Contents > General Information
General Information
Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
History of Arizona State University
University Libraries and Collections
Performing and Fine Arts Facilities
Computing Facilities and Services
Learning and Teaching Excellence
Arizona State University has emerged as a leading national and international research and teaching institution. Located in the Phoenix metropolitan area, this rapidly growing, multicampus public research university offers programs from the baccalaureate through the doctorate for approximately 63,278 full-time and part-time students through ASU at the Tempe campus; the West campus in northwest Phoenix; the Downtown Phoenix campus; the Polytechnic campus, located at the Williams campus (formerly Williams Air Force Base) in southeast Mesa; and other instructional, research, and public service sites throughout Maricopa County.
Arizona State University’s goal is to become a world-class university in a multicampus setting. Its mission is to provide outstanding programs in instruction, research, and creative activity, to promote and support economic development, and to provide service appropriate for the nation, the state of Arizona, and the state’s major metropolitan area. To fulfill its mission, ASU places special emphasis on the core disciplines and offers a full range of degree programs—baccalaureate through doctorate, recognizing that it must offer quality programs at all degree levels in a broad range of fundamental fields of inquiry. ASU will continue to dedicate itself to superior instruction; to excellent student performance; to original research, creative endeavor, and scholarly achievement; and to outstanding public service and economic development activities. As a result of this dedication, ASU was named to Research Extensive (formerly Research I) status in 1994, recognizing ASU as a premier research institution.
Arizona State University is part of a university system governed by the Arizona Board of Regents, a body with perpetual succession under the constitution and laws of Arizona. The board consists of eight citizens appointed by the governor of the state for terms of eight years, and two students; the elected governor and state superintendent of public instruction are members ex officio.
The regents select and appoint the president of the university, who is the liaison between the Arizona Board of Regents and the institution. The president is aided in the administrative work of the institution by the provosts, vice presidents, deans, directors, department chairs, faculty, and other officers. Refer to Administrative Personnel.
The academic units develop and implement the teaching, research, and service programs of the university, aided by the university libraries, museums, and other services.
The faculty and students of the university play an important role in educational policy, with an Academic Senate, joint university committees and boards, and the Associated Students serving the needs of a large institution.
Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
It is the policy of ASU to provide equal opportunity through affirmative action in employment and educational programs and activities. Discrimination is prohibited on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, Vietnam-era veteran status, other protected veteran status, newly separated veteran status, or special disabled veteran status. Equal employment opportunity includes but is not limited to recruitment, hiring, promotion, termination, compensation, benefits, transfers, university-sponsored training, education, tuition assistance, and social and recreational programs. The director of Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action is the Title IX coordinator.
ASU is committed to taking affirmative action to increase opportunities at all levels of employment and to increase participation in programs and activities by all faculty, staff, and students. Affirmative action is directed toward minority persons, women, special disabled veterans, other protected veterans, Vietnam-era veterans, newly separated veterans, and persons with disabilities.
Subject to the limiting provisions of “Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom” specified below, it is a violation of university policy for any university employee or student to subject any person to harassment on university property or at a university-sponsored activity.
Actions constitute harassment if (1) they substantially interfere with another’s educational or employment opportunities, peaceful enjoyment of residence, or physical security, and (2) they are taken with a general intent to engage in the actions and with the knowledge that the actions are likely to substantially interfere with a protected interest identified above. Such intent and knowledge may be inferred from all the circumstances.
Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom
Neither this nor any other university policy is violated by actions that amount to expression protected by the state or federal constitutions or by related principles of academic freedom. This limitation is further described in the ASU First Amendment Guidelines, the current version of which supplements this policy and is available in the Office of General Counsel.
Relationship to the Work of the Campus Environment Team
If harassment is discriminatory, it falls within the education, monitoring, reporting, and referral functions of the Campus Environment Team. Harassment is discriminatory if taken with the purpose or effect of differentiating on the basis of another person’s race, sex, gender identity, color, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability, or Vietnam-era veteran status.
Student Antiretaliation Statement
Students have the right to be free from retaliation. Threats or other forms of intimidation or retribution against a student who files a complaint or grievance, requests an administrative remedy, participates in an investigation, appears as a witness at an administrative hearing, or opposes an unlawful act, discriminatory practice or policy, are prohibited. Individuals making such threats are subject to university disciplinary procedures. Students with complaints of retaliation should utilize the procedures available under the Arizona Board of Regents Student Code of Conduct, the Graduate Student Grievance Procedure, the Student Employee Grievance Procedure, the Sexual Harassment Policy, nondiscrimination policies, or other available administrative procedures as appropriate. For assistance with procedures, students should contact the dean of the particular college if the circumstances relate to a course or academic evaluation, or the dean of students for all other circumstances.
The Intergroup Relations Center (IRC) is an education, research, and advocacy unit that advances the understanding and practice of effective intergroup relations. Situated in the office of the executive vice president and provost, the center’s focus is to build awareness of and appreciation for diversity, and to foster a climate of inclusion both on and off campus. The IRC core functions are training and education, conducting research on intergroup processes, and serving as a clearinghouse for resources related to diversity, intergroup relations, and social justice.
The IRC staff offers a standard set of ongoing programs for students, faculty, staff, and administrators, as well as for members of the off-campus community. These programs promote participant awareness on diversity dimensions such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, ability status, nationality, and religion, and focus on skills acquisition in the areas of intergroup communication, leadership, and collaboration.
Undergraduate students are provided opportunities to gain leadership experience through retreats, to receive hands-on experience in conducting social justice campaigns, and to become effective collaborators across various social identity groups. The center also offers students structured dialogue classes, internships, practica, and regional trips to relevant sites (e.g., the Museum of Tolerance).
