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Leaving the military can be one of the most anxious and stressful moments of a service member’s life.Whether their enlistment is four years or 20, their time in the U.S. Armed Forces is regimented, highly organized and spelled out in black and white. The expectations are very clear.But once they are discharged, everything changes. And that can be challenging.Arizona State University’s Bob Beard knows this all too well. When he left the Marines in 1999, he was given less than three days to make that transition.“Too often, separating from the military is treated as a simple job change or a relocation, but the truth is it’s far more complex than that,” said Beard, a senior program manager for ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination. “We’re asking these folks to find a new community, learn new cultural competencies and develop a post-service identity in a world that is radically different than the one they just left. Navigating this broad possibility space is more than simply checking boxes — it requires thinking out of the box entirely.”Beard and his colleagues often give guiding advice to large organizations, asking them to think about how the future of their work might change over the next few decades. After a while, he thought people transitioning out of the military could similarly benefit from these skills.And that’s how the Veterans Imagination Project was born.The Veterans Imagination Project was created in spring 2022 to empower veterans in transition by providing them with future thinking and collaborative imagination skills. Participants learn over the course of eight weeks how to research a desired career and examine the influences and impacts that define that field through foresight activities, scenario planning and speculative storytelling.Students in the class — veterans and service members from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces — interview mentors in their chosen field and work together to identify trends and potential opportunities in those industries. Collaborating with other cohort members, instructors and guest speakers, they begin to craft a narrative about their future careers and their places in them.Military transition and post-service employment are timely topics, studied by scholars and taken up by veterans service organizations around the nation. Last fall, the U.S. Government Accountability Office published its recommendations to improve the military’s formal transition assistance program, which prepares service members for civilian careers.Beard sees this project, with its emphasis on forecasting and long-term planning, as "another tool in a veteran’s toolbox."What a toolbox it is, though.After working for weeks to create plausible future-oriented scenarios, participants meet with a concept artist who helps bring these visions to life.“If you can give someone a photo or rendering of them in a job 10-to-20 years from now, they can see the possibility of a future for themselves in that field,” said Raymond Lopez, a California-based concept artist who has worked with the Veterans Imagination Project since its inception.“They can look at that picture and say, ‘This is my goal and I’m going to get there.’”Lopez said he gathers information from participants regarding their profession, where they see themselves in the future and how they look in that job by creating a 3D rendering using a combination of software programs, including Photoshop, Blender and Lightroom.“It can take days or weeks depending on the difficulty of the concept,” Lopez said, “but the end result is that it’s extremely helpful to people in the program. I’ve had several (students) reach out to me later and tell me how it inspired them.”Lopez had the chance to meet a few of these participants in person at the Future Visions showcase held June 29 at the Coachs’ Club inside Sun Devil Stadium — and he wasn’t alone.Attendees and partners from around ASU and across the community gathered to see Lopez’s art and learn from the students who collaborated with him, as a part of a culminating event sharing the methods and results of the Veterans Imagination Project.It was there that Marine veteran and former project intern Scott Breshears admitted he didn’t find the program very helpful — at first.He simply didn’t buy into the concept when he was discharged in 2020 after a five-year stint. He said he thought he “had his stuff together” and being in the program required imagination and vulnerability, which was “a side I didn’t flex very often.”“Once I let that wall down and allowed myself to be vulnerable, the program offered a concrete vision of a future,” said Breshears, who received a degree in microbiology from ASU in 2022 and currently works for HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center. He is also applying for medical school.“When you have something concrete, then you can build on it.”In the spring, Breshears returned to the Veterans Imagination Project as a volunteer peer mentor assisting others in the class.Creating a meaningful pathThe pilot program initially launched with three ASU student veterans.Last spring, Beard and his team received a $50,000 grant from the ASU Foundation’s Women and Philanthropy and have expanded this work into the community with great success."The Veterans Imagination Project is an exciting opportunity for ASU Women and Philanthropy donors to support veterans in their transition from the armed services to civilian life," said Rebecca Baker, an ASU Women and Philanthropy donor and grant review committee member. "Offering more than educational opportunities, the program’s mission — to guide veterans toward creating a life path that is fulfilling — meets multiple needs of individuals departing military service. It is this totally unique approach to helping veterans, who give so much to our society, that appealed to Women and Philanthropy supporters."Beard said the grant money enabled more service members to take part in workshops this past fall at the Mesa Veterans Resource Center and the CommLab at the ASU West campus. The workshops included ASU student veterans and former and active service members from the community.Marissa Sanchez and Derek Wilson were beneficiaries of those workshops.Sanchez, a Navy veteran who was in security forces, went in an entirely different direction when she was discharged in 2022. She enrolled in ASU’s College of Health Solutions to get a degree in food and nutrition entrepreneurship, and said the Veterans Imagination Project was the perfect complement to her degree.“The program made me think more about the future of my profession,” said Sanchez, who has created a food preparation company. “There’s a very good possibility the food chain could be impacted in 10 years with over-resourcing, over-farming, overfishing and pollution. It made me really think about how this might impact my business and world nutrition.”She’s already developed some signature dishes like huevo rancheros, squash blossoms and four different types of ceviche.“I want people to get excited about food and get them to think of new ways to prepare and cook locally sourced food and vegetables. Basically, cook what’s around us each day,” she said. For Derek Wilson, the tastiest dish is redemption.He served in the Air Force from 2003 to 2014 and worked in security forces as a canine handler detecting explosives. After five deployments in the Middle East, he was forced to medically retire after “physical and mental injuries” sustained on the battlefield. Afterward, substance abuse issues caused him to lose his house, and his wife and three children were homeless for several months.“I went down a pretty dark path with the criminal justice system and ended up in jail one time; almost ended up in prison another time,” said Wilson, who is a student success advocate for ASU’s Pat Tillman Veterans Center. “I was at a point in my life where I had to make some pretty big decisions."Wilson eventually got sober, found employment in social work and transferred from Glendale Community College to ASU in fall 2022. He participated in the ASU West campus cohort of the Veterans Imagination Project and graduated a few weeks ago. Like Breshears, he too was skeptical of the program.“I’ve been working on my transition for years and I thought there’s no way Bob or anyone could teach me how to successfully transition in eight weeks,” Wilson said. “Bob said, ‘Transition is personal. I simply want you to be able to forecast what the future’s going to look like for you.’”Wilson said that bit of wisdom was the turnaround for him. He began focusing on how artificial intelligence could enhance social work. He took courses on Google DeepMind, reached out to a renowned professor in the field and thought about how to advance his career — by creating an AI system that could help co-pilot social services.“The system would basically listen and pick out key words and help fill in background information while the social worker can focus entirely on the client,” said Wilson, who has a 3.96 GPA and is three semesters away from collecting his diploma. “AI would be doing all the homework while the social worker can offer sympathy, support and build trust with the clients and have more meaningful conversations.”Perhaps even more meaningful is the example Wilson is setting for his family.“Now I go home, and my kids see my success and it makes them want to do well at school,” Wilson said. “Since I started ASU, my wife has also gone back to school. It seems the more I put into it, the more I’m getting out of it.”Top photo: Marissa Sanchez, a third-year food and nutrition entrepreneurship student and a member of the current Veterans Imagination Project cohort, takes a picture of her imagined future during the Future Visions showcase on Thursday, June 29, in the Coachs' Club at Sun Devil Stadium. Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News]]>

This month, Stella Rouse joined Arizona State University as the new director of the Hispanic Research Center and professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies.Rouse comes to ASU from the University of Maryland, where she began as an assistant professor in 2008 after finishing her PhD, and has served in various leadership positions over the years while continuing to teach.Her most recent position was as the director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement from 2019 to 2022, helping lead the center through several initiatives.Rouse said her 15 years at the University of Maryland allowed her to become a better educator, researcher and leader. Now Rouse feels it is time to advance her career and focus on specific interests.“It was sort of right place, right time. I hit a point where I felt I needed to move on to a new, exciting chapter of my life,” she said. “I have accomplished a lot at Maryland, but moving forward will allow me to focus more on my passions.”Rouse’s background has prepared her to lead the center, housed in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, into the future.“The Hispanic Research Center is an integral part of our ASU history. Given our new designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, I am excited about the center’s future,” said Magda Hinojosa, dean of social sciences in The College. “I am thrilled to welcome Stella and see the impactful work that she brings to ASU and the broader community.”Rouse received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in political science from Louisiana State University. As she progressed in her education, she focused on youth identity, youth politics and Latino politics.She is the author of “Latinos in the Legislative Process,” which explores the rapid growth of the Latino population in the U.S. and how well this group’s presence translates into legislative influence, according to the book’s description.She has also contributed to peer-reviewed journals on American and identity politics and written articles for The Washington Post, The Hill, Reuters and The Conversation.“I want this center to be one with ASU and the community. A place where not only local history gets preserved and displayed, but also a place of belonging. The College and ASU are multidisciplinary, and I want to spread that knowledge and work in the Hispanic Research Center universitywide.”Her vision and ideas align with the university's hopes for the center, which include assuming “fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities (ASU) serves,” as stated in ASU’s charter.“As I worked through my vision and goals with the provost's office, the deans and other leadership at ASU and in The College, I felt their support,” Rouse said.“The support, opportunities and vision all lined up with what I believe in, and it felt like the move to make after hearing everyone’s thoughts and opinions of what the center could be.” ]]>

