduate award in science, mathematics and engineering. She will receive $7,500 per year for up to two years.

Ahmad was valedictorian at Corona Del Sol High School when she was only 16. ASU students have won 26 Goldwater awards in the past 10 years, placing the university among the top 20 schools in the U.S. for the award. U.S. for the award.

ASU continues as a top school for Hispanics

Once again ASU has been named one of the top 25 universities and colleges for Hispanic students in the U.S. by Hispanic Magazine. The school was chosen for its overall excellence as an institution.

ASU was ranked 20th, based on the diversity of its student body, curriculum, student organizations, faculty and number of bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanic students.

The student body is 10.4 percent Hispanic, and last fall 4,942 Hispanic students were enrolled at ASU Main. That compares with 2,519 in the fall of 1990.

Leaders take new challenges

To focus university resources on bolstering Arizona's public schools, Education Dean Eugene Garcia has been appointed vice president for university-school partnerships.

Garcia will continue to serve as dean of the College of Education on Main Campus and also will ensure that all segments of the university are engaged in these vital efforts. In his newly created vice presidential position, he will become part of the President's Working Group, reporting to Executive Vice President and Provost Milton Glick.

As a new member of the State Board of Education, President Crow has become more aware of the importance of having Arizona's schools, from preschool through high school, achieve success.

In other news, Rob Melnick, director of the Morrison Institute for Public Policy, has been named an associate vice president and head of the new Office of Economic Affairs. He will report to Jonathan Fink, vice president for Research and Economic Affairs.

Melnick will work with Crow and the President's Working Group to establish ASU's strategic goals for economic affairs and public policy. He will coordinate and guide numerous activities with researchers and units across the university, and in addition will be ASU's senior representative to numerous high level business, economic development and policy organizations.

Dean Larry Penley of the W.P. Carey School of Business and Graduate College Dean Bianca Bernstein have both accepted positions out of state.

Penley has been named the president of Colorado State University and its three satellite campuses. He will assume the new post sometime this summer.

"We are grateful for Larry's passionate leadership as dean for the past 12 years, and for his academic excellence and commitment to quality education,"said ASU President Michael Crow. "Larry has positioned the business school on a steep upward trajectory, and we are committed to continuing on this path with the same energy and passion."

ASU Senior Vice President and Provost Milton Glick said an interim dean will be appointed and a national search will begin soon to find a top leader to succeed Penley.

Bernstein will serve the next two years as Director of the National Science Foundation's Graduate Division. She is looking forward to working with NSF.

"I will have the opportunity to influence the national agenda on graduate education, which will help ASU as well as all other universities,"she said. "Expanding my contacts in the national and international networks of decision makers and academic and agency leaders will be advantageous for ASU during my tenure there and upon my return to ASU."

Renowned scientist to lead AzBio

World-renowned researcher, scholar and science policymaker George Poste has been named director of the Arizona Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University's new and path-breaking biodesign and biotechnology enterprise.

Most recently, Poste was chief executive of Health Technology Networks, a consulting group based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and suburban Philadelphia specializing in the application of genomics and computing in healthcare. From 1992-99 he was president for research and development and chief science and technology officer at the multinational healthcare company, SmithKline Beecham, during which time he was instrumental in 29 successful drug and vaccine registrations in the USA and internationally.

ASU President Michael Crow announced Poste's appointment April 29, at a ceremony marking the groundbreaking of the institute's first state-of-the-art research facility under construction on the university's main campus in Tempe.

"George Poste is one of the leading scientists in the world, and there is no better person to build the Arizona Biodesign Institute (AzBio) into a world-class biodesign research center that will benefit the state, the nation and the entire world,"said Crow.

"George is a scientific genius with a compassion for humankind that inspires those around him to do great things to make the world better.

"One of our most immediate goals at ASU is to build research facilities that will attract leading researchers from across the country and around the world,"said Crow. "Even as we break ground on the first of four Arizona Biodesign Institute buildings, we are able to announce the first such recruitment of a research leader who has enjoyed great success in academia, industry and government and has proven skills in building complex, multidisciplinary research enterprises on an international scale."

Arizona Biodesign Institute will house a core of ASU's elite, cutting-edge researchers, both those already at the university and those who will be recruited in the future. It draws together research efforts in biotechnology, information technology and nanotechnology to improve human health and quality of life through multidisciplinary research. Emphasis will also be given to forging extensive relationships with industry to ensure the rapid translation of leading edge research into practical benefits.