Faculty and staff programs include workshops, lectures, and collaborative initiatives focused on diversity in the classroom and the workplace. The IRC sponsors campus visits by nationally and internationally recognized scholars in an effort to engage dialogue about diversity in higher education specifically, and intergroup relations in society, more generally. IRC staff also provide tailored presentations and workshops to on-campus units. The center is actively involved in funded research projects that promote the study and practice of intergroup relations.
The IRC mission is to build individual and institutional capacity for understanding difference and engaging respectful relationships.
For more information regarding diversity resources and ways to get involved, visit the Intergroup Relations Center in SSV 278, call 480/965-1574, or access the IRC Web site at www.asu.edu/provost/intergroup.
History of Arizona State University
On February 26, 1885, House Bill 164, “An Act to Establish a Normal School in the Territory of Arizona,” was introduced in the 13th Legislative Assembly of Arizona Territory by John Samuel Armstrong. The bill, strongly supported by Charles Trumbull Hayden of Tempe, passed the House on March 6 and the Council on March 11 and was signed by Governor F.A. Tritle on March 12, 1885, thereby founding the institution known today as Arizona State University. Under the supervision of Principal Hiram Bradford Farmer, instruction was instituted on February 8, 1886, when 33 students met in a single room on land donated by George and Martha Wilson of Tempe.
The institution began with the broad obligation to provide “instruction of persons…in the art of teaching and in all the various branches that pertain to good common school education; also, to give instruction in the mechanical arts and in husbandry and agricultural chemistry, the fundamental law of the United States, and in what regards the rights and duties of citizens.”
With the growth of the state, especially the surrounding Phoenix metropolitan area, the school has carried forward this charter, accompanied by successive changes in scope, name, and governance.
For the first 14 years, the school was governed by six principals. At the turn of the century and with another new name, Normal School of Arizona, President Arthur John Matthews brought a 30-year tenure of progress to the school.
He assisted in changing the school to an all-college student status; the Normal School had enlisted high school students who had no other secondary educational facilities in Arizona. He embarked on a building schedule that included the state’s first dormitories. Of the 18 buildings constructed while Matthews was president, six are still in use. His legacy of an “evergreen campus,” with the importing of many shrubs and trees and the planting of Palm Walk, continues to this day; the Tempe campus is a nationally recognized arboretum.
Matthews also saw to it that the Normal School was accredited outside the state. His service on national education organization boards was conducive to this recognition. The school remained a teacher’s college in fact and theory during Matthews’ tenure, although the struggle to attain status as a university was ongoing.
An extraordinary event occurred March 20, 1911, when former President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Tempe school and spoke from the steps of Old Main. He had dedicated the Roosevelt Dam the day before and was impressed with Arizona. He noted that construction of the dam would benefit central Arizona’s growth and that of the Normal School. It would be another year before the territory became a state.
During the Great Depression, Ralph W. Swetman was hired as president for a three-year term. This was a time of uncertainty for educational institutions. Although enrollment increased due to the depression, many faculty were terminated and faculty salaries were cut. The North Central Association became the accrediting agency for Arizona State Teachers College.
In 1933, Grady Gammage, then president of Arizona State Teachers College at Flagstaff, became president of Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe, a tenure that would last for nearly 28 years.
The Graduate Division was created in 1937, and the first master’s program was established the same year.
On March 8, 1945, the three state institutions of higher learning came under the authority of one Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees ASU today.
The phenomenal growth of the college began after the end of World War II. Dr. Gammage had foreseen that the G.I. Bill of Rights would flood campuses everywhere with returning veterans. Many of the veterans who had received military training in Arizona had fallen in love with the state and vowed to return after the war. The numbers within one year were staggering: in the fall semester of 1945, 553 students were enrolled; over the weekend semester break in January 1946, enrollment increased 110 percent to 1,163 students. Successive semesters saw continuing increased enrollment.
Like his predecessor, Dr. Gammage oversaw the construction of a number of buildings. His greatest dream, that of a great auditorium, came to fruition after his death. He laid the groundwork for it with Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed what is now the university’s hallmark building, Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium, built in 1964.
During the 1960s, with the presidency of Dr. G. Homer Durham, Arizona State University began its academic rise with the establishment of several new colleges (the College of the Arts, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, the College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation, and the School of Social Work) and the reorganization of what became the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Perhaps most important, the university gained the authority to award the Doctor of Philosophy and other doctoral degrees.
The next three presidents—Harry K. Newburn, 1969–71, John W. Schwada, 1971–81, and J. Russell Nelson, 1981–89—and Interim President Richard Peck, 1989, led the university to increased academic stature, expansion of the campuses, and rising enrollment.
Under the leadership of Dr. Lattie F. Coor, from 1990 to June 2002, ASU grew to serve the Valley of the Sun through multiple campuses and extended education sites. His commitment to diversity, quality in undergraduate education, research, and economic development underscored the university’s significant gains in each of these areas over his 12- year tenure. Part of Dr. Coor’s legacy to the university was a successful fund-raising campaign. Through private donations, primarily from the local community, more than $500 million was invested in targeted areas that significantly impact the future of ASU. Among the campaign’s achievements were the naming and endowing of Barrett, the Honors College, the Katherine K. Herberger College of the Arts, and the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness at the Polytechnic campus; the creation of many new endowed faculty positions; and hundreds of new scholarships and fellowships.
ASU entered a new era on July 1, 2002, when Dr. Michael M. Crow joined the university as its 16th president. At his inauguration, President Crow highlighted his vision for transforming ASU into a model for the New American University—one that is open and inclusive; that embraces its cultural, socioeconomic, and physical setting; and that promotes entrepreneurship, use-inspired research, and global engagement. As the only research university serving the metropolitan Phoenix area, ASU is in a unique position to evolve in lockstep with its region to become one of the premier intellectual institutions in the world.
