Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university[10] in the Phoenix metropolitan area.[11] Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is now one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the United States.[12] It was one of about 180 "normal schools" founded in the late 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. Some closed, but most steadily expanded their role and became state colleges in the early 20th century, then state universities in the late 20th century.[13]
"Arizona State" redirects here. For the U.S. state, see Arizona.
Former names
Territorial Normal School (1885–1889)
Tempe Normal School of Arizona (1889–1903)
Tempe Normal School (1903–1925)
Tempe State Teachers College (1925–1929)
Arizona State Teachers College (1929–1945)
Arizona State College (1945–1958)
March 12, 1885
$1.47 billion (2023)[1]
$4.1 billion (2023)[2]
Nancy Gonzales
5,000+[3]
About 18,500[4]
57,588, Tempe[5]
11,097, Downtown Phoenix[5]
5,825, Polytechnic[5]
4,968, West[5]
62,551, online[5]
112,177[5]
30,459[5]
Maroon and gold[9]
One of three universities governed by the Arizona Board of Regents, ASU is a member of the Association of American Universities and classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity". ASU has nearly 145,000[5] students attending classes, with more than 62,000[5] students attending online, and 112,000[5] undergraduates and nearly 30,000[5] postgraduates across its five campuses and four regional learning centers throughout Arizona.[5][14] ASU offers 350 degree options from its 17 colleges and more than 170 cross-discipline centers and institutes for undergraduates students, as well as more than 400 graduate degree and certificate programs.[15]
The Arizona State Sun Devils compete in 26 varsity-level sports in the NCAA Division I Pac-12 Conference and is home to over 1,100 registered student organizations.[16] Sun Devil teams have won 165 national championships, including 24 NCAA trophies. 179 Sun Devils have made Olympic teams, winning 60 Olympic medals: 25 gold, 12 silver, and 23 bronze.
As of January 2022, ASU reported that its faculty of more than 5,000 scholars[5] included 5 Nobel laureates, 10 MacArthur Fellows, 10 Pulitzer Prize winners, 10 National Academy of Engineering members, 23 National Academy of Sciences members, 26 American Academy of Arts and Sciences members, 41 Guggenheim fellows, 157 National Endowment for the Humanities fellows, and 281 Fulbright Program American Scholars.[17]
The ASU Bridge
The Palm Walk is the main pathway through the campus.
Traditions[edit]
Maroon and gold[edit]
Gold is the oldest color associated with Arizona State University and dates back to 1896 when the school was named the Tempe Normal School.[201] Maroon and white were later added to the color scheme in 1898. Gold signifies the "golden promise" of ASU. The promise includes every student receiving a valuable educational experience. Gold also signifies the sunshine Arizona is famous for; including the power of the sun and its influence on the climate and the economy. The first uniforms worn by athletes associated with the university were black and white when the "Normals" were the name of the athletic teams. The student section, known as The Inferno, wears gold on game days.[202] Maroon signifies sacrifice and bravery while white represents the balance of negativity and positivity. As it is in the city of Tempe, Arizona, the school's colors adorn the neighboring buildings during big game days and festive events.[203]
ASU faculty have included former CNN host Aaron Brown, Academic Claude Olney, meta-analysis developer Gene V. Glass, feminist and author Gloria Feldt, physicist Paul Davies, and Pulitzer Prize winner and The Ants coauthor Bert Hölldobler. David Kilcullen, a counterinsurgency theorist, is a professor of practice. Donald Johanson, who discovered the 3.18 million year old fossil hominid Lucy (Australopithecus) in Ethiopia, is also a professor, as well as George Poste, Chief Scientist for the Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative.[258] Former US senator Jeff Flake was appointed as a distinguished dean fellow on December 2, 2020.[259] Nobel laureate faculty include Leland Hartwell,[260] and Edward C. Prescott.[261] On June 12, 2012, Elinor Ostrom, ASU's third Nobel laureate, died at the age of 78.
ASU faculty's achievements as of 2020 include:[152]
Presidential visits[edit]
Arizona State University has been visited by nine United States presidents. President Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to visit campus, speaking on the steps of Old Main on March 20, 1911, while in Arizona to dedicate the Roosevelt Dam.[262] President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke at ASU's Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium on January 29, 1972, at a memorial service for ASU alumnus Senator Carl T. Hayden.[262] Future president Gerald R. Ford debated Senator Albert Gore, Sr. at Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium on April 28, 1968, and Ford returned to the same building as a former president to give a lecture on February 24, 1984.[262] President Jimmy Carter visited Arizona PBS at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication on July 31, 2015, to promote a memoir.[263] Future president Ronald Reagan gave a political speech at the school's Memorial Union in 1957, and returned to campus as a former president on March 20, 1989, delivering his first ever post-presidential speech at ASU's Wells Fargo Arena.[262] President George H. W. Bush gave a lecture at Wells Fargo Arena on May 5, 1998.[262]
President Bill Clinton became the first sitting president to visit ASU on October 31, 1996, speaking on the Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium lawn. He returned to ASU in 2006, and in 2014, President Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton came to campus to host the Clinton Global Initiative University.[262] President George W. Bush became the second sitting president to visit the school's campus when he debated Senator John Kerry at the university's Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium on October 13, 2004.[264] President Barack Obama visited ASU as sitting president on May 13, 2009. President Obama delivered the commencement speech for the Spring 2009 Commencement Ceremony.[265] President Obama had previously visited the school as a United States senator.[262] President Richard Nixon did not visit ASU as president, but visited Phoenix as president on October 31, 1970, at an event that included a performance by the Arizona State University Band, which President Nixon acknowledged. As part of President Nixon's remarks, he stated that, "when I am in Arizona, Arizona State is number one."[266]