Poste said, "I'm excited by President Crow's invitation to make his ambitious vision for AzBio a reality. I also applaud the members of the Arizona Legislature for their forceful commitment to capture research and development excellence in Arizona. The convergence of spectacular advances in genomics, materials science, miniaturization engineering, robotics and computing offers unprecedented opportunities to harness this knowledge to produce dramatic gains in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases and address major unmet medical needs, both nationally and internationally. ASU is in the vanguard in recognizing the need to conduct multi-disciplinary research on a large scale.

"It's my goal that AzBio will pioneer new approaches in both research and teaching,"said Poste. "By forging an extensive network of alliances, both on-and off-campus, AzBio will become a dynamic intellectual and economic resource for ASU, the state and the nation."

Gonzalez named Student Affairs VP

ASU President Michael Crow announced the appointment of Juan Gonzalez as vice president for Student Affairs, following a successful national search. His appointment is effective Aug, 1, pending approval by the Arizona Board of Regents.

"Under President Crow's leadership, ASU has tremendous potential to impact students' lives in ways that will forever transform them as individuals and contributing members of society,"said Gonzalez. "Over the next 10 years we have the opportunity to redefine success and become a university that is directly engaged within the state, country and on a global basis."

Gonzalez, currently vice president for Student Affairs at Georgetown University, will focus on campus life, residential life, student well-being and health and other areas that impact student success and overall experience.

Gonzalez joins ASU from Georgetown, where he has been vice president for Student Affairs since August 2000. From 1994-2000, Gonzalez was vice president for student affairs at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He was vice president for Student Services at California State University, San Bernardino, from 1990-94.

President Crow said Gonzalez "will provide the strong, focused leadership we need for student success."

Rund heads new initiative

ASU President Michael Crow announced the creation the Office of University Undergraduate Initiatives and has appointed James Rund to lead the university-wide effort as the unit's vice president. The appointment is effective Aug, 1, pending approval by the Arizona Board of Regents.

Rund, currently interim vice president for Student Affairs at ASU, will have crosscutting responsibilities, working closely with all administrative areas to manage enrollment growth, selective admissions, diversity and achievement in a multi-campus setting. Juan Gonzalez becomes ASU's vice president for Student Affairs.
"This is a critical time for ASU,"said Crow. "We are growing the university to provide services to larger enrollments of highly qualified students, while continuing to enhance quality and remain open and accessible. To do this successfully, with student success being our highest priority, we need to be intensely focused."

Crow created the Office of university Undergraduate Initiatives without expanding his administrative staff.

Rund has been instrumental in improving the undergraduate experience at ASU. He created ASU's Freshman Year Experience program, which ranked 23rd in the 2003 U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges"ranking of first-year programs designed to help freshmen be successful.

Leading scholar to guide Honors College

Mark Jacobs, a leading scholar, teacher and administrator from top-ranked Swarthmore College, has been named dean of ASU's Barrett Honors College, effective Aug. 1.

Jacobs, 53, brings to ASU a strong scientific background, as well as a deep personal philosophy steeped in the ethical and human side of scientific research. Swarthmore College is known for challenging its students to look beyond the sheer science to explore, practically and ethically, how that science is going to be used.

"Arizona State University has scored a major coup in attracting a scholar and academic administrator of the quality of Mark Jacobs,"said ASU President Michael Crow. "Whereas Swarthmore College is a mature, private, stand-alone institution located in the Northeast, Barrett Honors College is still in its infancy, is public and is embedded in a comprehensive research university located in the Southwest. What they have in common is they are both liberal arts colleges of the highest quality."

Established only 15 years ago, the Barrett Honors College has become a force that has helped shape the ASU student body. The typical honors college freshman at ASU is in the top six percent of his or her high school class, has SAT scores of 1,300 or above, and has a high school grade-point average of 3.8.

ASU taps Reiter to lead Architecture

Wellington Reiter, AIA, an MIT professor, artist and architect from Boston, Mass., has been named new dean of the College of Architecture & Environmental Design at ASU.

Reiter most recently was an associate professor of the practice of architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and principal of Urban Instruments Inc. He also served as commissioner of design for the Boston Society of Architects.

His professional work and interests span the range of disciplines from urban design to public art. Reiter is well known for his work on urban monuments and civic infrastructure, such as the project commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' historic flight, which will open Dec. 17 at the Raleigh-Durham Airport.

"'Duke' Reiter brings a vision for the 'new city,' -- a concept of how to blend art, science, design and quality of life enhancement,"said ASU President Michael Crow. "He is the intellectual fusion leader that the university needs to move ASU through this critical first decade of the 21st century."

Reiter said his goal as dean of the college will be to "knit the diversity of scholarship, science and artistic activity at ASU into a dynamic situation for students and faculty alike.