Entrepreneur, businessman and philanthropist Carlos Rodríguez-Pastor believes education can transform society and has been modifying Peru’s education system to improve learner outcomes and cultivate future community leaders.  In honor of that belief, Rodríguez-Pastor donated $10.5 million to the ASU Foundation for scholarships to aid exceptional Peruvian undergraduate students at Arizona State University. The scholarship will cover tuition, room and board for undergraduate students pursuing any major.The Cometa Peruvian Scholarship will begin this fall with a cohort of four scholarship recipients and increase by two additional students each year for five years.ASU is the second public university to receive scholarship funding from Rodríguez-Pastor; the first was his undergraduate alma mater, University of California, Berkeley.“The power of education can change lives, providing tools to create a better society,” Rodríguez-Pastor said. “ASU’s charter aligns with my vision that our companies take responsibility for the people and the societies in which we operate. Our corporate purpose is to help Peru be the best place to raise a family and that includes access to an affordable, quality education.”Rodriguez-Pastor’s commitment to advancing education and improving socioeconomic conditions for Peruvians stems from his belief in the shared value concept, which is defined as “policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates,” by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, co-founder and managing director of FSG.Rodríguez-Pastor, founder and chairman of Intercorp, a conglomerate of Latin American companies in banking, retail, education and health care, earned his bachelor’s degree in social science from the University of California, Berkeley, and his MBA from Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business. He returned to Peru in 1994 and took over banking operations a year later when his father died unexpectedly. Over time, he scaled banking operations and built new companies, several of which have an education focus.In 2011, Rodríguez-Pastor co-founded Innova Schools, the largest private school network in Peru, serving more than 63,000 students from kindergarten to secondary school with 63 schools in Peru, six in Mexico and three in Colombia.  Intercorp’s educational investments include Innova Schools, Universidad Tecnológica del Perú, Idat Institute, PeruChamps and Innova Teaching School.“ASU and Mr. Rodríguez-Pastor share a vision of expanding access to education across the globe,” said Nancy Gonzales, ASU executive vice president and university provost. “We will be grateful stewards of the generous donation and look forward to creating a welcoming, inspiring and empowering academic home for the students who will join ASU as Cometa Peruvian Scholarship recipients.”Rodríguez-Pastor is also co-chairman of the Chairman's International Advisory Council of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas, member of the Global Advisory Council at Harvard University, member of the board of trustees at Dartmouth College and member of the board of trustees at The New York Public Library.]]>

In 2015, the World Economic Forum named the gene-editing tool CRISPR as one of the top 10 emerging technologies of the year. Five years later, its inventors won a Nobel Prize. In 2017, the World Energy Council foretold the importance of mRNA vaccines, the technology that delivered COVID-19 vaccines to billions worldwide.Since 2012, the World Economic Forum's Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report has identified technologies that are poised to positively impact society over the next three to five years. This week, they released the 2023 report, with significant input from Arizona State University Professor Andrew Maynard, also a senior global futures scholar, who explores the benefits and risks of emerging technologies through his work in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society.The annual report identifies a number of specific technological innovations and concepts that might otherwise be overlooked as part of broader global development, especially to nations and regions in need of such innovation. “With the development of new technologies comes a responsibility to consider the impacts they will have and could potentially have on society. The role of a university is to facilitate understanding of these complexities and work across disciplines to help navigate the best outcome for our local, national and global communities,” said Sally C. Morton, executive vice president of ASU Knowledge Enterprise.“To me, ASU has a critical role to play. We can draw on technologists, scientists, engineers, social scientists, artists, philosophers, policy experts — a whole bunch of people — and we don't necessarily have an economic stake in the game. But we do have a social stake in the game, and I think that that's where an institution like ASU can actually pull together our very, very deep expertise and be part of making a difference.” — Andrew Maynard, ASU senior global futures scholar “Additionally, transitioning to new technologies requires critical thinkers and strong leaders. ASU is developing the kind of talent needed to address these complex social issues,” she said.The report includes a number of technological approaches to sustainability and health care, such as flexible batteries, wearable plant sensors, AI-facilitated health care and a metaverse for mental health, all innovations that Maynard says require broad, transdisciplinary approaches that cannot occur under traditional or siloed circumstances.“The purpose of this report is to raise awareness around potentially transformative technologies that are likely to have a substantial impact on global society over the next five, 10, 20 years,” said Maynard, an expert on advanced technology transitions and the potential risks and benefits of transformative technologies.“There has long been a tendency to latch on to the biggest, loudest innovations, so this report helps us break away from those very big stovepipes of technology trends to look at the intersections between different technologies that are going to be transformative.”Maynard is a member of the report’s steering committee and a collaborator on two chapters: “Sustainable Computing” and “AI-facilitated Healthcare.” Maynard notes that the World Economic Forum, which is holding its annual meeting this week in Tianjin, China, is one of a handful of organizations positioned to convene global influencers and stakeholders to shine a light on these emerging technologies and help bring them to where they are needed most.“There is an important need for independent thought leaders who can bring a breadth of perspective to how you actually navigate these technologies to those in need,” Maynard said. “To me, ASU has a critical role to play. We can draw on technologists, scientists, engineers, social scientists, artists, philosophers, policy experts — a whole bunch of people — and we don't necessarily have an economic stake in the game. But we do have a social stake in the game, and I think that that's where an institution like ASU can actually pull together our very, very deep expertise and be part of making a difference.”Neal Woodbury, vice president and chief science and technology officer at ASU Knowledge Enterprise, also sees the university as a moderating force in the use of emerging technologies — one that examines their societal implications, both positive and negative. “Artificial intelligence is a perfect example of one of the technologies where we can play a really big and impactful role,” Woodbury said. “How can we apply this technology in ways that are equitable? How can we develop it in the direction that is of public good, according to our charter? How is it going to benefit our community as a community rather than benefiting the bottom line? The other side of that is studying what AI is actually doing to society. In order to understand the benefit, we first need to understand the impact, so that we can help guide the way that technology will go.”ASU’s strength in facilitating these conversations is inherent to its structure as an interdisciplinary problem-solving engine.“There are very few places where the social scientists who are exploring the potential good and bad of a technology really sit down in a regular and integrated way with the technologists who are creating it. It’s become more common, but we've been kind of the vanguard of that approach,” Woodbury said.By design, ASU has proactively established a robust infrastructure and developed strong community and industry partnerships that support rapid mobilization of emerging innovations. For example, ASU recently launched six Science and Technology Centers, or STCs, that provide the expertise, facilities and infrastructure to collaborate with industry and develop future-focused technologies and science-based solutions. As part of Arizona’s New Economy Initiative, STCs are helping accelerate discovery, grow and attract new enterprises to the state, build the workforce through training and skill building, and drive entrepreneurship through knowledge translation, technology transfer and support for startups. Maynard also sees ASU, which was recently granted membership into the prestigious American Association of Universities, as a unique institution that can help develop future innovators and policy leaders who understand the value and importance of emerging technologies and how they may help drive healthier global futures through programs and units like the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes.“I think this list highlights the fact that you cannot train in one particular area and develop that technology in isolation. You've got to have a broad perspective, a broad set of tools, a broad set of understanding, and that has to span both the technologies and the social sciences. If we're going to navigate the technology transitions these sorts of technologies represent, we've got to have people who can move into leadership positions that understand that breadth of perspective.”The School for the Future of Innovation in Society, one of four academic units within the College of Global Futures, focuses on responsible innovation that creates a better future for all. Several of the school’s degree programs prepare students to work at the intersection of technology and society, including a bachelor’s degree in innovation in society, an online master’s degree in global technology and development and an online master’s degree in public interest technology. “The school has degree programs that train our students and future leaders with that depth of perspective. And, of course, this is what we're building in the College of Global Futures,” Maynard said.The College of Global Futures and School for the Future of Innovation in Society are units of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory.]]>

