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===Reputation and ranking===
===Reputation and ranking===
====Undergraduate program====
====Undergraduate program====
ASU is ranked 124th in the top tier of national research universities by the [[US News and World Report]] guide to US colleges. This ranking (which reflects admission standards, endowment, graduation rates and student-faculty ratio) is undoubtedly affected by ASU's status as a public university, and its requirement under Arizona law to guarantee admission to any Arizona resident who meets a minimal set of academic requirements. However, the Barrett Honors College serves as a virtual university-within-a-university, and maintains strict admissions standards while providing a more rigorous curriculum with smaller classes and increased faculty interaction. This honors college is largely responsible for the 188 [[National Merit Scholar]]s who attend ASU. In 2007 ASU announced that it added 17 Fulbright students, and 15 NSEP students.
ASU is ranked dead last in the top tier of national research universities by the [[US News and World Report]] guide to US colleges. This ranking (which reflects admission standards, endowment, graduation rates and student-faculty ratio) is undoubtedly affected by ASU's status as a public university, and its requirement under Arizona law to guarantee admission to any Arizona resident who meets a minimal set of academic requirements. However, the Barrett Honors College serves as a virtual university-within-a-university, and maintains strict admissions standards while providing a more rigorous curriculum with smaller classes and increased faculty interaction. This honors college is largely responsible for the 188 [[National Merit Scholar]]s who attend ASU. In 2007 ASU announced that it added 17 Fulbright students, and 15 NSEP students.


As of the Spring of 2007, resident tuition and fees totaled $2,345 for 7+ credit hours. The total for non-resident tuition and fees is $7,924 for 12+ credit hours. Current and prospective students should expect these rates to continually rise over the next few years.
As of the Spring of 2007, resident tuition and fees totaled $2,345 for 7+ credit hours. The total for non-resident tuition and fees is $7,924 for 12+ credit hours. Current and prospective students should expect these rates to continually rise over the next few years.

Revision as of 22:04, 25 August 2007

Arizona State University
File:Arizona State University seal.png
TypePublic
Established1885
EndowmentUS$277.3 million (2005 report)
PresidentMichael Crow
Undergraduates48,955
Postgraduates12,078
Location
Tempe
,
Arizona
,
USA
CampusUrban, 580 acres (2.3 km²)
ColorsMaroon and Gold
NicknameSun Devils
MascotSparky
File:Arizona-state-sund.png
Websitewww.asu.edu

Arizona State University (ASU) is a public research institution of higher education and research with campuses located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is a single, unified institution with each of the four campuses functioning as a planned clustering of colleges and schools. As of 2006, the Tempe campus is the second-largest university campus in terms of student enrollment in the United States, with a student body of 51,234.

In addition to the Tempe, Arizona campus, ASU has three other campuses: its West campus was created in 1984 in Phoenix; its Polytechnic campus which opened in 1996 in Mesa; and its newest campus in Downtown Phoenix, which opened in August 2006. Combined, the West campus, Downtown campus, and Polytechnic campus enroll approximately 12,500 students.

Each year, nearly 10,000 students graduate from the university's four campuses. In 2006, 188 National Merit Scholars chose to attend ASU. Many are part of the Barrett Honors College, which has produced 54 Fulbright scholars, 28 Goldwater scholars, 13 Truman scholars, and 1 Gilman scholar. Under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education ASU is classified as an "RU/VH" (formerly known as "Research-1") university.

History

ASU students in front of Main Hall - 1908.

On February 26, 1885, House Bill 164, “An Act to Establish a Normal School in the Territory of Arizona,” was introduced in the 13th Legislative Assembly of Arizona Territory by John Samuel Armstrong. The bill, strongly supported by Charles Trumbull Hayden of Tempe, passed the House on March 6 and the Council on March 11 and was signed by Governor F.A. Tritle on March 12, 1885, thereby founding the institution known today as Arizona State University. Under the supervision of Principal Hiram Bradford Farmer, instruction was instituted on February 8, 1886, when 33 students met in a single room on land donated by George and Martha Wilson of Tempe.

The institution began with the broad obligation to provide “instruction of persons…in the art of teaching and in all the various branches that pertain to good common school education; also, to give instruction in the mechanical arts and in husbandry and agricultural chemistry, the fundamental law of the United States, and in what regards the rights and duties of citizens.”

