| As the next step in its evolution from a teachers college to
a young regional university and now to a national research university,
Arizona State University (ASU) has unveiled the blueprint for its
future, to improve the quality of all the university’s individual
colleges and schools and to enhance student access. The plan includes
expansion to a new downtown campus in Phoenix.
“ASU is a public metropolitan research university, and,
as such, the profile of our student body, the character of our
research enterprise, and the scope of our community engagement
differ from that of other institutions,” said ASU President
Michael M. Crow. “Our objective is to build
a comprehensive metropolitan research university with an unparalleled
combination of academic excellence and commitment to its social,
economic, cultural and environmental setting.”
The plan announced today (April 8) by Crow will take place in
phases that will require three, five, ten years and longer to complete.
However, ASU is prepared to move some programs to downtown Phoenix
within a year or two.
ASU, with some 57,000 students, is the only research university
serving metropolitan Phoenix, which is one of the nation’s
fastest growing urban regions. The university will keep enrollment
at its original campus in Tempe at about 50,000 students and build
its Polytechnic campus in the East Valley from 3,660 students
today to 12,000 to 15,000 students and its West Valley campus from
7,100 students to the 10,000 to 12,000 student level. In addition,
ASU plans to have another 12,000 to 15,000 students on the campus
to be built in downtown Phoenix, the cornerstone of new mayor Phil
Gordon’s effort to revitalize the downtown area.
ASU intends to provide the best possible education for qualified
students. T o enhance its national competitiveness, ASU plans to
increase overall academic excellence through a “school/college-centric” model
by which each school and college competes for status, not with
other divisions within the university, but rather with peer institutions
around the country and around the world. Each school and college
will have an opportunity to gain its own competitive status within
its own sphere.
ASU also is dramatically increasing its research infrastructure,
adding over one million square feet of research space during the
next few years.
Specific changes announced by President Crow are summarized below.
1) Moving to the new Capital Center campus in downtown Phoenix
are:
- The College of Nursing, which will also offer programs on
the Polytechnic campus and the West campus.
- The Public College (formerly known as the College of Public
Programs) along with its School of Public Affairs, School of Social
Work, and The Morrison Institute for Public Policy.
- The Department
of Recreation Management and Tourism will move from the Tempe
campus and be renamed the School of Community Service and Development
in the Public College.
- KAET, Channel 8, ASU’s PBS television
station.
- The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication,
which will become a stand-alone school and have facilities contiguous
with KAET.
- The School of Health Management and Policy
- The new University
College, which will house a new School of Interdisciplinary
Studies, the Community College Alliance, and the Extended Education
programs
- Miscellaneous offerings in business, communication and
education will be available on all campuses.
2) In addition, several schools on the Tempe Campus will expand
their programs to other campuses:
- The College of Architecture and Environmental Design will
offer select programs to students on other campuses on a distributed
basis.
- The Herberger College of Fine Arts will develop an arts presence
at the Capital Center campus and the Polytechnic campus.
- The Del
E. Webb School of Construction within the Ira A. Fulton School
of Engineering will offer a Construction Management Program
on the Tempe campus and a Construction Technology Program on
the Polytechnic campus.
3) Other enhancements to the Polytechnic campus include:
- A general engineering program will be developed on the Polytechnic
campus.
- The Physical Education Program will relocate from the
Tempe campus to the Polytechnic campus.
- A new School of Industrial
Administration will be developed.
4) Other enhancements to the West campus include:
- The Administration of Justice Program at the West campus will
become the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology with administrative
responsibility for applied programs in criminal justice.
- The College
of Education on the West Campus will be renamed the College
of Teacher Education and Leadership to reflect its mission and
strengths.
- The Recreation and Tourism Management Program will
be enhanced on the West campus.
5) ASU will redesign existing schools or create new ones focusing
on the following areas:
- anthropology and social change;
- earth sciences:
- global studies;
- global health and appropriate technology;
- sustainability; and
- family and human development.
6) Other decisions include:
- The College of Law will continue to explore alternate program
opportunities. It should also consider opportunities for its
existing programs as part of the planning and development of
the Capital Center campus.
- The Hugh Downs School of Human Communications will remain on
the Tempe campus. With the relocation of the College of Public
Programs to the Capital Center campus, the school will become part
of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
- Justice Studies on the
Tempe Campus will be renamed the School of Social Inquiry or
some other appropriate name to be more reflective of its academic
focus and will decide if it should relocate to the Capital
Center campus or become part of the College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences on the Tempe campus.
Planning and implementation of this strategy through Arizona Board
of Regents and other public and private bodies will begin immediately,
and will include acquiring the resources ASU needs to accomplish
this transformation.
Media Contacts:
Nancy Neff, 480-965-4836
Virgil Renzulli, 480-965-8526
|
|