The Jane Goodall Institute and Arizona State University share a commitment to the overall health and interdependent futures of people, animals and Earth.Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and U.N. Messenger of Peace, and ASU President Michael Crow recently signed a letter of intent to expand their partnership and focus on research and discovery for the planet and its inhabitants to scale up equitable and accessible education for youths and emerging leaders. “ASU continues to be a strong partner to JGI, and I am hopeful and confident that we will find new areas of collaboration to advance our shared commitment to empowering individuals to make a difference supporting people, animals and the environment,” Goodall said. She is an ethologist and conservationist.The Jane Goodall Institute is a global community-led conservation organization founded in 1977 that advances the vision and work of Goodall. By understanding, protecting and improving the welfare of chimpanzees and other great apes, while inspiring action to conserve the natural world we all share, the Jane Goodall Institute improves the lives of people, other animals and the environment. Roots & Shoots, Jane Goodall Institute's global youth program, supports young people to create positive change in their communities through service projects and growing compassion across over 60 countries with millions of participants worldwide.Through the expanded partnership the two entities will explore ways to expand the Roots & Shoots network, generate additional education pathways related to the program’s content and involve ASU’s education and conservation researchers.The Jane Goodall Institute is seeking scientific partnerships to continue advancing the long-term research and conservation in the Gombe and Greater Mahale Ecosystem, with potential for impact in additional countries in Africa. The Jane Goodall Institute and ASU plan to explore ways to provide research and service-learning opportunities in the Greater Gombe and other sites in Tanzania to support applied science, community-led conservation and evidence-based decision-making.ASU is the repository for the Jane Goodall Institute Gombe Research Archive, a resource for scientific discovery that represents more than 60 years of research data on wild chimpanzees. ASU and the Jane Goodall Institute have a shared vision to organize and digitize this unique data to safeguard its historical importance and ongoing scientific value.Ian Gilby, a 20-year researcher at Gombe and an associate professor with the Institute of Human Origins and the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, oversees the archive.]]>

Against the backdrop of a milestone celebration, Zócalo Public Square — the Los Angeles-based events and ideas convener of ASU Media Enterprise — hosted the 13th annual Zocalo Public Square Book and Poetry Prize event on June 15 at the ASU California Center in downtown Los Angeles.A momentous commencement in recognition of 20 years of Zócalo, the evening served as as an homage to community connections while honoring literary excellence. Michelle Wilde Anderson, an author and Stanford Law School professor, claimed this year's Zocalo Book Prize. Anderson's nonfiction book, "The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America," explores the decline of four cities across the United States and the resilient residents dedicated to reversing this trajectory. In addition to receiving $10,000, Anderson was awarded a Rubik's Cube adorned with the Zócalo logo. During the event, Anderson delivered a lecture and engaged in an interview with Alberto Retana, CEO and president of the south Los Angeles-based nonprofit Community Coalition. She announced that she would be donating her prize winnings to four organizations highlighted in her book — but would keep the Rubik's Cube.Paige Buffington, recipient of the Zócalo Poetry Prize, held the audience's attention with stirring verses from her award-winning poem "From 20 Miles Outside of Gallup, Holbrook, Winslow, Farmington, or Albuquerque" during a virtual reading.Philanthropist and program sponsor Tim Disney opened the event with remarks that recognized the honorees. Disney has generously supported the program as a sponsor for three consecutive years.Amidst the celebration of the winners, the evening was imbued with anticipation for Zócalo's future endeavors, including a yearlong celebration to commemorate its accomplishments. Moira Shourie, the executive director of Zócalo, expressed gratitude to supporters and participants for their unwavering support through two decades of existence.“Over 20 years, we’ve grown from a tiny nonprofit to a flagship unit of ASU Media Enterprise,” Shourie said in a brief address. “Los Angeles born and raised, we remain at the beating heart of downtown L.A.”Shourie highlighted the organization's remarkable achievements, which included hosting 703 public programs, publishing 3,000 essays and featuring 1,675 panelists up to that evening. The celebration continued with a saxophonist’s rendition of the “Happy Birthday” song to mark the occasion, followed by shared cake and conversation among the attendees. Looking ahead to the coming months, Zócalo will continue its commitment to fostering thoughtful conversations and connecting individuals through a series of thematic public events, engaging lectures and thought-provoking essays. Forging and thriving in collaborative partnershipsFounded in Los Angeles in 2003, Zócalo and ASU's paths intertwined through a formal partnership in 2011. Since then, their collaboration has united their efforts to advance a shared vision of creativity, inclusion, discovery and the pursuit of knowledge. Guided by Zócalo's model of ideas journalism, which embraces essential questions with accessibility, open-mindedness and a democratic spirit, the organization has not only adapted but thrived in the face of the ever-changing media landscape. In 2022, Zócalo partnered with the Los Angeles Times to amplify the visibility of its network of contributing authors in the opinion section. Zócalo also co-publishes with Slate, which has partnerships with ASU and New America under its Future Tense and State of Mind banners. Additionally, Zócalo collaborates with Issues in Science and Technology, a partner of ASU Media Enterprise, for events. Zócalo also collaborates with Arizona PBS to use content curated from Zócalo's 20-year archive of recorded events to viewers of Arizona PBS' World channel.Further demonstrating its commitment to connecting communities and delivering impactful storytelling, Zócalo is making a noteworthy debut at the 65th annual SoCal Journalism Awards, earning finalist nominations in nine categories. The Los Angeles Press Club will announce the award winners June 25.The 2023 Zócalo Book and Poetry Prize was also streamed online. Watch the recording here. Top photo: Zócalo Book Prize winner Michelle Wilde Anderson converses with Los Angeles community leader Alberto Retana as part of the event. Photo courtesy Zócalo Public Square]]>

Schwab Advisor Services, in partnership with the Charles Schwab Foundation, is providing generous support in the launch of a new W. P. Carey School of Business finance lab. The Charles Schwab Foundation Financial Access and Research (FAR) Lab will contribute to the school's community through increased financial access and literacy tools, experiential learning opportunities for students, and timely and relevant information for student asset managers.“We are honored to be partnering with Arizona State University to empower the next generation of changemakers in the financial services industry,” said Bernie Clark, head of Schwab Advisor Services. “The University Grant Program will provide its students with the resources and experiences needed to succeed in their chosen profession and increase access to the industry.”The five-year gift includes support for outfitting a state-of-the-art lab space with access to innovative tools and subscription-based datasets. This immersive on-campus experience will allow W. P. Carey students and others in the ASU community to prepare for wide-ranging careers in finance — including banking, asset management, advisory and corporate finance functions.A devoted and well-equipped lab space deepens the opportunities available for students who arrive with an intent to pursue finance, as well as sparks interest for those without prior finance exposure, enabling a better understanding of the opportunities available and skills required in the financial services sector across a diverse student body. Renovations for the space are scheduled to begin this fall, with a grand opening expected in fall 2024.“The generous gift from our partners at Schwab is key in building an innovative and accessible finance lab for W. P. Carey students. This space will provide outstanding learning opportunities for our students while training them to meet organizational needs in financial services firms immediately upon graduation,” said Ohad Kadan, Charles J. Robel Dean and W. P. Carey Distinguished Professor.W. P. Carey has the No. 16 finance program for undergraduates in the country, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. As of spring 2023, more than 1,600 W. P. Carey students are majoring in finance and will directly benefit from this partnership.]]>

