Arizona State University
Arizona State University (commonly referred to as ASU or Arizona State) is a
national space-grant institution and public metropolitan research university located in
the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the largest public
university in the United States by enrollment. Founded in 1885 as the Tempe Normal
School for the Arizona Territory, the school came under control of the Arizona Board
of Regents in 1945 and was renamed Arizona State College. A 1958 statewide ballot
measure gave the university its present name. In 1994 ASU was classified as a
Research I institute; thus, making Arizona State one of the newest major research
universities (public or private) in the nation. Arizona State's mission is to create a
model of the “New American University” whose efficacy is measured “by those it
includes and how they succeed, not by those it excludes”.
ASU awards bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees, and is broadly organized into
16 colleges and schools spread across four campuses: the original Tempe campus, the
West campus in northwest Phoenix, the Polytechnic campus in eastern Mesa, and the
Downtown Phoenix campus. All four campuses are accredited as a single institution
by the Higher Learning Commission. The University is categorized as a Research
University with very high research activity (RU/VH) as reported by the Carnegie
Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, with a research expenditure of $385
million in 2012. Arizona State is one of the appointed members of the Universities
Research Association, a consortium of 86 leading research-oriented universities.
ASU's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known
as the Arizona State Sun Devils. They are members of the Pacific-12 Conference and
have won 23 national championships. Along with multiple athletic clubs and
recreational facilities, ASU is also home to over 1,000 registered student
organizations across its campuses, reflecting the diversity of the student body. With
the continued growth of the student population, ASU has recently undergone
numerous renovations across each of its campuses, including expansion of athletic
facilities, student recreational centers and dormitories. The demand for improved
facilities and more student housing on campus is being addressed with public/private
investment. Currently, ASU's campus housing accommodates one of the largest
residential populations in the nation with over 13,000 residents: a figure that will
increase each year as the university continues to build more on-campus housing.
History
1885–1929
Originally named the Tempe Normal School, the institution was founded on March 12,
1885, after John Samuel Armstrong first introduced House Bill 164, "An Act to
Establish a Normal school in the Territory of Arizona to the 13th Legislative
Assembly of the Arizona Territory. Instruction was instituted on February 8, 1886
under the supervision of Principal Hiram Bradford Farmer. Land for the school was
donated by Tempe residents George and Martha Wilson, allowing 33 students to meet
in a single room.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the school's name was changed from Tempe
Normal School to the Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe. Before becoming a
college, the Normal School enrolled high school students with no other secondary
education facilities. Under the 30-year tenure of president Arthur John Matthews the
school was given all-college student status. The first dormitories built in the state
were constructed under his supervision. Of the 18 buildings constructed while
Matthews was president, six are still currently in use. Matthews envisioned an
"evergreen campus," with many shrubbery brought to the campus. He also
implemented the planting of Palm Walk, now one of the feature landmarks of the
Tempe campus. His legacy is being continued to this day with the main campus
having the honor of being declared a nationally recognized arboretum.
During the Great Depression, Ralph W. Swetman was hired as president for a
three-year term.Although enrollment increased by almost 100% during his tenure due
to the depression, many faculty were terminated and faculty salaries were cut.
1930–1989
In 1933, Grady Gammage, then president of Arizona State Teachers College at
Flagstaff, became president of Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe, a tenure that
would last for nearly 28 years. Like his predecessor, Gammage oversaw the
construction of a number of buildings on the Tempe campus. Dr. Gammage oversaw
the development of the university, graduate programs, and the renaming of the
Arizona State College to Arizona State University in 1958.
By the 1960s, with the presidency of Dr. G. Homer Durham, Arizona State University
began to expand its academic curriculum by establishing several new colleges and
beginning to award Doctor of Philosophy and other doctoral degrees.
The next three presidents—Harry K. Newburn, 1969–71, John W. Schwada, 1971–81,
and J. Russell Nelson, 1981–89—and Interim President Richard Peck, 1989, led the
university to increased academic stature, creation of the West Campus, and rising
enrollment.