The university’s vision and advancing commitment to enhanced accessibility and quality is evidenced by the admittance of its largest and most accomplished freshman class in fall 2006 and its numerous nationally recognized programs in various fields, including accounting, astrobiology, creative writing, design science, ecology and evolutionary biology, electron microscopy, music, nanotechnology, psychology, solid-state science, and supply chain management.
In addition, ASU continues its most aggressive capital building effort in more than a decade. With the fall 2006 opening of its fourth campus in Downtown Phoenix, the state-of-the-art Hassayampa Academic Village, and ongoing improvements to the Polytechnic, West, and Tempe campuses, ASU is further advancing its leading-edge role in shaping higher education in the 21st century.
ASU was named to Research Extensive (formerly Research I) status by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in early 1994. Nationally, 88 universities have been granted this status, indicating successful garnering of support for research projects and educating future scientists.
The original nickname for the Normal School of Arizona athletic teams was the Owls. Athletics other than Sunday hikes and lawn tennis were not part of the early curriculum.
During President Matthews’ tenure, some team competition began. The Tempe Bulldogs saw some interesting and rough competition with the University of Arizona Wildcats. In the 1940s, the college’s teams became the Sun Devils.
In 1979, the university joined the Pacific-10 Conference. In 1987, ASU became the first Arizona football team to play in the Rose Bowl, defeating the University of Michigan Wolverines 22–15. ASU made its second appearance in 1997 against Ohio State.
In 2005–2006, ASU finished 13th nationally in the Sports Academy Directors’ Cup, which recognizes the top athletic programs in the country. Fourteen teams finished in the top 20 nationally with five teams posting top 10 finishes. Women’s cross country finished fourth; women’s golf, fourth; women’s track and field, fourth; softball, fifth; and women’s gymnastics, ninth.
Graduate education at ASU began with the creation of the Graduate Division in 1937 and the establishment of the first master’s program the same year. For the first 20 years, graduate education focused exclusively on professional programs in education. During the 1950s as the campus grew and broadened its mission, a number of new degree programs appeared, significantly enhancing the role of graduate studies on the campus. By the early 1960s, graduate programs were established in many disciplines; humanities, social science, and science fields were well represented, as were professional programs in business, engineering, fine arts, and public administration. With this expansion of the mission of the campus came new facilities and the development of a wider range of research interests and activities.
Major changes in the nature and role of graduate education came in the early 1960s when the first PhD programs were established in chemistry, education, engineering, English, physics, and psychology. The research focus of campus programs grew at a rapid pace. Master’s programs matured as doctoral programs were added. From the late 1960s to the present, campus facilities for instruction, research, and advanced study significantly expanded to support university programs with the construction of new laboratories, classroom structures, and two large libraries—including a new main library and a separate science and engineering library.
ASU comprises the Polytechnic campus, Tempe campus, West campus, Downtown Phoenix campus, the ASU Research Park, and various other entities and facilities. For campus location map and campus maps, see ASU Campus Maps.
The Downtown Phoenix campus opened for classes in fall 2006. The university’s newest campus is the product of an exciting partnership between ASU and the City of Phoenix, as supported by a voter-approved municipal bond in March 2006. Located at multiple sites in central Phoenix, the campus includes University Center at 411 N. Central Ave., the Post Office at 522 N. Central Ave., Phoenix Urban Research Laboratory (PURL) at 234 N. Central Ave., Residential Commons at 401 N. First Street, the College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation at 500 N. Third Street, and the Mercado, bounded by Fifth and Seventh Streets and Van Buren and Monroe Streets. Currently comprising the College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation, the College of Public Programs, and University College, the Downtown Phoenix campus also includes numerous research centers. In 2008, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, KAET-TV, and the School of Global Health also will move to the Downtown Phoenix campus.
The campus offers a variety of daytime and evening courses and degree programs that promote a vision of providing excellent undergraduate and graduate education accessible to a broad population. Academic programs connect knowledge, theory, and practice as a foundation for community involvement and civic participation and thus are suited to individuals working in private business, government service, health fields, law enforcement, nonprofit organizations, and others. These offerings are scheduled at convenient times and offered in various formats and modes of delivery. Continuing education classes, certificate programs, and lecture series also are scheduled.
For more information, see Downtown Phoenix Campus.
The Polytechnic campus of the university opened in 1996 and serves more than 6,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Located in the Southeast Valley, the 600-acre campus offers many of the features of a small residential college in a suburban area while providing access to the resources of the Tempe campus and the amenities of the metropolitan Phoenix area.
The Polytechnic campus offers a variety of undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs. Sharing the campus with ASU are two community colleges, a regional airport, a golf course, and several corporate research facilities. A partnership with Chandler-Gilbert Community College allows Polytechnic campus student to transfer credits seamlessly to ASU.
Fully mediated classrooms and specialized educational facilities such as the Microelectronics Teaching Factory, the Graphic Information Solutions facility, and the flight program’s Altitude Chamber offer unique teaching-learning opportunities.
On-campus housing for married students and families in addition to traditional residence halls for single students are available. The Freshman Year Experience residence halls offer a specialized community that integrates a variety of academic resources into residential life.
A shuttle service provides transportation between the Polytechnic campus and the Tempe campus. The campus, located at Power and Williams Field Roads in Mesa, is easily accessible via major interstate routes. For more information, see Polytechnic Campus.
The Tempe campus is located near the heart of metropolitan Phoenix in the city of Tempe (population 161,624). Nearby are the municipalities that make up the fast-growing Valley of the Sun: Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Mesa, Scottsdale, and other communities.
The Tempe campus comprises more than 700 acres and offers outstanding physical facilities to support the university’s educational programs. The campus is characterized by broad pedestrian malls laid out in an easy-to-follow grid plan, spacious lawns, and subtropical landscaping.