This is the first sentence you’ll see on the website for the three-year project "Recovering Truth: Religion, Journalism and Democracy in a Post-Truth Era":"We witness today a striking indifference to truth."The project, developed by Arizona State University’s Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, brought together journalists and scholars to “create new platforms for thinking and communicating about the pursuit, meaning, discovery and recovery of truth in democratic life.”“The two groups tend to approach the topic of truth differently,” said Tracy Fessenden, director of strategic initiatives for the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict. “Journalists make it their job to find the truth and tell it. Academics wonder about the nature of truth, the reality of truth, whether truth is discovered or created and, if the latter, whether it can be said to exist at all.”To be part of the project, ASU Assistant Professor of English Sarah Viren submitted a story from a book she was working on, a book about conspiracy and misinformation and how one person can influence others.That story — about one of Viren’s high school teachers — opens Viren’s book, “To Name the Bigger Lie: A Memoir in Two Stories,” which was released June 13.The second story in the book details how Viren’s wife, Marta, was falsely accused of sexual harassment by a man angry that he was passed over for a job Viren was offered.ASU News talked to Viren about the book, the stories in it and the Recovering Truth project. Note: The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.Question: How would you describe what your book is about?Answer: It started as a book about my high school teacher, who taught us a version of philosophy that he was taught in the International Baccalaureate program here (in Florida). He got us to sort of think about what is truth, what is the meaning of life, etc. But he had a sort of weird conversion between my ninth grade year and my junior year where he really fell into conspiracy theories and pushing conspiracy theories. I had kind of a break with him in high school when he pushed Holocaust denialism. It was sort of a point where I was like, “This doesn’t make sense anymore.”So the book started as kind of an investigation of him and his influence over me and my classmates, and grappling with the way he pushed a version of manipulated truth and manipulated reality but under the guise of sort of trying to get people to think about things. That’s the story that opens the book.Then it's interrupted by a second story, which I wrote about in the New York Times Magazine. (While at ASU) I was offered a job somewhere else. The other candidate who was next in line for the job if I didn’t take it found out about that and tried to manipulate the situation so that basically he could get the job. He pretended to be a woman at ASU who was accusing my wife of sexual harassment. We ended up getting a defamation lawyer in order to figure out that it was him and were able to kind of prove, “Oh, it’s this guy.” Mystery solved, even though it was very traumatic.So then the book ends up kind of grappling with both of those men and the ways that they manipulated truth and thinking. How do we come to resolution in stories like that? Is it resolution to just have these facts and know that it’s this guy? And what would be a resolution similar for my high school teacher? I ended up interviewing a number of other students who were, I think, more damaged by him, especially one student who was an immigrant from Latvia and had ended up sort of believing in Holocaust nihilism as a Jewish immigrant. So she really felt psychologically messed up by her interactions with him. I was thinking through a lot this idea of reckoning. How do we reckon with the sort of harm that’s done or caused by people like those two men, who are kind of representative of a lot of people that hate truth?Q: How did your experience with the Recovering Truth project either influence or change the direction of your book?A: Somebody from the psychology department was there who talked about the way the mind works as far as understanding the truth. There were a number of other journalists and political theorists. Really, what the project did was kind of widen what I was reading and thinking about when trying to grapple with the central questions in this book. The other thing that really helped is that we read Hannah Arendt on Plato. I really think in some ways Plato’s allegory is inherently flawed because the idea of the allegory is that all of these people are in this cave, and they see these shadows on the wall. They think they’re real, and one person escapes and sees what is real, and that’s outside the cave, and then comes back and rules over those people. But he doesn’t tell them the truth. He just comes back and rules over them. My sort of conclusion or thought was that we really have to find some sort of truth together if we’re all in a cave, right? It has to be about community. It can’t be about this one person that gets out because then you’re always going to have this sort of elitist system.Q: Did your experience with writing the book and the Recovering Truth project change your mind in any way about how we deal with misinformation?A: I think before writing the book and being in the project I really did think that things like fact-checking or just identifying lies or manipulation would be a potential way out. Kind of like what happened in our lawsuit. But what I actually found in that experience is that we knew the truth, but that guy continues to lie, right? And there’s some people that believe in him. So, I’m not really sure. I’m less convinced that just sort of fact-checking or identifying lies is the way forward. I did sort of develop more this idea ... that we need to dialogue with people, especially people we don’t agree with. There was one guy from high school that ended up being really affected by this teacher I had, and I tracked him down and found him on Facebook, and he’s sort of a rabid conspiracy theorist now. We’ve all seen this on social media. Somebody’s post is fact-checked, and then they get really mad and feel like they’re being censored. So, it doesn’t really work. I do think this model of dialogue and talking … it can seem Pollyannaish, and it feels that way because it’s hard to imagine how it would work, but it does feel like a model we need to try. It’s important to know that people believe something, even if it’s false. ... We have to understand they’re legitimate real people and there’s reasons that they believe what they do.Top photo from iStock/Getty images]]>

With a group of core partners, Arizona State University is creating a new $25 million collaboration to preserve and restore vitality to Hawaii's coral reefs and the health of its coastlines.The community-based effort looks to fuse state-of-the-art science programs with the leadership and cultural knowledge of Hawaii’s community partners to enable coastal and reef sustainability for generations to come. Named ʻĀkoʻakoʻa (pronounced ah kō-a kō-a), the effort shares a dual meaning: “to assemble” and “coral.”“For decades, our original program focused on diagnosing land and reef problems using high-tech satellite, airborne and field technologies,” said Greg Asner, director of ASU’s Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science and a longtime resident of Hawaii. “The new program further expands this diagnostic work, but it focuses far more effort on interventions that support Hawaii’s communities, both coral and human, as one force.”ʻĀkoʻakoʻa has been made possible with an initial donation of $15 million from the Dorrance family and Dorrance Family Foundation, combined with collaborative funding from U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz’s office, the Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and ASU. The initiative looks to greatly expand restorative work on coral reefs and coastlines of Hawaii and beyond.“It is our kuleana to protect and care for what we love, our coral reefs and the species they harbor, and all of Hawaii,” said Jacquie and Bennett Dorrance in a joint statement. “Success in saving our reefs relies on ‘laulima,’ many hands working together. The Dorrance family and the Dorrance Family Foundation hope this investment ignites action and vital funding, and we encourage others to join us in support of this tremendous effort. The time is now.”Greg AsnerAsner, an ASU Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory scientist and director of ASU’s research program in Hawaii, said corals are critical to reef biodiversity and home to millions of marine species, which dot the seafloor with a dizzying array of shapes and sizes. He added that corals are also the “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to our collective behavior — where corals flourish, land and sea are usually well stewarded.But over the past 50 years, Hawaiian coral communities have undergone an alarming decline due to pollution, climate change and overfishing. His group has spent the last decade monitoring these impacts, from the land, sea and air; from ocean heat waves to agricultural runoff to the chemistry of the oceans. He said it’s finally time to turn the tide by more deeply connecting human and coral communities for a more resilient future. That notion was seconded by several of Hawaii’s most respected community leaders who are key partners in the initiative.Cindi Punihaole, who was born and raised in Kona and is with the Hawaii-based Kohala Center, said her elders stressed the importance of the relationship between the uplands and the sea, and that for everything in the ocean, there is a partner on the land.“The land partner is to protect its ocean partner. We are taught to ‘mālama i ka ʻāina’ (care for and respect the land),” said Punihaole, whose nonprofit focuses on research, education and stewardship for healthier ecosystems. “When the land is healthy and clean, water flows to the shores, then our corals and fish will flourish. We strive for a world of balance and righteousness.” With major contributions from community leaders, cultural practitioners, ecologists, data scientists and global information systems experts, the initial core focus for restorative work will be on the western side of the Hawaii Island, comprising 120 miles of reef and one of the largest coral communities in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Collectively, the west Hawaii coastline harbors a huge range of human and coral conditions.The responsibility for this type of ocean care is enormous but in proven collaborative hands, said one nonprofit leader who works closely with the university.“We support the work of ASU and the Hawaii Marine Education and Research Center to malama (care for) the corals of west Hawaii,” said Kaʻimi Kaupiko, president of Kalanihale, a grassroots organization designed to improve the educational, environmental and cultural well-being of community members of Miloliʻi and South Kona. “The reefs from Ūpolu to Ka Lae are one of the most diverse systems in all of Hawaii, but with the effects of climate change, we need to be proactive in caring for them.”A key part of the collaboration is a new state-of-the-art coral research and propagation facility located at the joint Ridge to Reef Restoration Center in Kailua-Kona. The center is under construction now in partnership with a land restoration organization called Terraformation. The coral facility will be the largest in the world when completed and will become the hub for testing corals for subsequent reef restoration.  “These resources are an exciting development for the multiple partners and communities working closely together to scale up active coral restoration in Hawaii,” said Carrie Selberg Robinson, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation. Asner said lessons learned in ʻĀkoʻakoʻa will be shared with communities across the state of Hawaii and worldwide.“Our successes and failures will lead to new perspectives and know-how, which will be broadcast to a network of partners and participants through our Allen Coral Atlas program and ASU School of Ocean Futures,” Asner said. “As a stage for the integration of cultural practice, management and science, ʻĀkoʻakoʻa will seed a deeper connection between human and coral communities in an era of climate change.”Brian Neilson, head of the Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources, said ʻĀkoʻakoʻa is a visionary program that can set a powerful path forward for the future.“Restoring and enhancing our coral reefs takes a fusion of stewardship, management and high-tech science. ʻĀkoʻakoʻa will be a major example of this blended process for west Hawaii," Neilson said. “We are pleased to partner with ASU's education and research programs in developing and implementing restoration approaches that will benefit communities along the west Hawaii coastline.”ASU President Michael M. Crow said ʻĀkoʻakoʻa and the university’s engagement in Hawaii stems from its official charter, which includes commitments to “advance research and discovery of public value” and to “assume fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.”“We recognize that the health of our planet is tied to the health of countless interconnected systems,” Crow said. “What happens on land affects the health of our oceans, so threats to our coral reefs stand to impact everyone. This collaboration represents the vast potential to accelerate positive change by joining scientific knowledge and cultural wisdom to address a critically important challenge facing our world.”Top photo: Aerial image of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Photo courtesy of the ASU Global Airborne Observatory]]>

