Arizona State University

At ASU, drawing new groups of students into higher education is one of its’ core practices. First generation college students are enrolled at ASU from all over the region, and ASU has built structures and programs to support students and the communities to which they are connected. ASU set a new enrollment record in the fall of 2010 with over 69,000 students and 9,200 of them in the freshman class. The freshman class is 34 percent ethnic minority.  ASU has the highest number of National Hispanic Scholars in the country, with a record total of 335 students. As of Fall 2010, 1,372 American Indian Students, from many different American Indian Nations are enrolled at ASU. In Tempe, 70 percent of freshmen now live on campus, reflecting ASU’s emphasis on living and learning communities that help students succeed academically and reach their goals. Each year ASU awards over half a billion dollars in all types of financial aid to more than 46,000 students, including almost $117 million in scholarships and $65 million in grant funding. Since 2003, ASU has increased the number of high-level faculty members and experts on campus with the addition of 156 new award recipients, fellows or academy members, which include three Nobel laureates, 11 National Academy of Sciences members, eight American Academy of Arts and sciences members, 91 Fulbright American Scholars, 25 Guggenheim Fellows and two members of the Royal Society. ASU is at the forefront of a new educational paradigm, expanding access to education and creating more opportunities for qualified students to succeed.

Social embeddedness is a university-wide, interactive and mutually supported relationship with the communities of Arizona. ASU has 476 community outreach programs in 540 locations, offered by 139 different units, totaling 1136 outreach opportunities. Nearly 10,500 ASU students provided almost 400,000 hours of community service in 2010. ASU offers over 80 courses that integrate community service with academic content. ASU works with communities in a variety of ways. For example, in collaboration with tribal stakeholders, ASU is building educational programs that are relevant to the issues faced by American Indian communities.  Another program, the Sun Devil Promise, collaborates with school districts to make sure that thousands of qualified Arizona students are familiar with the university and know what they need to do to get in. ASU and Teach For America have initiated a large-scale partnership to improve education for Arizona’s children. ASU now graduates nearly 170 new teachers each year through this partnership.  ASU strengthens communities by contributing to community dialogue and responding to communities’ needs.

Arizona State University has made an institutional commitment to sustainable development.  ASU launched its sustainable operations plan in 2007 with the signing of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. ASU revolves its sustainable efforts around four critical pillars: carbon neutrality, zero water/solid waste, active engagement, and principled practice. ASU’s Carbon Neutrality Action Plan serves as a blueprint for obtaining a net zero carbon footprint on all campuses. The plan involves ASU mitigating 100 percent of its carbon emissions from energy, agriculture and refrigerants, and waste-related sources by 2025, and 100 percent of its carbon emissions from transportation by 2035. ASU commits to minimizing waste through diversion and aversion practices such as: more efficient fixtures, better water management, and distribution of effluent water for use by mechanical and irrigation systems. ASU’s solid waste is diverted from the landfill through recycling, repurposing, reusing, composting, and reduced consumption. Each campus serves as living laboratories for sustainable development with programs such as Campus Metabolism, which is an interactive tool for examining real-time energy and water use on campus. Campus Harvest is another example of ASU engaging our community in planting and harvesting food on campus for local and campus consumption.  ASU’s last pillar, principled practice is one that brings together a campus wide network of faculty, students, and staff to collaborate and develop additional sustainable programs. Programs such as Farmers Markets, Green Building Designs, Arboretums, and Grounds Bicycles for service workers are just a few to name. ASU is leading the way with initiatives such as the Global Institute of Sustainability, School of Sustainability, and many curriculum directed course work, research, and outreach opportunities on sustainable development.