The West campus is a comprehensive campus that balances the traditions of a liberal arts education with responsiveness to the demands and dynamics of workforce requirements. Faculty within each college and academic program are committed to providing undergraduate and graduate teaching and research that is innovative, interdisciplinary, collaborative, and problem-based.
The West campus serves a diverse student body of more than 8,000 students. The campus is nestled on 300 acres in the heart of northwest Phoenix—the centerpiece of a burgeoning region representing a new frontier of commerce, sports, recreation, arts, and lifelong learning opportunities. The ASU master plan provides a campus capacity that someday can accommodate up to 24,000 students as the area’s population continues to grow.
ASU at the West campus offers more than 40 degrees in renowned undergraduate and graduate programs. Each year academic program offerings expand to meet the increased workforce and marketplace demands. Students can choose degree opportunities in high demand subjects such as applied computing, natural sciences, teacher education, criminal justice, nursing, global business, and accountancy. The programs provide innovative workforce and industry knowledge, and graduates are equipped to enter rapidly changing fields such as biotechnology, life sciences, business, and education, among others. Faculty and administrators engage with the community to develop and deliver distinctive programs that prepare graduates for exciting and meaningful career paths.
Faculty and student research partnerships address current and emerging societal issues of importance. Graduates acquire a deep understanding of community economic development issues, social justice, and emerging global change. West campus students and alumni serve society in local, regional, national, and international capacities.
The West campus commitment to integrated learning extends to Las Casas, an apartment-style, living and learning-based housing facility that features a community center, computer center, tutoring, and other academic services.
The campus, with its well-manicured courtyards and shaded breezeways, is located between 43rd and 51st Avenues on West Thunderbird Road, easily accessed from Interstate 17 and Loop 101.
The mission of the ASU Research Park is to enhance Arizona’s high-value research-based economic development and to build the university’s capacity to educate and advance knowledge. To this end, the Research Park serves to attract new corporate and regional headquarters and research and development firms to Arizona—headquarters and firms that broaden the base for potential research, interact with graduate students, consult with university faculty, cosponsor seminars on research topics, and provide employment opportunities for ASU graduates.
The Research Park has numerous major tenants, including ASML, Avnet Technology Solutions, Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Edward Jones, Iridium Satellite, the ASU Macro Technology Works, Philips Semiconductors, the U.S. Army’s Flexible Display Center, and many others. The Research Park contains more than 1.6 million square feet of developed space on 324 acres.
For more information, access the Web site at researchpark.asu.edu.
Located in the famed Mogollon Rim country near Kohl’s Ranch, northeast of Payson, this continuing education facility serves the needs of academic departments conducting teaching and research in mountain terrain. The camp is also available to faculty, staff, graduate students, and alumni for family use. For more information, call 480/965-6851.
Deer Valley Rock Art Center, located two miles west of the Black Canyon Freeway on Deer Valley Road, is operated by the ASU School of Human Evolution and Social Change in consultation with the Hopi, Yavapai, and Gila River Indian tribes. It includes more than 1,500 petroglyphs that cover the eastern slope of Hedgpeth Hills. For more information, call 623/582-8007.
The Mercado (formerly known as the Downtown Center) is located in central Phoenix at 502 E. Monroe. The Mercado offers a variety of daytime and evening courses and degree programs of interest to employees in private businesses and government agencies and to individuals seeking personal growth and enrichment. These offerings are scheduled at a variety of convenient times and offered through various modes of delivery. Professional continuing education, certificate programs, and lecture series are also available. Access to ASU library information and resources, ASU computing resources, and the Internet is available through the center’s computer lab.
The Arboretum at Arizona State University is the entire 722-acre Tempe campus. The Arboretum is home to a flourishing oasis of plants from around the world. This virtual outdoor classroom includes more than 300 species of trees and other woody ornamental and herbaceous plants from diverse geographic regions as well as the Sonoran Desert. The Arboretum contains one of the best collections of palms and conifers in the desert Southwest and a growing collection of native Southwestern plants.
The Arboretum’s collection began with Arthur J. Matthews. By the time Matthews’ 30-year presidency was finished, nearly 1,500 trees of 57 species and more than 5,700 feet of hedges were planted. One of his most enduring landscape projects was the planting of Mexican Fan Palms along Palm Walk in 1916, which extends from University Drive south to the Student Recreation Complex. Today the Arboretum has expanded its collection to include nearly 4,000 trees of 164 species/varieties.
The Arboretum is open to the public free of charge 365 days a year from dawn to dusk. Walking tours of the various collections and points of interest are designated by signage denoting those areas. Many of the plants in the collection throughout campus are marked with identification plaques.
U.S. Passport Acceptance Office
Located in the International Programs Office, TMPCT 198, this office serves the public Monday through Friday from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. For more information, call 480/965-0877, or access the Department of State Web site at travel.state.gov.
University Libraries and Collections
Collectively, the ASU University Libraries is one of the premier research libraries in the country. The nationally ranked collections comprise nearly four million volumes, more than 34,000 periodical and serial subscriptions, thousands of sound recordings and videos, and hundreds of thousands of government documents and maps. ASU is a member of the Association of Research Libraries and the Center for Research Libraries.
The library’s Web site (www.asu.edu/lib) serves as a gateway to the library’s catalog, hundreds of scholarly databases, and thousands of electronic books and journals. Computing workstations with Internet access are available for use in all library facilities. Wireless networks in each library allow for laptop connectivity to library and campus resources. Borrowing privileges and access to collections vary from unit to unit. Orientation tours are scheduled throughout the year, and library staff are available for consultation on resources and services. In addition to in-house assistance, the ASU University Libraries provides students with 24/7 research assistance through an online “Ask a Librarian” live chat service (www.asu.edu/lib/help).