Steve Murow saves every thank you note he receives. With over 18 years as a member of the Arizona State University Family Leadership Council, he’s received quite a few.The notes say things like, “I am so grateful for being selected for this scholarship, because without it I would not be here. I do not have the emotional or financial support in my family that you are so generously providing for me.”Sentiments like this one, from a Sun Devil who was awarded a $5,000 annual ASU Family Scholarship, underscore the council's impact.In addition to providing annual scholarships, ASU Family Funds offers emergency financial assistance to students, free tutoring services, a free Thanksgiving dinner on campus for those who can’t make it home for the holiday and an Impact Fund to support students' needs.During Sun Devil Giving Day in March, two $5,000 matching gifts from Murow and fellow leadership councilmember David Wetta helped spark 182 donations to ASU Family Funds, for a total of $31,718 in just 24 hours.Those gifts will underwrite student success, and these councilmembers wouldn’t want it any other way.“I would hate to think that a student gives up on their college path because they were short on funds and had nowhere to turn for help,” said Murow, the parent of an ASU alum. “The Student Crisis Fund is the place for help. I love the idea that there is such a fund established to assist a student’s short-term financial needs.”Wetta, an ASU alum, is also a longtime supporter of the scholarship program, serves on the scholarship committee and is a mentor to many Sun Devils. As a businessman, he knows that donating to student education is an investment.“I take great satisfaction knowing my investment in the ASU Family Scholarship provides access to higher education for financially challenged students while raising the probability of success along the way when students face challenges,” Wetta said. “That results in a powerful economic and social impact and a brighter future for all.”David WettaWetta and Murow are two of more than 50 members of the ASU Family Leadership Council, which engages in a range of activities to support student success and family engagement at ASU. Wetta’s company, Wetta Ventures, developed The Annex in Tempe, which features Postino Winecafe and Snooze, an AM Eatery. In addition to The Annex, his company developed The Restaurants at ASU Skysong. Wetta is actively involved in the Urban Land Institute, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, and the ASU President’s Club. He also serves as a court-appointed special advocate of Maricopa County.Murow’s company, Murow Development Consultants, provides construction oversight consultants, expert witness and litigation services, construction management services, and contract administration and claims mitigation. He’s actively involved in the Orange County Forensic Expert Witness Association, the Building Industry Association, HomeAid Orange County and the Goals for Life Foundation.But these longtime councilmembers are never too busy to support ASU students on their journeys to a successful future.“Education is a human right, and I do not want to see any student turned away because they did not have the financial resources to attend college,” Murow said. “ASU Family Scholarships make a difference in a student’s life by closing the financial gap they're faced with.”While ASU Family Funds received a boost during the annual Sun Devil Giving Day, ASU’s universitywide day of philanthropy, gifts can be made any time to six different funds all designed to help Sun Devils remain in school and on track to graduation.]]>

Nine Flinn Scholars, winners of the state’s most prestigious scholarship, have chosen to become Arizona State University Sun Devils in fall 2023.The Flinn Scholarship, supported by the Phoenix-based Flinn Foundation and Arizona’s three state universities, covers the cost of tuition, fees, housing, meals and at least two study-abroad experiences. The merit-based award is valued at more than $130,000.The nine first-year students, among 20 Flinn Scholars for 2023, will be in Barrett, The Honors College at their respective ASU campuses. Seven will be based on the Tempe campus, one at Downtown Phoenix and one will be based at both the Tempe and Polytechnic campuses.Fatem KadhemFlinn Scholar Fatem Kadhem always wanted to be an engineer. Two years ago, before starting her junior year at Valley Vista High School in Surprise, she went for a wellness check.“I was talking to my doctor about college, and I mentioned offhand that I wanted to become an engineer, but I thought that you needed a lot of connections to pursue that field,” she said.“And she stopped mid-checkup and said, ‘What are you saying? You can pursue that if you want to.’ And that was the first time I considered engineering as a possibility.”Kadhem will major in mechanical engineering in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.“ASU has an amazing engineering program, and I was really drawn to how many opportunities are given to undergraduates in research and internships. I’m looking forward to that because I want to delve into my career field, and having that access is important to me.”Fluent in both Arabic and English, Kadhem will minor in French, which she has been studying by herself ever since her French teacher left her school.“I think globalization is a key part of engineering and having that third language under my belt will be helpful if I wanted to do engineering overseas,” she said.When she gets to ASU, Kadhem is looking forward to checking out EPICS, the Engineering Projects in Community Service program in which student teams design and build systems to solve problems for charities and schools, and using the Sun Devil Fitness Center.Kaylee WoodsKaylee Woods also chose ASU because of her major — nonprofit leadership and management.“Throughout my high school career, I’ve been really involved in my community, and a huge career goal is to leave a positive impact,” said Woods, who graduated from Cibola High School in Yuma and participated in the Governor’s Youth Commission.“I was struggling to figure out what major I could pick because it’s such a huge decision to make.”She was scrolling through the available majors at ASU when she found nonprofit management, in the School of Community Resources and Development.“I had never seen that major before, and I knew it was a perfect fit for me to be involved in giving back to the community. I knew it was where I would thrive.”Her decision was cemented when the Flinn Scholars toured all three universities.“Going from Yuma to the Phoenix area is a huge difference, but I know that in Phoenix I can make the connections I need to make to get ahead and possibly even live in the area post-graduation,” she said.“During the tour, I got to connect with the staff at the Downtown Phoenix campus, and they were the sweetest people ever. While they were giving us the tour, the students were saying 'hi' to each other and to their professors so it felt like a small community in a big city, which is perfect coming from a small community.”She’s looking forward to finding out about the many student organizations at ASU.“I’m someone who loves to be involved so the first day there’s club info, I’ll be there and I’ll be in as many clubs as possible,” she said.Sam BenavidezSam Benavidez also chose ASU for the quality of the education.“I picked ASU because they were most aligned with what I want to go after, especially in business. They have a very good business school,” said Benavidez, who just graduated from North Phoenix Preparatory Academy and plans to major in finance in the W. P. Carey School of Business.“I met another Flinn Scholar during my visit and she’s also majoring in finance, and I could already feel the family aspect of the Flinn Scholars, so it was a combination of the business school and that connection.”Benavidez’s interest in business sparked when he was young and sold popcorn as a Boy Scout. His father told him that money is a tool to be used wisely.“All the way through high school and middle school, I always liked math and I was interested in ways to use money to be successful,” he said.“I care about my community and want to help nonprofits manage their money to be successful. I also like the idea of entrepreneurship and controlling your own destiny and however much work you put into that is what you get out.”After earning his undergraduate degree, he’s considering getting a master’s degree in finance or going to law school.“I want to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity in things. It’s important for me that everyone is included and no one is excluded and that’s a big motivating factor for me.”Once he gets to ASU, he’ll look into joining the Arizona Microcredit Initiative, a nonprofit organization that give workshops and small loans to small businesses.“And I’ve done taekwondo for 10 or 11 years, so I was happy to see that there’s a taekwondo club at ASU,” he said.The other Flinn Scholars attending ASU are: Joshua Bunnell, Youngker High School, Buckeye, computer science; Zack Okun, Desert Mountain High School, Scottsdale, manufacturing engineering; Nathan Taylor, Superior High School, Superior, political science; Cameron Bautista, Basha High School, Chandler, mathematics; Quinlan Harris, Red Mountain High School, Mesa, mechanical engineering; and Riley Biter, Poston Butte High School, San Tan Valley, molecular biosciences and biotechnology.]]>

Cody Weyhrich, recipient of the 2023 Glaunsinger Innovation Award, came to Arizona State University from North Carolina to work with School of Molecular Sciences researcher Timothy Long.In Long’s research group, Weyhrich developed a general industrial interest in improving the thermomechanical properties of 3D printable materials. He focused on developing new materials that rely on irradiation with ultraviolet light to initiate photopolymerization, which is then exposed to thermal treatment to facilitate polymer growth via polycondensation to create complex structures composed of aromatic polyimides. The result is a low-cost polymer that can be used to manufacture complex 3D polyimide shapes with conventional post-processing thermal treatment.“Cody’s research resulted in the 3D printing of the most thermally stable polymer today, and these high-temperature polyimides will offer immediate impact for aerospace, electronics and transportation technology. He has pioneered the 3D printing of micron-scale resolution objects with a focus on lattices where dematerialization is a key tenet for sustainability. He has shown that we can achieve equal or superior performance of printed polyimides with 70% less material," Long said about Weyhrich's research.“Cody has most recently devised on a printing process to prepare 3D carbonaceous objects from water, resulting in new directions for electronics, catalysis and membrane purifications. His research exemplified a molecules-to-manufacturing approach,” Long added.Weyhrich credit’s Long’s passion, expertise and connections for contributing to his success. “I was drawn to Professor Long's research group because of his indomitable academic drive, high expectations and industrial relationships that have been proven to produce highly successful and active researchers," Weyhrich said.Active research on polymers with significant applications will continue to be part of Weyhrich’s future. He has accepted a postdoctoral scholar position at Duke University, which he will begin this summer. He will be working on a DARPA-funded research project to develop novel, fiber-reinforced polymer matrices for next-generation ballistic protection materials.In addition, Weyhrich created a startup company, Precise Polymer, to elevate the performance and expand the usage of 3D printed materials in critical industries.Weyhrich looks back on his ASU experience with gratitude.“The recognition by the School of Molecular Sciences with the Glaunsinger Innovation Award was exciting because it was clear that others could understand the potential value and impact of this technology,” Weyhrich said.“In addition, Dr. (William) Glaunsinger's attendance at the ceremony was appreciated, and I enjoyed the opportunity to meet him. I also appreciate Professor Tim Long for his care and oversight during my graduate career, as his guidance had a tremendous effect on my ability to expand my capabilities as a professional. I would also like to thank and recognize my friends and colleagues, Jose Sintas, James Brown, Ren Bean and all other members of the Long group for making graduate school meaningful.” “Cody offers all the traits of a future entrepreneur; he combines creativity and intellect with tenacity and resiliency," Long said. "I expect he will change the world.”]]>

