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A blueprint for the future

In April, ASU President Michael Crow unveiled a blueprint for the future of the university, with plans including an expansion to a new downtown campus in Phoenix.

The plan aims to help ASU evolve from a regional research university to a national research university, with goals of improving the quality of all the individual colleges and schools and enhancing student access to the institution.

The plan will take place in phases that will require three, five, 10 years and more to complete, Crow said, but ASU is prepared to move some programs to downtown Phoenix within a year or two.

Mernoy Harrison, former executive vice president for Administration and Finance, was named founding provost of the new downtown campus.

“The successful construction of our downtown Phoenix campus is vital to the future of ASU and the city of Phoenix,” Crow said. “Mernoy's blend of skills, record of accomplishment, and knowledge of both the university and the city make him ideally suited to lead a task of this magnitude, importance and complexity.”

In other news:

• ASU launched University College, an interdisciplinary undergraduate college for students pursuing specialized or new degree programs and those with no declared major. Gail Hackett is the founding dean. She will remain a vice provost of the university.
• ASU established the Emeritus College, an organization that will provide a home and focus for the continued intellectual, creative and social engagement of more than 800 retired or soon-to-retire faculty members.
• The city of Scottsdale, ASU and the ASU Foundation formed a partnership that aims to significantly enhance the city’s economic base and serve as the cornerstone for the revitalization of south Scottsdale. The plan calls for the ASU Foundation to develop the former Los Arcos mall site as the ASU Scottsdale Center for New Technology and Innovation.