All the libraries promote academic success by connecting students and faculty to a wide range of information resources available in the library and/or accessible via the Internet.
Libraries at the Tempe Campus include the Charles Trumbull Hayden Library, the Architecture and Environmental Design Library, the Music Library, the Daniel E. Noble Science and Engineering Library, and the John J. Ross–William C. Blakley Law Library.
For telephone numbers, see Libraries. For more information, access the Web site at www.asu.edu/lib.
Charles Trumbull Hayden Library
The Charles Trumbull Hayden Library houses the largest multidisciplinary collection at ASU. In addition to the open stack areas, separate collections and service areas include Access for Disability Accommodations; Circulation; Periodicals/Videos/Microforms; Government Documents Services; Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services; Library Information, Systems, and Technology; Reference; Reserve; and archival repositories available at the Luhrs Reading Room; see Archives and Special Collections. For more information about Hayden Library, access the Web site at www.asu.edu/lib/libraries/hayden.
Architecture and Environmental Design Library
Located on the first floor of the College of Design/North building, this library’s main collection focuses on architecture, design, graphic design, interior design, landscape architecture, and planning. The library’s Special Collections and Archives, Architectural Drawings Collection, and Materials Resource Center provide additional opportunities for specialized research. For more information, access the Web site at www.asu.edu/lib/libraries/architecture
A large collection of music scores, recordings, books, music reference materials, and listening facilities for individuals and groups is located on the third floor of the Music Building, West Wing. For more information, access the Web site at www.asu.edu/lib/libraries/music.
Daniel E. Noble Science and Engineering Library
The Daniel E. Noble Science and Engineering Library houses the Map Collection; and books, journals, and microforms in the sciences, engineering, and nursing. For more information, access the Web site at www.asu.edu/lib/libraries/science.
John J. Ross–William C. Blakley Law Library
The John J. Ross–William C. Blakley Law Library is located on McAllister Avenue. For more information, see Law Building and Law Library, or access the Web site at www.law.asu.edu/library.
Library at the Downtown Phoenix Campus
The Downtown Phoenix campus library is located on the lower level of the University Center Building (411 N. Central Ave.) in the Information Commons. As part of ASU University Libraries, it provides access to books and other research resources focusing on materials of particular interest to majors in the anchor fields taught at the Downtown Phoenix campus: health innovation, nursing, public administration, social work, and tourism management. Downtown Phoenix campus students also have direct access to the over 3.1 million volumes in the ASU Libraries’ collections, as well as the American Museum of Nursing, located at Curry Road and Mill Ave. in Tempe. Books and other materials that are located at the Downtown Phoenix campus appear in the ASU online catalog with the marker: DOWNTOWN.
Library at the Polytechnic Campus
Located in the Academic Center Building, this library provides a full range of services to the Polytechnic campus and Chandler-Gilbert Community College. Numerous specialized online research databases and Internet services are available for student and faculty use. As a primarily electronic research library, it is designed to take maximum advantage of new technology. Electronic indexes, catalogs, and journals support study and research in many fields, with an emphasis on the majors offered at the Polytechnic campus. For more information, access the library’s Web site at eastlib.poly.asu.edu.
Fletcher Library at the West Campus
Fletcher Library provides resources that support the curriculum of the West campus with a collection of 339,000 volumes, 1.5 million microforms, 10,000 videos and DVDs, and 15,000 slides. As participants in the shared resources environment of ASU libraries, users may access more than 50,000 print and e-journals and nearly 4.2 million monographic titles. Approximately 95 percent of electronic databases are available to ASU registered users from home computers.
The Library is open seven days a week to meet the informational needs of the campus community. Knowledgeable staff members are available to provide reference service and instruction in the use of the Library’s considerable resources. Individual consultations with subject specialist librarians are available by appointment. The library instruction program provides introduction to the tools and resources available for research in an academic discipline, including Internet resources.
A wide range of information and research tools, most accessible from off-campus, are available through the Fletcher Library Web site at library.west.asu.edu. For library hours and information, call 602/543-8501.
Under a cooperative agreement with ASU, the Arizona Historical Foundation houses a library of several thousand volumes, manuscript collections, maps, and photographs, and a large collection of audiovisual materials. Housed in the Charles Trumbull Hayden Library, the collection’s focus is on the history of Arizona and the Southwest. For more information, access the Web site at www.ahfweb.org.
Archives and Special Collections
ASU Libraries offers eight archival repositories and collections of special published materials: Arizona Collection, University Archives, Special Collections, Child Drama Collection, Benedict Visual Literacy Collection, Labriola National American Data Center, Chicano Research Collection, and the Archives and Special Collections of the Architecture and Environmental Design Library. All of these repositories preserve and make accessible manuscript and archival collections, photographs, videotapes, books, periodicals, and other materials of rarity or special significance. Thousands of archival materials have been digitized and are accessible through the Web sites associated with each repository. The Luhrs Reading Room offers evening and weekend service hours during the fall and spring semesters. For more information, access the Web site at www.asu.edu/lib/archives.
The ASU Art Museum, a cultural destination in the Phoenix metropolitan area, serves a diverse community of artists and audiences through innovative programming that is both interdisciplinary and educational. Exhibitions, education programs and publications, and events are designed to engage viewers with art that is relevant to their lives. New technologies in art and in approaches to reaching new audiences are eagerly and openly adopted. Areas of particular emphasis in curatorial research, collecting, and exhibiting include: contemporary art, new media, ceramics and other crafts, prints, art from Arizona and the Southwest, and the art of Latin America (modern, contemporary, and folk art).