ASU Women and Philanthropy awarded grants to five Arizona State University faculty-led projects aimed at solving complex world issues, ranging from developing electric canoes to addressing the causes of chronic pain.  One of the projects funded is Solar Canoes Against Deforestation, which is led by Janna Goebel, assistant professor of sustainability education in the School of Sustainability and a senior Global Futures scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory. Goebel and her team are exploring how solar energy could transform how Ecuadorians travel the Amazon River.The Indigenous Waorani community in the Ecuadorian Amazon currently relies on gas-powered canoes, which disrupt the local ecosystem through contamination and cause air and noise pollution.Goebel and her team are striving to implement an alternative to the gas-powered motor by retrofitting canoes with an electric clean motor.“Having respectful and reciprocal interactions with Indigenous communities is very important to me,” Goebel said. “It is really important that we work on solutions with them, not for them. We are hoping with this funding that we will be able to implement one functioning prototype electric canoe to provide evidence that this is a viable solution.”In the future, Goebel and the team hope to scale up the development of electric canoe prototypes, delivering functioning solutions for sustainability to multiple communities.“The whole process has been incredible,” Goebel said. “When we got the grant, I was so excited. The mentorship we had this entire time has been so meaningful. We felt ourselves grow as scholars throughout the whole process.”ASU Women and Philanthropy awarded grants to four other projects as well. Urban food productionThe vertical farming education and research project is led by Yujin Park, an assistant professor whose research focuses on horticultural crop physiology and controlled environment agriculture, and Zhihao Chen, an instructor of chemistry and controlled environment agriculture, both in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. Their project focuses on revolutionizing urban food production to address the challenges of decreasing freshwater resources and arable lands, rising energy prices and climate change. The team will also focus on developing a food waste fertilizer for production.Mosquito studyThe Mosquitoes in the Sonoran Desert project studies how heat and drought affect mosquito activity and insecticide efficacy. Last year, 60% of all national West Nile virus cases, which are transmitted by mosquitos, occurred in Arizona. The project is led by Assistant Professors Silvie Huijben and Krijn Paaijmans in the Center for Evolution and Medicine.Reducing chronic painThe HEAL project is led by Bradley Greger, associate professor in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, and considers the neurological, psychological and situational mechanisms of chronic pain to develop novel nonpharmacological treatments and address the underlying causes of chronic pain rather than attempting to reduce the symptoms using opioids.Personalized immunotherapyThe cancer immunotherapy project addresses immunotherapy efficacy to reduce adverse effects. Ji Qiu, a research professor in the Biodesign Institute's Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics, and Jin Park, associate research professor, lead the project to advance personalized immunotherapy for cancer patients using personalized-neo-antigenome analysis.'Build better futures'Women and Philanthropy has provided more than $4.5 million to over 100 programs and initiatives in the 21 years since its inception. The group was founded in 2002 with the intention of serving and making a positive impact toward ASU’s collective success as a New American University. The program offers a unique model of philanthropy, pooling philanthropic dollars and letting the donor group collectively decide how the funds are invested at ASU.Sybil Francis, standing co-chair and founding member of ASU Women and Philanthropy, helped start the initiative in the early days of her service to ASU.“Women and Philanthropy gathers a community of women philanthropists dedicated to advancing ASU. The grants we fund aim to improve society, increase longevity and quality of life, provide education and resources for underserved communities and, ultimately, build better futures,” Francis said. Written by Richard Canas]]>

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University is offering a new scholarship for first-generation graduate students in the natural sciences division.The Dr. Manuel Barrera Jr. Memorial Scholarship honors the ASU professor, who dedicated decades to research and educating students in the Department of Psychology at The College.“Dr. Manuel Barrera Jr. was a professor of clinical psychology at ASU from August 1977 to May 2017. In his 40-year career with the Department of Psychology, his areas of interest and research were community psychology and social support networks. He received various honors and awards during his career, including ASU Graduate Mentor of the Year and Psychology Department Professor of the Year,” according to a statement from the Barrera family.“He advocated for underrepresented communities in public education and their inclusion in institutions of higher learning. To honor his legacy, his wife, Aurelia, and his daughter, Lea, established this scholarship. In partnership with the ASU Foundation, the scholarship seeks to open doors, create opportunities and celebrate the abilities of everyone.”The scholarship will support students registered with the Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services office who demonstrate an interest in service to the community.About Barrera Jr.Barrera, a Racine, Wisconsin, native, developed a love for writing and science at an early age. He learned to incorporate his passions into scientific studies and research in psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in psychology in 1971.Barrera then attended the University of Oregon and received his master’s degree in 1975 and his doctorate in 1977. That same year, he was offered a job as a professor of clinical psychology at ASU.As a professor, Barrera researched prevention and behavioral treatments for Type 2 diabetes, social support and behavioral health interventions for Latino families.He also served in various roles with the Hispanic Research Center, the Office of Hispanic Research and other university-wide initiatives.Barrera strived to expand diversity and inclusion in public education, stressing the importance of access to higher learning.“(Manuel) was committed to providing higher education to everyone,” Aurelia Barrera said. “Especially those in public school, since both of us grew up in the public school system and he used that education and support to achieve everything he did academically.”During his tenure, he was recognized for his contributions, including the ASU Psi Chi Outstanding Undergraduate Instructor Award, the ASU Outstanding Mentoring Award and the Psychology Department Faculty of the Year Award.Barrera was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1987. However, he was determined not to be defined by his medical condition but by his contributions at ASU.He retired in June 2017 and passed away in March 2020 at 70 years old.“Dr. Manuel Barrera Jr. was a beloved, respected and admired member of the ASU community. We are proud to have the Dr. Manuel Barrera Jr. Memorial Scholarship to honor his legacy at ASU,” said Marisol Perez, the associate dean of graduate initiatives at The College. “This award contributes to creating a strong foundation for supporting graduate students’ educational aspirations and reduces financial burden, allowing students to focus more time and energy on their research and studies. As a recipient of a first-generation student scholarship, I can attest that the impact of this award on graduate students can be life-changing and perpetuated.”]]>

Arizona State University student Zachary Whaley was recently awarded the Sage Family Southeast Asian Studies Scholarship, which is a tribute to William W. Sage’s interest and lifelong work in Laos and Southeast Asia that supports students at ASU who wish to travel and study abroad there.Whaley is pursuing a double major in biological sciences, with a concentration in conservation biology and ecology, from the School of Life Sciences and in global health from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. He is also a student in Barrett, The Honors College and is minoring in political science through the School of Politics and Global Studies. Whaley will graduate in May 2024. “Zac has a strong interest in the intersection of marine conservation ecology and food sovereignty, which has led him to develop a societally and ecologically relevant honor’s thesis project that he will conduct in Indonesia thanks to the Sage Fellowship,” said associate research professor Katie Cramer. Cramer is associated with the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, and serves as the director of Whaley’s thesis committee. “I admire his fierce intellectual curiosity, love of the natural world and passion for environmental justice. I have no doubt that he will continue to put his talents to use to be a force for positive change in the world,” she said.We had the chance to sit down with Whaley and ask him about this award, his time at ASU and his passion for ecology.Question: Could you tell us a little bit about your journey before you came to ASU? What was your “aha” moment when you realized you wanted to study the field you majored in? Answer: I have always been very passionate about ecology and love being outside, whether that’s hiking, backpacking, surfing, fishing or just studying outdoors. I graduated from high school in 2020 and originally entered ASU as a chemical engineering student. In the fall of my sophomore year, I decided to switch my major to biological sciences. The major “aha” moment for me was realizing that I could pursue a career where I would be able to spend time outside rather than being stuck inside a lab or an office all day.Q: Could you tell us what the Sage Family Scholarship means to you?A: I feel very honored to be included in a network with other Sage scholars and with the Sage Family Foundation. Much of my studies have been focused on Southeast Asian culture and ecology, and I am currently taking Indonesian language classes. Being able to travel to Indonesia to observe and participate in the culture and ecology that I have learned about in class is an absolute dream come true. Thanks to the generosity of Bill Sage, I will be able to complete research on coral reef fisheries during my time and contribute to the food sovereignty of Indonesia.Q: What have you planned so far as part of the scholarship? A: So far I am planning on visiting Marine Protected Areas within the Bird’s Head Seascape of Papua, Indonesia, in order to assess how the interplay of social, political and ecological factors influences coral reef fisheries there. I also plan on traveling around the country for a week and visiting coral reef sites in order to gain a better understanding of the social-ecological systems present in Indonesian coral reef ecosystems. Q: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective? A: I learned so much about conservation from my Indigenizing Food Systems Lab. This lab allowed me to really dive into Indigenous food systems and especially how they relate to ecology, which has helped shape my plans for graduate school and my honor's thesis project. Q: What is your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying, meeting friends or just thinking about life? A: My favorite spot on campus to study is outside the Student Services Building. I enjoy sitting under the trees while I listen to music and do my homework. My friends and I also meet up right outside the Memorial Union, which is the best place for people watching on campus. Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school, particularly those in STEM?A: ASU has so many opportunities for personal development, including research, clubs and specialized courses. I would recommend finding a lab or initiative to join that you find interesting and passionate about and taking full advantage of the resources ASU provides in order to best contribute to that activity. I’ve been able to learn so much through doing research and group projects through working in the Katie Cramer Lab and the Indigenizing Food Systems Humanities Lab and would definitely recommend that other students find and participate in similar experiences. ]]>

