In recent years, Arizona State University (ASU) has transcended its role as a single institution to become a global exemplar of what the public university of the future can embody: inclusive, innovative, and deeply aligned with societal needs.
Through initiatives like Change Higher Ed, ASU continues to redefine the boundaries of higher education—not only in research and discovery but also in its unwavering commitment to access, equity, and public impact. This is not merely evolution; it’s a comprehensive redesign.
Having spent 14 formative years at ASU—from 1998 to 2012—I witnessed firsthand the early stages of this transformation. Serving as a tenured faculty member and academic leader in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, I was involved in rethinking disciplinary boundaries, developing global engagement programs, expanding access, and supporting student success under the New American University model.
My tenure also included serving as President of the Academic Senate at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the academic heart of ASU, and participating in various executive committees, collaborating closely with Deans and the Provost. While my role was modest in the broader scope of change, I take pride in these contributions and in the foundation that was being laid—a foundation now fully realized in ASU’s leadership on the national and international stage.
Supporting Students Across the Lifecycle: From Application to Graduation and Beyond
ASU’s student success model supports learners from pre-admission through graduation and into career readiness. From programs like MyPath2ASU to the First-Year Success Center, and AI-driven advising platforms, students receive continuous, personalized support.
Innovative residential experiences such as Tooker House—a living-learning community for engineers equipped with Amazon Echo Dots—offer tech-integrated environments where students can build and prototype voice-user interfaces. VR biology labs enable online learners to conduct virtual dissections and manipulate DNA in immersive settings. These are not isolated experiments but part of a broader philosophy of human-centered, tech-enhanced learning that prepares students for the future.
Rethinking Admissions and Redefining Excellence: Elite Results, Not Elite Admissions
ASU has replaced exclusivity with excellence. Its philosophy—”elite results, not elite admissions”—rejects the traditional prestige-through-selectivity model. Instead, the university emphasizes access, scale, and outcomes. Among many other affiliations, ASU is today a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU). ASU is the leading producer of Fulbright, Gilman, and Rhodes Scholars. It has multiple faculty who are recipients of the MacArthur “Genius Grant” and Yidan Prize, among others, and it has a $1.5 billion endowment placing ASU in the top 15% of U.S. and Canadian universities.
This success is grounded in ASU’s commitment to serving the broad public rather than a narrow elite—a model where innovation and impact define excellence.
Expanding the ASU Enterprise: From K–12 to Global Innovation Hubs
ASU is redefining scale through a boundaryless model. ASU Prep Digital delivers early college experiences across K–12, and global centers through Thunderbird School of Global Management promote entrepreneurship and sustainability. The university now enrolls students from over 135 countries.
ASU also leads in sustainability, having opened its first net-zero energy building in 2018. Its smart cities initiative, backed by a $3 million grant, is training future engineers and policymakers to build people-centered urban environments. Groundbreaking nanorobotics research in partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences is redefining cancer treatment by programming robots to shrink tumors. These are just a few examples of how ASU links research and education to global grand challenges.
The Vision Behind the Transformation: Two Landmark Books by Michael Crow
President Michael Crow’s intellectual leadership is captured in two essential texts: Designing the New American University, a framework for transforming universities to align public mission with excellence, and The Fifth Wave: The Evolution of American Higher Education, a vision for the next generation of universities as scalable, adaptive, and lifelong learning institutions. These texts outline the philosophical foundation for ASU’s transformation and inspire models across higher education.
The ASU+GSV Summit: A Platform for Sector-wide Innovation
The ASU+GSV Summit has become a global hub for rethinking education and talent. At the 2025 event, thought leaders like Ted Mitchell and Paul LeBlanc identified disruption as a necessary force in redesigning institutions. Micro-credentials, stackable pathways, and AI integration took center stage.
ASU’s transformation—once seen as an outlier—is now a case study in possibility. Its ability to scale quality education while fostering global dialogue is a major reason why institutions look to ASU as a benchmark.
Higher Education as a Strategic Asset for the Nation
ASU’s model has gained national traction as a civic imperative. In March 2025, a report from the Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset (HESA), co-chaired by Michael Crow, declared that universities must become engines of national prosperity, talent development, and democratic renewal.
Titled “America’s Talent Moonshot,” the report calls for civic-minded, future-ready learners; affordability and universal access; multi-modal learning and flexible credentialing; and public-private partnerships in key sectors: AI, health, cybersecurity, and education. Following Crow’s own roadmap in the above-mentioned books, it is clear that ASU is fully committed to becoming a model for a new national service university aligned with both state and national priorities.
A Blueprint for the Future of Higher Education
In a time of generational change, as we start seeing the new GenAlpha getting ready to go to college, ASU offers more than a roadmap—it offers proof. A university that is global, digital, inclusive, and innovative. A place where learning is personalized, research is problem-driven, and success is measured by who is included and how far they go.
I remain grateful for my years at ASU and admire its evolution. Life puts all of us in different paths and circumstances. I remember kindly my years at ASU and the energy that I saw in the heart of Arizona. As I see the great progress that ASU is making, this should remind us all that designing the future of higher education is not an abstract exercise—it is work that must be done boldly, intentionally, and with a commitment to the public good.