Early years

For the first 14 years, the school was governed by six principals. At the turn of the century and with another new name, Normal School of Arizona, President Arthur John Matthews brought a 30-year tenure of progress to the school.

He assisted in changing the school to an all-college student status; the Normal School had enlisted high school students who had no other secondary educational facilities in Arizona. He embarked on a building schedule that included the state’s first dormitories. Of the 18 buildings constructed while Matthews was president, six are still in use. His legacy of an “evergreen campus,” with the import of many shrubs and trees and the planting of Palm Walk, continues to this day: the main campus is a nationally recognized arboretum.

Matthews also saw to it that the Normal School was accredited outside the state. His service on national education organization boards was conducive to this recognition. The school remained a teacher’s college in fact and theory during Matthews’ tenure, although the struggle to attain status as a university was ongoing.

An extraordinary event occurred March 20, 1911, when former President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Tempe school and spoke from the steps of Old Main. He had dedicated the Roosevelt Dam the day before and was impressed with Arizona. He noted that construction of the dam would benefit central Arizona’s growth and that of the Normal School. It would be another year before the territory became a state.

During the Great Depression, Ralph W. Swetman was hired as president for a three-year term. This was a time of uncertainty for educational institutions. Although enrollment increased due to the depression, many faculty were terminated and faculty salaries were cut. The North Central Association became the accrediting agency for Arizona State Teachers College.

Gammage years

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.

The Graduate Division was created in 1937, and the first master’s program was established the same year.

On March 9, 1945, the three state institutions of higher learning came under the authority of one Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees ASU today.

The phenomenal growth of the college began after the end of World War II. Dr. Gammage had foreseen that the G.I. Bill of Rights would flood campuses everywhere with returning veterans. Many of the veterans who had received military training in Arizona had fallen in love with the state and vowed to return after the war. The numbers within one year were staggering: in the fall semester of 1945, 553 students were enrolled; over the weekend semester break in January 1946, enrollment increased 110 percent to 1,163 students. Successive semesters saw continuing increased enrollment.

Like his predecessor, Dr. Gammage oversaw the construction of a number of buildings. His greatest dream, that of a great auditorium, came to fruition after his death. He laid the groundwork for it with Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed what is now the university’s hallmark building, Gammage Auditorium, built in 1964.

Years of growth and stature

File:Arizona State University logo.png
Arizona State University logo

During the 1960s, with the presidency of Dr. G. Homer Durham, Arizona State University began its academic rise with the establishment of several new colleges (the College of Fine Arts, the College of Law, the College of Nursing, and the School of Social Work) and the reorganization of what became the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Perhaps most important, the university gained the authority to award the 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, expansion of the campuses, and rising enrollment. But this time period also emerged a political nightmare when Morris Starsky - a tenured philosophy professor - was fired for his participation in the anti-war and civil rights movement.

Under the leadership of Dr. Lattie F. Coor, from 1990 to June 2002, ASU grew to serve the Valley of the Sun through multiple campuses 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, primarily from the local community, more than $500 million was invested in targeted areas that significantly impact the future of ASU. Among the campaign’s achievements were the naming and endowing of the Barrett Honors College, the Katherine K. Herberger College of Fine Arts, and the Morrison School of Agribusiness and Resource Management at ASU East; the creation of many new endowed faculty positions; and hundreds of new scholarships and fellowships.

Crow era

Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building I

ASU entered a new era on July 1, 2002, when Michael Crow joined the university as its 16th president. At his inauguration, President Crow outlined his vision for transforming ASU into a New American University—one that is open and inclusive; that embraces its cultural, socioeconomic, and physical setting; and that promotes use-inspired research. As the only research university serving the entire metropolitan Phoenix area, Crow believes that ASU should be in a unique position to evolve together with the city into one of the great intellectual institutions in the world.

ASU has developed nationally recognized programs in a number of fields, including accounting, archeology, astrobiology, design science, creative writing, music, public administration, ecology and evolutionary biology, electron microscopy, industrial engineering, information systems, nanotechnology, psychology, solid-state science, and supply chain management.

The Biodesign Institute is the result of a major capital campaign designed to increase ASU's involvement in biotechnology.