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2023 graduates.Julian Hill was a powerhouse in the swimming pool and in the classroom at Arizona State University.The freestyle specialist on the Sun Devil Men’s Swim Team graduated this week with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences (conservation biology and ecology) from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with honors from Barrett, The Honors College.He plans to stay at ASU to pursue a Master of Legal Studies with an emphasis on law and sustainability at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.Hill, who is from Gainesville, Florida, compiled an impressive swimming record as an undergraduate. He made the 2023 Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.3 or above. He received the Stephen L. Estes Endowed Scholarship and the ASU President’s Scholarship.His swimming bona fides include being a Pac-12 champion in the 800-yard free relay and an All American in the 200-yard free and the 800-yard free relay. His team also finished second at the NCAA Championships in March - the highest finish in program history.He completed an honors thesis, titled "Sustainability of Desert Golf: An Assessment of Golf Courses in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area and Plan of Action Moving Forward."Hill took time out to reflect on his ASU experiences. Question: What was your “aha” moment, when you realized you wanted to study the field you majored in?Answer: My "aha" moment was in ninth grade when I took AP Environmental Science at my high school.Q: What event or accomplishment helped to shape your ASU experience?A: I think a major event that shaped my ASU experience would be just this past month getting national runner-up at the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Q: You are a scholar and an athlete. How did you balance these two priorities?A: It was definitely tough at times, but I put a big emphasis on getting better at time management in college. This has been so important to me and my success both in the pool and the classroom.Q: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective?A: There are so many things that I have learned at ASU. I think I am a well-rounded student, and ASU has given me so many various viewpoints and curiosity.Q:  Why did you choose ASU?A: I chose ASU largely because of the swimmers, coaches and culture on the swim team. The team was really up-and-coming, and I believed in it. I also chose ASU because of the beautiful weather and campus.Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?A: Jianguo "Jingle" Wu has been so influential in my time at ASU. He has been my honors thesis director, and I had my favorite class while at ASU with him as well. He is a distinguished professor, author and editor. He is currently the editor-in-chief of the journal Landscape Ecology.Q: What benefits did you derive from completing an honors thesis?A: I never worked on a single project for as long as I did on this one. It taught me how to be resilient, as well as to plan long-term. I also worked with various programs, including R-ArcGIS, and did a lot of reading and research.Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school?A: Enjoy it. It's over in a heartbeat.Q: What was your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying, meeting friends or just thinking about life?A: My favorite spot on campus is on floor seven of the Life Sciences Center E wing. The views from up here are awesome.Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle?A: If someone gave me $40 million, I would take steps to mitigate global climate change and instill sustainable practices across the globe.]]>

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2023 graduates.A family legacy brought Ashley Torres to Arizona State University, and where she goes from here will be propelled by the knowledge and passion she developed during her time as a Sun Devil. Torres is graduating this semester with a Bachelor of Science in finance from the W. P. Carey School of Business. She also received a number of scholarships, including the New American University Scholarship, the Obama Scholarship and the Dean’s Award.Torres said she always enjoyed learning about finance in her classes and discussing things like personal finance with her friends. When she realized she was excited about the prospect of being tested on the subject, she knew it was the right path for her.“I remember taking my first FIN class and being excited about an exam for the first time ... it really just became a part of my everyday life,” Torres said. Much like her professors helped break down the complexities of finance and economics, she hopes to ultimately do the same for others – to make these concepts accessible and remove any intimidation.Soon, Torres will head to New York City to start her career in finance.“After graduation, I’m heading to the Big Apple. I will be working at an investment firm, Goldman Sachs, where I will be understanding how various macroeconomic factors (such as interest rates and even recessions) can affect business," Torres said. “I am excited for the next chapter of my life!”Torres shared more about her time at ASU and the people and places that shaped her experience.Q: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective?A: The biggest lesson I learned was to relax and go with the flow. I have always been a planner and when I decided to join the Sun Devil Fitness Complex as a freshman to get some extra cash, I would have never realized how much I would gain from this experience. Four years later, I cherish the lifelong friendships I have made in addition to the countless lessons I've learned from some amazing mentors. I could have never anticipated for this place and the people who are a part of it to have had such an impact on where I am today. Q: Why did you choose ASU?A: I chose ASU because my mom and my tia also attended ASU. We're a Sun Devil family.Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?A: The most influential professor has been Kelvin Wong, who teaches ECN 212: Microeconomics. He taught me that large, complex and “scary” subjects can be easily digestible and actually fun to learn. His lectures often included game simulations, props during class and funny but memorable associations for economic terminology. Most people close themselves off when they don’t understand a topic, and economics can be a tough subject as it can get confusing quickly. Financial topics can also seem intimidating, so I carry this lesson with me, and I have made a personal mission to destigmatize the idea of finance being overwhelming. Q: What’s the best piece of advice you would give to students?A: My biggest piece of advice Is to be curious. Classes and assignments get way more interesting when you have a true curiosity. Instead of learning the material to pass an exam, ask yourself how the material can be used in the real world.    Q: What was your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying, meeting friends or just thinking about life?A: My favorite spot on campus to study is definitely the fourth floor of Hayden Library and exploring the lower levels when I need a brain break. However, undeniably the coolest spot on campus is the Sun Devil Fitness Complex. I love it because it's much more than a gym where people lift weights. I can take a cycle class (with the best instructor ever, go Morgan!) or sit and play chess. They even hosted a World Cup watch party, which was really fun.Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle?A: This is a hard question. There are many problems and subproblems, some of which have been around for decades and others emerging recently. However, I would say fixing the education system in the United States would create a positive ripple effect. The current public school system is outdated, teachers are expected to be able to teach over 30 students in a classroom. Curriculum is dependent on individual state requirements, county, district standards and even funding. This creates a massive educational gap, leaving many students at a disadvantage. Just because something has always been done a certain way does not mean it’s the best way.Written by Courtney McCune, copywriter and editor, Educational Outreach and Student Services.]]>