The ASU Art Museum presents the museum and its functions to the public through open storage of art works and by encouraging viewer interaction with art and members of the museum staff. For an educational perspective, the museum offers a bridge that spans from the viewer to the work of art rather than merely explaining the artwork. Community outreach, a natural function of the overall museum orientation, is pursued in partnership with other cultural institutions and engages particular sectors of the population. It reaches new audiences through nontraditional methods, and often through activities in local schools and neighborhoods.
Founded in 1950 with an important gift of historic paintings by U.S. artists, the museum’s collection features over 14,000 objects, including 4,000 prints and 4,000 ceramic artworks.
The Americas Gallery showcases artworks from the museum’s collection and emphasizes a global orientation to art produced in the hemisphere. The Americas Gallery is semi-permanently installed in order to offer viewing opportunities of artworks by Gilbert Stuart, Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keeffe, Thomas Hart Benton, Arthur Dove, Robert Motherwell, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siquerios, and Rufino Tamayo, and an outstanding selection of Mexican modern prints.
Contemporary art holdings include works by Deborah Butterfield, Enrique Chagoya, Sue Coe, Vernon Fisher, Lawrence Gipe, Luis Jimenez, Nam June Paik, and Lorna Simpson. The museum owns the largest collection of 1990s-generation Cuban art outside of the island and a growing collection of Latin American art, including works by Pedro Álvarez, Belkis Ayón, Franklin Cassaro, Kcho (Alexis Levya Machado), Jarbas Lopes, Los Carpinteros, Oscar Oiwa, Sandra Ramos José Angel Toirac, as well as nationally-acclaimed collections of ceramics housed in the Ceramics Research Center (including Robert Arneson, Rudy Autio, Viola Frey, Bernard Leach, Maria Martinez, Ken Price, Lucie Rie, Akio Takamori, Peter Voulkos, and Kurt Weiser) and turned wood objects (Efrain Almeida, David Ellsworth, Todd Hoyer, Mel Kendrick, Mark Lindquist, Ed Moulthrop, Philip Moulthrop, and Bob Stocksdale).
Exhibitions and collections are housed in galleries and study rooms within the international award-winning Nelson Fine Arts Center. The center was designed by Antoine Predock.
Educational programs include artist residencies, interaction with students and visitors, a student docent program, internships, research assistantships, lectures, symposia, in-gallery materials, school and public tours, and a museum travel program. For information on current and future exhibitions and programs at the ASU Art Museum, call 480/965-2787, or access the museum’s Web site at asuartmuseum.asu.edu.
Dance Multimedia Learning Center
The Department of Dance Multimedia Learning Center is a facility designed to promote and encourage the use of media and computer technology in dance education, performance and research at ASU.
The Dance Studio Theatre is a 300-seat facility that serves as the mainstage performance site for three to four professional concerts produced annually by the Department of Dance. It also is the primary venue for student concerts, senior capstone performances, and presentations as well as other special events and activities. The theatre is designed with both interactive and telematic capabilities. The facility uses video-based motion sensing and enables dancers to interact with sound, lighting, images, and video in performance. High-speed Internet connectivity enables this space to connect with other telematic spaces for dual, multisite, and Web performances.
The Digital Arts Ranch is a black box performance space with a flexible infrastructure for multiple types of sensing and audio and visual playback and presentation. Features include 5.1 surround audio, multiple projection surfaces, and reconfigurable audience arrangements. As the principal AME presentation venue, the ranch is also used on a daily basis for realization of research and class work and is home to the AME performance ensemble. The ranch and the Technology Development Studio share shop facilities for design and fabrication in a variety of scales and materials, with a standard suite of tools ranging from woodworking to light machining, with CAD and other 3-D design capabilities.
The Galleria features work by ASU faculty, staff, and local artists. Exhibits rotate monthly. Located in downtown Phoenix in the Mercado, the Galleria participates in the monthly and annual art tours—First Friday and Art Detour—sponsored by a local arts group, ArtLink, Inc. For information on exhibitions, call 480/965-3046.
Located in the Tempe Center, near the International Programs Office on the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and University, Gallery 100 features undergraduate and invitational exhbitions of fine arts.
Housed in the College of Design, the Gallery of Design is used to display student work, semester end final critiques, shows exhibiting faculty work, an annual alumni show, and special exhibits. Exhibits tend to focus on architecture, design, and planning and landscape design. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M., except when the university is closed.
Built to stage the largest productions of the ASU Mainstage Theatre, the Paul V. Galvin Playhouse is a 496-seat proscenium-stage theatre set at the east end of the Nelson Fine Arts Center. The School of Theatre and Film’s annual season of six to eight plays also includes productions in the Lyceum Theatre with additional productions in the Prism Theatre and the Nelson Fine Arts Center Studios. The Paul V. Gavin Playhouse also is a mainstage performance venue for professional concerts produced annually by the Department of Dance.
Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium
A versatile center for the performing arts designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and named for the late ASU President Grady Gammage, Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium seats 3,000 and has won wide acclaim for its design and acoustics. In addition to the great hall and related facilities—including the Aeolian-Skinner organ contributed by Hugh W. and Barbara V. Long—the building contains classrooms and workshops for the Katherine K. Herberger College of the Arts.
Located in the Art Building, the Harry Wood Gallery features graduate, juried, and invitational exhibitions of fine arts.
The Intelligent Stage is a research environment and performance space at the Arts, Media, and Engineering (AME) Program. It is dedicated to the expansion of studies in interactive performance technologies. Current research includes 3-D motion capturing and 2-D sensing technologies, body sensors for real-time control of digital media, and multisite performances through the use of shared data and streaming digital media. The Intelligent Stage serves as the Interdisciplinary Research Environment for Motion Analysis, which includes faculty from 12 departments across campus.