ASU has embarked on its most aggressive capital building effort in more than a decade. The university is adding one million square feet of world-class, grade A research infrastructure. ASU will take a leading role in biomedicine and biotechnology, designing new therapies, new vaccines, new diagnostic devices, and better delivery methods.

With the growth of the state, especially the surrounding Phoenix metropolitan area, the school has carried forward this charter, accompanied by successive changes in scope, name, and governance.

Under the leadership of Crow several new initiatives are being pursued, the most notable of which is the Biodesign Institute. Additionally, a gift of $50 million was given to the College of Engineering, now the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, a $50 million dollar gift to the College of Business, now the W.P. Carey School of Business, an additional $100 million by Ira and Mary Lou Fulton for the College of Education and various Presidential initiatives, and $25 million dollars by businesswoman Julie A. Wrigley to establish the Global Institute of Sustainability.

The university was selected to host the third United States Presidential debate on October 13, 2004 at Gammage Auditorium. Edward Prescott of the W.P. Carey School of Business was awarded the 2004 Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (also known as The Nobel Prize in Economics), a first for an ASU faculty member. At the end of the 2004, George Poste, director of the Biodesign Institute, was named Scientist of the Year by R&D Magazine.

Campus

Gammage Auditorium, was which placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985

ASU's Tempe campus lies in the heart of Tempe, Arizona. The campus is considered urban, and is approximately 580 acres in size. The Tempe campus sits next to Tempe Town Lake and crosses University Drive. It is defined by its borders on Apache Blvd, Rural Road, and Mill Avenue. Against the northwest edge of campus is the Mill Avenue district, which has a college atmosphere that attracts many students to its restaurants and bars.

There are many notable buildings on campus, including Gammage Auditorium, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Other notable architecture include Hayden Library, Old Main, which was the first building on the Tempe campus, the University Club Building, and University Bridge.

Academics

Areas of study

The partially-underground Hayden Library serves as the main library at ASU. In the above photo, the entrance is in the foreground, which leads to the building in the background.

ASU offers over 250 majors to undergraduate students, and more than 100 graduate programs leading to masters and doctoral degrees. These programs are divided into over a dozen colleges and schools, the largest of which is the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which houses nearly 30 programs and departments. Degrees awarded include the B.A., B.S., B.I.S., M.A., M.S., M.F.A., M.B.A., L.L.M., M.M., M.Eng., Ph.D., J.D., Ed.D., and D.M.A..

Reputation and ranking

Undergraduate program

ASU is ranked dead last in the top tier of national research universities by the US News and World Report guide to US colleges. This ranking (which reflects admission standards, endowment, graduation rates and student-faculty ratio) is undoubtedly affected by ASU's status as a public university, and its requirement under Arizona law to guarantee admission to any Arizona resident who meets a minimal set of academic requirements. However, the Barrett Honors College serves as a virtual university-within-a-university, and maintains strict admissions standards while providing a more rigorous curriculum with smaller classes and increased faculty interaction. This honors college is largely responsible for the 188 National Merit Scholars who attend ASU. In 2007 ASU announced that it added 17 Fulbright students, and 15 NSEP students.

As of the Spring of 2007, resident tuition and fees totaled $2,345 for 7+ credit hours. The total for non-resident tuition and fees is $7,924 for 12+ credit hours. Current and prospective students should expect these rates to continually rise over the next few years.

ASU has had a reputation as a "party school," and has been highly ranked in party-school lists published by Princeton Review and Playboy Magazine (in addition to being joked about on such shows as The Simpsons and American Dad!). In recent years, however, as ASU's academic rigor has increased, its party reputation has diminished. ASU no longer appears in several of the "top party school" rankings but is still considered as having a desirable social atmosphere for college students.

Ranked graduate programs

Many of ASU's graduate programs are highly ranked, particularly in the US News and World Report guide to graduate schools. For example:

  • The Mary Lou Fulton College of Education[1] was ranked 35th in the nation in 2005. Its program in counseling was ranked 12th in the nation, and its Education Policy Studies[2] doctoral program was ranked 15th. Six out of nine of the College's specialty programs were ranked in the top 20.
  • The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law[3] is ranked 51st out of 197 ABA-approved law schools by US News in 2007. The Academic Educational Quality Rankings[4] identifies the college of law as having one of the top 30 law faculties in the nation "based on a standard 'objective' measure of scholarly impact"[5] and ranks the college of law as a top 40 law school based on overall academic reputation. The College of Law was established in 1967 and is the only ABA approved law school in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

International Programs

ASU is currently collaborating with several world class institutions in several countries such as China and Mexico. In Mexico, ASU collaborates with Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in the ITAM/W.P. Carey School of Business Executive MBA Program.