Reiter replaces John Meunier, who was dean of the college for 15 years and has joined the School of Architecture faculty.

ASU East

Success builds for pre-vet students

The number of students gaining admission to the world's top veterinary schools is steadily increasing. This year students have gained acceptance to top schools at the University of Edinburgh, Tufts University, University of Pennsylvania, Colorado State University, Auburn University and Michigan State University.

East offers a pre-veterinary medicine program through the Morrison School of Agribusiness and Resource Management, and has 65 students enrolled. Veterinary schools are among the toughest to grant admittance.

Fifty-seven percent of this year's pre-vet seniors were admitted on their first try, compared to just 32 percent of applicants accepted in the U.S.

Student teachers honored

Morgan Pardy, Tyler Heel and Heather Navarro have been selected as the recipients of the Outstanding Student Teaching Award for the fall 2002 semester. They demonstrated excellence in the classroom through their lesson preparation, classroom management and professional growth. Pardy student taught at Mesquite High School, Heel at Desert Mountain High School and Navarro at Williams Community School.

Prof honored for rangeland management

Professor John Brock of the Environmental Resources Program received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Society for Range Management's 56th annual meeting. The award recognizes eminently noteworthy achievement in rangeland management, and Brock was cited for his contributions to rangeland management with his teaching, leadership and mentoring.

Relay for Life Fights Cancer

Participants in the first ASU Relay for Life cancer fund raiser raised $10,241 to fight the disease. More than 300 runners participated. The event will continue next year.

ASU Extended Campus

Evening degree candidates sought

Recruitment for the first evening bachelor's degree has been launched, and it figures to serve more than 34,000 workers who work in Downtown Phoenix on weekdays.

The ASU Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree with a concentration in organizational studies will be available. It is one of the more flexible degrees as it allows working adults to apply previous college credits and use the program to complete their degree without starting over. It is a complete degree program that accepts working adult students with no previous college experience.

A big supporter is the City of Phoenix. "I want the city to serve as an example for other employers in the area to show the importance of supporting employee education,'' said City Manager Frank Fairbanks.

For further information, call (480) 965-9797 or visit www.asu.edu/phx.

ASU West

Dress display focuses on Juarez murders

Some 300 dresses displayed on ASU West's Fletcher Library lawn April 16-17 provided a striking visual reminder of 300 unsolved murders of young women in Juarez, Mexico, during the past decade. Dresses were donated and decorated by ASU West faculty, students and staff as well as community members. The public art display, titled "ReDressing Injustice,"coincided with a two-day forum on "Gender, Justice and the Border."The forum included an appearance by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Lourdes Portillo and a screening of her documentary, Se–orita Extraviada/Missing Young Woman, which focuses on the tragic situation in Juarez. ASU West students made presentations, conducted poster sessions, and gathered signatures on petitions urging the Mexican government to take more aggressive actions to stop the murders.

Residence features innovative programming

Two ASU West faculty members and an academic adviser will live on site when Las Casas, ASU West's first student residential facility, opens in August. The two resident "Faculty Fellows"will teach classes in the 400-bed residence hall and serve as advisers for special interest groups focusing on topics including the arts, technology, and leadership. Workshops, tutoring, academic advising, and counseling will be among the services offered in Las Casas.

"We are strongly committed to making the term 'living-learning community' much more than simply a slogan,"said Elaine Maimon, provost of ASU West. "Bringing faculty into Las Casas will draw our students into an intellectual community and help them establish lasting relationships with professors and other students."

Fully furnished, apartment-style units will feature full kitchens and free cable and local phone service. A community center will include a standard classroom and computer classroom as well as a gathering area for interest groups and social meetings. Las Casas amenities also include an outdoor swimming pool.

Teacher certification program expands

An ASU West College of Education program that enables people with bachelors' degrees in other fields to complete their teacher certification requirements in one academic year is expanding. The accelerated certificate program began as a pilot program with the Peoria Unified School District in 2002-03.

Seven additional Valley school districts are participating during the 2003-04 school year. Students in the program spend significant amounts of time each week in the public school to which they are assigned, while also taking the university-level education courses needed for teacher certification.

"The classroom experience I gained through this program has prepared me extremely well for a career as an educator,"said ASU West student Tyson Boothe, who participated in the pilot program in Peoria.

For more information, call (602) 543-6354.

For more information on these and other ASU news stories, see www.asu.edu/asunews.

The Brickyard on Mill

Arizona Biodesign Institute

Credit: Gould Evans/Lord Aeck Sargent

This rendering shows Phase 1 of the Arizona Biodesign Institute scheduled to be completed in fall 2004 at the northeast corner of Terrace Drive and McAllister Avenue.