Located in the west wing of the Music Building, the Katzin Concert Hall seats 350 people. Primarily used for solo and chamber music recitals, the hall houses a nine-foot Hamburg concert Steinway piano. The acoustics are enhanced by the maple-paneled stage and the multifaceted walls and ceiling.
Louise Lincoln Kerr Cultural Center
Located in Scottsdale, the Louise Lincoln Kerr Cultural Center offers cultural events, especially in the performing arts, to the community.
A 162-seat proscenium theatre, the Lyceum Theatre is a venue for ASU Mainstage Theatre productions as well as School of Theatre and Film colloquia and special events.
J. Russell and Bonita Nelson Fine Arts Center
Designed by Albuquerque architect Antoine Predock, the J. Russell and Bonita Nelson Fine Arts Center is a spectacular, 119,000-square-foot, village-like aggregate of buildings that includes five galleries of the ASU Art Museum, the Paul V. Galvin Playhouse, the University Dance Laboratory, seven specialized theatre and dance studios, a video studio, and a variety of scenic outdoor features, including courtyards, fountains, pools, and a 50-by-100-foot projection wall designed for outdoor video.
The Northlight Gallery is dedicated to museum-quality exhibitions of historical and contemporary photography. Located in Matthews Hall, it is open during the academic year.
Located in the Music Building, the Organ Hall houses the Fritts Organ. This tracker-action pipe organ is designed to capture the qualities of baroque European organs. The hall is designed to complement the organ with a barrel-vaulted ceiling and wooden benches to seat 166 persons. The hall also houses an Italian Baroque organ built in 1742 by Domenico Traeri.
The Prism Theatre is an alternative performance studio devoted to productions presented by the School of Theatre and Film Student Production Board.
Located on the fifth floor of the Music Building, the Recital Hall is an intimate 125-seat facility that opens onto a rooftop courtyard.
As part of the music complex, the Evelyn K. Smith Music Theatre, modeled after the Wagnerian Theatre in Bayreuth, Germany, rises five stories and seats an audience of 500. This theatre is the home of many operatic and musical productions.
Located in the Tempe Center, the Step Gallery is dedicated to exhibitions by undergraduate students.
KAET, Channel 8, is the university’s PBS station. Studios of the award-winning station are located in the Stauffer Communication Arts Building. To operate 24 hours a day, KAET employs more than 50 ASU students and interns. To learn more about KAET-TV, access its Web site at azpbs.org, or call 480/965-8888.
A flexible performance space within the Nelson Fine Arts Center, the University Dance Laboratory is designed specifically for experimental dance productions. Along with the Dance Studio Theatre in the Physical Education Building East, the University Dance Laboratory is used by the Department of Dance for experimental performances.
Computing Facilities and Services
Computers are fundamental tools for learning, instruction, and research in every college and department at ASU. The University Technology Office (UTO) provides a variety of computing equipment and services available for use by students, faculty, and staff. UTO also provides a wide variety of applications, including those required for development, research, and other learning needs. University-wide productivity software and knowledge-sharing resources are accessible through a high-speed campus network and from off campus via the Internet.
A wide range of university information is available online at www.asu.edu, the official ASU Web site. Prospective and current students can find details regarding undergraduate and graduate degree programs, financial assistance, housing, and student activities. The ASU Web site is also the gateway to many online services, including
1. finding and registering for classes;
2. viewing online grade reports;
3. checking e-mail, accessing courses online, utilizing Web-based university services, and reading customizable content via myASU (my.asu.edu);
4. creating personal and course Web pages;
4. viewing campus event calendars;
6. searching the ASU Online Directory;
7. browsing general and graduate catalogs; and
8. obtaining information about ASU athletics.
UTO provides several service centers for the ASU academic community.
The Computing Commons building (CPCOM) provides a “technology hub” that draws together students, faculty, and staff from all disciplines on campus in an environment conducive to maximum creative interaction. The building and its facilities have drawn national recognition and acclaim as a model for the support of instruction and research in a technology-based environment. CPCOM houses a 258-workstation computing site, seven computer classrooms, two instructor-mediated classrooms, two Classroom Support Centers, the Customer Assistance Center, the UTO Help Desk, the ASU Computer Store, and the New Media Innovation Lab (see New Media Innovation Lab).
There are three additional UTO computing sites located on the Tempe campus, available for ASU faculty, staff, and students with an ASURITE UserID. Site configurations and hours of operation vary; current information is available on the Web at www.asu.edu/computingsites.
ASU Applied Learning Technologies Institute
The ASU Applied Learning Technologies Institute combines research, technology, methods, and services to expand opportunities for faculty to improve teaching and research and to enhance learning environments—both local and global—through the innovative application of technology. The institute’s approach balances the need for stability and reliability with a strategic emphasis on research, development, and innovation. The institute recognizes the importance of attention to accessibility, individual differences, social and cultural awareness, and ultimately, a responsibility toward enhancing and enabling lifelong learning.
Innovation, integration, and support are blended to achieve maximum impact. The institute focuses on
1. learning technology support;
2. distributed learning (ASU at the global campus);
3. technology-enhanced learning and research;
4. integration of communications technology into teaching, learning, and research; and
5. distribution of media and collaborative systems.
The institute has a history of innovation and success, blending technology across a spectrum of educational applications. Insight and flexibility to rapidly changing environments have been instrumental. The future and the continued trajectory of success in an ever-flattening world are driven by the objectives of the global vision of the institute, which recognizes and unifies new social and cultural connections and knowledge-creation opportunities enabled by highly networked and expanded applications of technology and education.