1990–present
Under the leadership of Dr. Lattie F. Coor, from 1990 to June 2002, ASU grew
through the creation of the Polytechnic campus and extended education sites. His
commitment to diversity, quality in undergraduate education, research, and economic
development underscored the university's significant gains in each of these areas over
his 12-year tenure. Part of Dr. Coor's legacy to the university was a successful
fund-raising campaign: Through private donations, more than $500 million was
invested in targeted areas that would significantly impact the future of ASU. Among
the campaign's achievements were the naming and endowing of Barrett, The Honors
College, the Katherine K. Herberger College of Fine Arts, and the Morrison School of
Agribusiness and Resource Management; the creation of many new endowed faculty
positions; and hundreds of new scholarships and fellowships.
On July 1, 2002, Michael Crow became the university's 16th president. At his
inauguration, President Crow outlined his vision for transforming ASU into a "New
American University"—one that would be open and inclusive with a goal set for the
university to meet Association of American Universities (AAU) criteria and to
become a member.[32] Furthermore, Crow initiated the idea of transforming ASU into
"One University in Many Places" by merging ASU's several campuses into a single
institution, sharing students, faculty, staff and accreditation. Aided by hundreds of
millions of dollars in donations, ASU embarked on an aggressive years-long research
facility capital building effort, resulting in the establishment of the Biodesign Institute
and several large interdisciplinary research buildings. Along with the research
facilities, the university faculty was expanded, including the addition of three Nobel
Laureates. In addition, ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus was vastly expanded with
several of the University's colleges and schools relocated to the downtown campus.
Since fiscal year 2002 ASU's research expenditures have tripled and more than 1.5
million sq. ft. of new research space has been added to the university's research
facilities.
The economic downturn that began in 2008 took a particularly hard toll on Arizona,
resulting in large cuts to ASU's budget. In response to these cuts, ASU underwent
several rounds of reorganizations, combining academic departments, consolidating
colleges and schools, and reducing university staff and administrators; however, with
an economic recovery underway in 2011, ASU continued its campaign to expand the
West and Polytechnic Campuses, and establishing a set of low-cost, teaching-focused
extension campuses in Lake Havasu City and Payson, Arizona. The university has
announced that a new building for the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law will be
built on the Downtown Phoenix Campus, relocating faculty and students from the
Tempe Campus. The university plans to establish the Arizona Center for Law and
Society in 2016.
Rankings
The 2014 US News & World Report ranking of US colleges and universities ranked
ASU's undergraduate program 73rd among public universities and 142nd of 280
"national universities." ASU also ranked 2nd in the "Up and Coming" category of
universities for making the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of
academics, faculty and student life. In addition, ASU is ranked 73rd in the world and
46th in the US by the Center for World University Rankings. Forbes magazine named
ASU one of "America's Best College Buys".
In 2012, "ASU students ranked fifth among all public universities in National Science
Foundation grants for graduate study and 11th among all universities, including the
schools of the Ivy League. Among other things, the high achievement in this area of
excellence points to consistently strong advising and support, a logical outcome of
Barrett (Arizona State University's honor college) investing more in honors staff than
any other honors program that" Public University Honors reviewed.
Arizona State is ranked 5th in the nation by The Wall Street Journal for best qualified
graduates. For its efforts to be a national leader in campus sustainability, ASU was
named one of the top 20 "cool schools" by the Sierra Club in 2009, was named to the
"Green Honor Roll" by the Princeton Review, and earned an "A-" grade on the 2010
College Sustainability Report Card.
Several of ASU's colleges and schools also appear among the top of the US News &
World Report rankings, including the 30th-ranked W. P. Carey School of Business
(along with its 4th-ranked program in Supply Chain Management and the 15th-ranked
program in Information Systems), the 22nd-ranked Herberger Institute for Design and
the Arts (Fine Arts), the 12th-ranked School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the
29th-ranked Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law,[103] the 44th-ranked Ira A.
Fulton School of Engineering (including five individual programs ranked in the top
30), the 16th-ranked School of Public Affairs, the 24th-ranked Mary Lou Fulton
Teachers College, the 21st-ranked College of Nursing and Health Innovation, and
25th-ranked Healthcare Management. In addition, the individual Ph.D. programs in
Psychology (36th), Earth Science (17th), and Economics (36th) also earned high
rankings.
ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication has been
ranked in the top 10 for journalism Schools by various publications and organizations
over the last decade. The most recent rankings (2012) include: NewsPro (6th), Quality
Education and Jobs (6th), and International Student (1st). In 2011, ASU was included
in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) list as the 21st best school in the world for
biological sciences.