Student activities

Athletics

Main article: Arizona State University Athletics
File:Arizona-state-sund.png
Sparky, the Sun Devil mascot

Arizona State University's NCAA Division I Sun Devils compete in Baseball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track, and Wrestling, while the women participate in Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track, Volleyball, and Water Polo. ASU won national championships in men's archery 15 times, women's archery 21 times, mixed archery 20 times, men's badminton 13 times, women's badminton 17 times, mixed badminton 10 times, baseball 5 times, women's tennis 3 times, men's gymnastics once, men's track and field once, women's indoor track and field once, wrestling once, men's golf twice, women's golf 13 times, women's softball twice, and women's swimming and diving 7 times, for a total of 129 national championships. Additionally, the men's basketball team has participated in 12 NCAA tournaments and the football team played in the 1997 Rose Bowl and also won the Rose Bowl in 1987 as well as the Fiesta Bowl in 1982, 1975, 1973, 1972, and 1971.

ASU Fight Song

Fight, Devils Down The Field / Fight With Your Might and Don't Ever Yield / Long May Our Colors Outshine All Others / Echo From The Buttes, Give 'Em Hell Devils!

Cheer, Cheer For A-S-U / Fight For The Old Maroon / For it's Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here / And It's Onward to Victory!

Extracurricular Programs

The ASU campus is adorned with towering Mexican Fan Palms along its main walkway.

Arizona State University has an active extracurricular involvement program (Sun Devil Involvement Center) with over 450 registered clubs and organizations on campus. Located on the 3rd floor of the Memorial Union, the Sun Devil Involvement Center (SDIC) provides opportunities for student involvement through clubs, sororities, fraternities, community service, leadership, student government, and co-curricular programming.

ASU Cares is the largest community service project sponsored by the university. It is an annual event that allows students to give back some time by helping residents and communities clean up, rebuild, and/or serve each other. Faculty, staff, alumni, members of the community and their families and guests are also invited to be part of this large ASU effort to help residents of the various communities surrounding the metropolitan area.

The Freshman Year Experience (FYE) and the Greek community (Greek Life) at Arizona State University have been important in binding students to the university, and providing social outlets. The Freshman Year Experience at Arizona State University was developed to improve the freshman experience at Arizona State University and increase student retention figures. FYE provides advising, computer labs, free walk-in tutoring, workshops, and classes for students. In 2003, U.S. News and World Report ranked FYE as the 23rd best first year program in the nation. It has also been recognized as one of the best in both public and private universities by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Student Media

ASU Student Media includes The State Press (student newspaper), the Web Devil (online news site) and Sun Devil Television (television station broadcast on campus and in student residence halls). The State Press is a daily paper published on Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, and weekly during the summer sessions.

The State Press Magazine, a weekly arts and entertainment publication, is published on the back of The State Press every Thursday. The Web Devil, the online arm of the State Press, publishes the paper's daily content online, as well as independent news/editorial content.

ASU Student Media is independent, with a Student Media Advisor employed by the University. 18,000 copies of the State Press are printed every day other than Thursday, when 20,000 are printed. More than 96% of ASU students on all four campuses read The State Press at least once per week, and 65% read it every day or most days. There are an average of 2.5 readers per each copy of the State Press, resulting in more than 45,000 readers across all four campuses.

The campus radio station, KASC The Blaze 1260 AM, is not an official part of Student Media - it is owned and funded by the Cronkite School - but is completely student-run save for a faculty and professional advisor. The Blaze broadcasts local, alternative and independent music 24 hours a day, and also features news and sports updates at the top and bottom of every hour.

Notable alumni and former students

see Category:Arizona State University alumni

Notable faculty and staff

Points of interest

External links

References

  1. ^ http://coe.asu.edu
  2. ^ http://coe.asu.edu/elps/
  3. ^ http://law.asu.edu
  4. ^ http://www.leiterrankings.com/
  5. ^ http://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2005faculty_impact_cites.shtml
  6. ^ http://spa.asu.edu
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