The UTO Help Desk provides ASU students, faculty, and staff with centralized systems information, first-level assistance in resolving computing problems with communication, e-mail, and virus protection software, and security concerns. The UTO Help Desk also assists with account related services such as AFS filespace and permissions for Web sites; account access issues, including lost passwords; disk space quotas; and accounts for non-ASURITE services, including mainframe computer access. Most computing services are accessible through the standard ASURITE UserID and password, available online at www.asu.edu/asurite. The Help Desk distributes some site-licensed software, including computer security software. Help documents are available on the Web at www.asu.edu/itdocs.
For more information, access the Web site at www.asu.edu/helpdesk.
The New Media Innovation Lab at ASU is a use-inspired applied research laboratory, an incubator for cutting-edge ideas on new media content and distribution with a focus on young adult audiences. Top students from journalism, graphic design, engineering, and business work together with a center director in a high-tech new media lab, experimenting with different types of content, forms, and delivery systems.
Office of Classroom Management.
The mission of the Office of Classroom Management (OCM) is to provide outstanding support to the university community through the effective management and design of the university classrooms and computing sites. OCM works to enhance teaching and learning by improving the quality of services and facilities through design, operation, and maintenance of classrooms and sites; classroom scheduling and resource analysis; and development and support of computer networks and multimedia technology.
For more information, access the Web site at www.asu.edu/classrooms.
West Campus Computing Facilities and Services
Information Technology offers state-of-the-art computing facilities for use by students, faculty, and staff. A pervasive high-speed communications network provides access to university servers and to the Internet. Classrooms are equipped with DVDs/VCRs, access to television and satellite broadcasts, projectors, and networked computers for presenters. Some classrooms are equipped with computers for every student.
Technopolis, a student computing access center located on the lower level of Fletcher Library, contains networked PC and Macintosh microcomputers and high-quality peripherals, such as laser printers and scanners. Adaptive technology for students with disabilities is available. A wide variety of software is provided. Information and help for computer users are available at the center. For more information, call Technopolis at 602/543-8278, or access the Web site at www.west.asu.edu/it/student_centers/technop.htm.
The University Technology Office (UTO) and ASU have policies and codes that define responsible use of computers and networks. There are also federal, state, and local laws governing many interactions that occur on the Internet. Users need to be aware of what their responsibilities are and what the process is for adjudicating violations. Users also need to know what rights they have and how they can get help if their rights are violated.
For information and policy documents, access the Web site at www.asu.edu/it/policies.
Students are required to obtain an ASU e-mail address once admitted to the university. This e-mail address is the official e-mail address to which the university sends e-mail communications and is recorded in the university’s electronic directories. Students may suppress their e-mail address from appearing in these directories by completing forms available at www.asu.edu/registrar/forms/
regforms.html. Students are expected to check their e-mail on a frequent and consistent basis to stay current with university-related communications. Faculty who choose to use e-mail in their classes expect students to use their ASU e-mail account for all class e-mail communication.
If an individual wishes to have e-mail redirected from an ASU e-mail account to another e-mail address (e.g., @hotmail.com, @aol.com, or an address on a departmental server), the individual may do so, but at his or her own risk. The university is not responsible for the handling of e-mail by outside vendors or by departmental servers. Having e-mail redirected does not change the individual’s responsibility for reading and responding to official communications sent to the ASU e-mail account. Information and warnings about forwarding are available at www.asu.edu/mailbox.
All use of e-mail must be consistent with local, state, and federal law, including the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Visit www.asu.edu/registrar/general/ferpa.html for additional information regarding FERPA. Student ASU e-mail addresses are included in the university’s definition of directory information and may be released upon request.
It is a violation of university policies, including the Student Code of Conduct, for any user of official e-mail addresses to impersonate a university office, faculty or staff member, or student. To minimize this risk, some confidential information may be made available only through ASU Interactive (www.asu.edu/interactive) and/or myASU (my.asu.edu), which are both password protected. In these cases, students, faculty, and staff receive e-mail correspondence directing them to the appropriate password protected environment where they can access the confidential information only by supplying their ASURITE UserID and password.
ASU e-mail may be subject to disclosure under the Arizona Public Records law, or pursuant to a lawfully issued court order or subpoena.
Founded in 1894, the Alumni Association is a volunteer-led organization committed to serve and unite alumni for the purpose of advancing the interests of ASU and its alumni. The association, located in MAIN 200, provides a variety of services for ASU alumni, as well as a series of events scheduled around the country.
With more than 250,000 alumni living in the United States and throughout the world, the association plays an important role as the university’s primary support organization. Comprising more than 42 groups, the campus, college, club, and chapter organizations (4Cs) of the association provide opportunities for all alumni to stay involved with the part of ASU that interests them most.
Members of the Board of Directors are elected each spring. For more information about the association or its board of directors, call 1-800-ALUMNUS or 480/965-ALUM (2586), or access the Web site at www.asu.edu/alumni.
Learning and Teaching Excellence
The Center for Learning and Teaching Excellence is dedicated to enhancing teaching and learning possibilities at ASU. To support this mission, the center provides a variety of training, support, and professional development programs for faculty, academic professionals, graduate students who have teaching responsibilities, and academic departments throughout the university. The center’s resources and services specifically focus on advancing improvements in student learning, especially the manner in which teachers promote and foster that learning.
Some of the center’s goals are
1. assisting faculty, programs, and departments to assess and develop instructional approaches;
2. providing workshops designed to enhance specific instructional practices for all who teach;
3. serving as a clearinghouse of information about activities, events, resources, and projects that may enhance teaching and learning;
4. developing synergistic relationships with existing campus units;
5. providing instructional assistance to new faculty on campus;
6. encouraging reflective use of instructional technologies; and
7. collaborating with other campus units to secure grant moneys for new course development, exploration of innovative teaching methods, and/or research in effective instruction.
For more information, call 480/965-9401.
Information about all courses is available on the Web at ASU Interactive. For more information, see Classification of Courses.
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