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2023 graduates.Arizona State University biological sciences graduate Sarah Weiss has been selected as The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' spring 2023 Dean’s Medalist for the School of Life Sciences.The Dean’s Medal recognizes outstanding students who have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to academic excellence during their time at ASU. Weiss is graduating with her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences with a concentration in genetics, cell and developmental biology. She is also a National Merit Scholar and a member of Barrett, the Honors College, and she minored in studio art through the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Weiss is from Phoenix. During her time at ASU, she was active in the School of Life Sciences Undergraduate Research program, presenting her research at the annual meeting of the American Society of Microbiology, among other conferences and symposiums. She was a member of Assistant Professor Susanne Pfeifer’s lab, where she characterized rates and patterns of recombination across the primate clade. She also completed an internship as a Helios Scholar at TGen, where she sequenced and analyzed genomes to investigate telomere dysfunction in gliomagenesis. As an artist, Weiss had her work featured in a metal sculpture show at the Mirabella Art Show and led a group of six in a welding class that created a 13-foot-tall art installation titled “Hope in the Face of Climate Change” for ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination.We had the opportunity to talk with Weiss and ask her about her time at ASU and her determination to pursue a career that would help others.Question: Could you tell me a little bit about your journey before you came to ASU? What was your “aha” moment when you realized you wanted to study the field you majored in? Answer: I actually applied to ASU as an aerospace engineering major, mostly because I was a Star Trek fan and thought planes and space were cool. However, the summer before my freshman year, a combination of family health struggles and volunteering at a local hospital put things into a different light. I realized I didn’t want to spend my days calculating the optimal shapes for empty, lifeless pieces of aluminum. I wanted to help living, breathing people. And if the '60s were the Space Age, I personally believe we're in the height of an information age — hence why I chose biology with a genetics concentration. I have loved everything about my major since; every single class has been enjoyable and taught me so much (my favorite class was immunology). If I had time, I would have added a computational life sciences certificate, but since I was already in a bioinformatics lab, I ended up choosing to minor in studio art.Q: Were there any particular research experiences you participated in during your time at ASU that strongly impacted your academic journey?A: My sophomore year, which had been the year I planned on becoming involved in research, I was at home due to the pandemic. So, I joined a course-based undergraduate research experience called SEA-PHAGES, taught by Susanne Pfeifer. It was entirely remote at the time, but it was still an extremely fun and educational class. Afterward, I ended up in Dr. Pfeifer's lab, which has easily been my favorite and most rewarding experience at ASU. My favorite parts have been the project I worked on for my honors thesis and being a TA for the SEA-PHAGES course. For anyone questioning whether they should become involved in dry lab research, I would recommend it a million times over.Last summer, I was also fortunate enough to be a Helios Scholar at TGen, where I worked in Dr. (Floris) Barthel's lab on a project investigating telomere dysfunction in gliomagenesis. The project the lab had planned for us to work on actually involved both wet and dry lab work. Being a part of the entire process of taking samples from cell culture to whole genome sequence data and analysis was so much fun, and extremely educational. I'm beyond grateful for the experiences and welcoming environments in both of the labs I have been a part of. I have had nothing but good experiences, and I've learned so much.Q: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective?A: I had always expected that I would easily find a friend group in college. However, the workload of my freshman and sophomore years, alongside a global pandemic, derailed those expectations rapidly. I think college can be a far lonelier time than the movies, or even social media, depict it to be. I have since talked to many people who share that sentiment, so I really do think it's a common experience that many college students have.Over time, I have found friends — mostly through forced proximity in my research lab, and through shared interests. As someone who has always considered myself content with being alone, I've realized I'm much happier when I get to see great people all the time.I have come to believe our own human experience is shaped by the connections we make with others. An average experience can be made amazing when one is surrounded with good people. I have also learned it's completely normal to have a hard time making friends.Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school, particularly those in STEM?A: One quote my mom says that has stuck with me through the years is, sometimes she feels like she's running around in a blizzard, trying to catch all the snow with nothing but a mug. Sometimes, life can feel overwhelming like that. So choose the snowflakes you catch wisely, and try not to dwell too much on the ones you can't.Q: What was your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying, meeting friends or just thinking about life? A: Freshman year, my favorite spot to study was a room called Mordor in the basement of Armstrong. I think it's been closed since, but there might be plans to reopen it.In the fall, I have always liked sitting at a table at a courtyard next to the Student Services Building by the trees that turn orange. It's shady, peaceful and hardly anyone ever sits there.]]>

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2023 graduates.You could say scoring a Bachelor of Arts in sports business from the W. P. Carey School of Business and Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University has always been one of Matthew Joanes' main goals since he entered the game of life."I knew from a very young age that sports were my one true passion," said Joanes, a native of Mesa, Arizona. "I started playing organized sports in fourth grade, but I had been playing touch football on the playground since I was old enough to throw the ball."When I was applying to colleges in high school, I didn’t really know how to get to where I wanted to end up. However, I found out that sports business programs were starting to pop up across the country as I looked for degree programs to be admitted to. Once I saw that ASU was offering a sports business degree, I knew I’d found the right place."Joanes earned the New American University President’s Scholarship, which is offered to outstanding first-year students.Joanes' journey toward earning a degree at ASU was pretty much etched in stone from birth, since his parents are also Sun Devil alumni."I began my Sun Devil journey in the fall of 2011 when I started fourth grade at ASU Preparatory Academy – Polytechnic," Joanes said. "Even at ASU Prep, Gold Fridays were a tradition that everyone took part in. As I grew up and was exposed to more and more of ASU, I fell in love with being a Sun Devil. My parents graduated from Arizona State and got married at the Newman Center on College and University, so attending ASU just felt right."We caught up with Joanes to learn more about his experience at ASU and how he plans to use his sports business degree to be one of the stars in his career field.Question: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?Answer: This is tough because I’ve had some incredible professors in my four years at ASU. Daniel McIntosh, who taught my Intro to Sports Business class, gave me my first taste of being a sports business student. Each week, we’d spend the first 30 minutes of class talking about recent developments in the sports world based on articles from the Sports Business Journal. Professor McIntosh, who went on to become the second reader for my honors thesis, told our class that we should always make sure we know what’s going on in the sports world. Even if you’re not super passionate about a certain area, have enough knowledge about the subject to understand what’s going on if it’s brought up in conversation. That really resonated with me because as I’ve had the chance to talk to more people in the sports industry, I feel much more confident talking to them when I know what I’m talking about. Thank you, Professor!Q: What’s the best piece of advice you would give students?A: Do what you’re passionate about and be authentically you. I started working as an intramural sports official during the fall of my freshman year having never refereed before, but I fell in love with it. Almost four years later, I’ve worked hundreds of games and am the most experienced official in the program, as well as a NIRSA Basketball National Championship official and the 2022-2023 SDFC Basketball Official of the Year. While a lot of my friends don’t understand why I like getting yelled at by players every night, I don’t need them to. I’m doing what I love, and that’s all that matters.Q: What was your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying, meeting friends or just thinking about life? A: That’s easy — the Sun Devil Fitness Complex. I’ve worked hundreds of games at the SDFC and played in countless intramural games with my friends. Some of my favorite memories from college were made on the intramural fields and up in the 3-Bay Gym. I can’t imagine what my life would be like if it weren’t for the people I’ve met because of the SDFC.Q: What are your plans after graduation?A: I’m very excited to be spending a couple weeks in Omaha, Nebraska, this summer to take in the Men’s College World Series. Starting this fall, I will be pursuing a Master of Sports Law and Business in the Allan “Bud” Selig Sports Law and Business Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law here at Arizona State University. Some of my friends and mentors, including fellow referees Austin Moore and Evan Singletary, have graduated from the program and welcomed me with open arms to the SLB family. Getting the chance to learn more about the sports industry from professionals in the field was simply too great of an opportunity to pass up. Plus, I really wanted to see Kenny Dillingham’s first season from the student section.Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle?A: Wow, that’s a lot of money. If I had $40 million, I would try to tackle the issue of youth passion for baseball in the United States. I fell in love with the game of baseball in middle school, so to see such a lack of passion for the game from the young people in the world makes me sad. I’d like to buy tickets for college, minor league and major league games and give them to kids for free so that they can attend games for free. I’d also like to donate a portion of the $40 million to youth baseball programs across the country for new equipment, field maintenance and coaching. Growing the game of baseball must be a goal for the older generations, because without the kids the game is going to start to die off. People who know baseball aren’t better than everyone else, but everyone else would be better if they knew baseball.Written by from Tremaine Jasper, marketing content specialist, Educational Outreach and Student Services.]]>

On May 2, more than 115 elementary students from Tempe and Phoenix had the opportunity to sing and dance on the ASU Gammage stage through the Disney Musicals in Schools program.The grant from Disney enables ASU Gammage to offer the program to four schools. Disney Musicals in Schools is designed to create sustainable theater programs in elementary schools. Through the program, participating schools produced a musical in their school community and joined in a culminating performance on the ASU Gammage stage.This year's participating schools were Desert Spirit Elementary School, Emerson Elementary School, Eisenhower Center for Innovation and Palm Lane Elementary School.“Exposing students to the arts, the earlier you're able to do that the more likely it will grow into a lifelong love of the arts, and every year that goes by we're planting more theater programs around the valley so the number of schools affected, and students affected, will only grow,” said Desiree Ong, the program's manager.The selected schools participated in a 17-week musical theater residency, led by a team of teaching artists trained by ASU Gammage and Disney Theatrical Group, at no cost. Each school received performance rights, educational support materials and guidance from the teaching artists.The program featured a professional development focus, through which participating school teachers partnered with ASU Gammage teaching artists to learn how to produce, direct, choreograph and music direct, culminating in their first 30-minute musical at their school. The Student Share Celebration at ASU Gammage on May 2 was the culmination of this year’s program.ASU Gammage was filled with the elementary students, teachers and their families. The young performers presented their performances from “Jungle Book Jr.,” “Aladdin Jr.” and “The Lion King Jr.," each school presenting one number.The evening concluded with a heartwarming finale that included all student participants on the stage together singing “It Starts with a Dream,” an original Alan Menken number that was composed for Disney Musicals in Schools.“I've seen some students who I think were looking for an outlet like this, and this has been really positive for them," Emerson Elementary School Principal Nicholas Lodato said. "It's helped them to exercise an interest and a desire that they've had — they've just not had a music production to put on and express it. It’s like they’ve finally found their place right there."]]>