Arizona State University

An accomplished lawyer known for her careful approach to legal issues and commitment to serving tribal communities is the new director of the Indian Legal Clinic at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Patty Ferguson-Bohnee is supervising the continued development of the rapidly growing clinic, which provides students with important training and skills in the research and application of tribal law.

Ferguson-Bohnee, a former associate in the Indian Law and Tribal Relations Practice Group at the Scottsdale law firm of Sacks Tierney P.A., also is a visiting clinical professor at the college.

Being able to guide students through real cases in tribal, state and federal courtrooms, while helping Native American populations in Indian country and in urban settings around the country, is a good mix for Ferguson-Bohnee.

“I’ve always been interested in academics, but I couldn’t really see myself not practicing law,” she says. “As director of the Indian Legal Clinic, I can still practice law while being in the environment of teaching. It’s also exciting to be able to work with the professors in the Indian Legal Program, who are nationally known.”

Rebecca Tsosie, executive director of the College’s Indian Legal Program, says she was delighted by Ferguson-Bohnee’s decision to leave her private practice.

“Patty brings a wealth of talent and expertise to this position,” Tsosie says. “Her stellar credentials and commitment to professional service have earned her the respect of members of the State Bar and law faculty alike. Patty is known for her abundant energy and positive approach to law practice, and she immediately immersed herself in the life of the college’s outstanding clinical program and began to organize the Indian Legal Clinic for this year’s classes.”

Ferguson-Bohnee, a member of the Pointe-au-Chien tribe, recently helped four bayou tribes, including her own, obtain recognition from the state of Louisiana. She is seeking federal recognition of the 700-member Pointe-au-Chiens, of which she is the only attorney, and has assisted tribal entities in government relations by drafting appellate briefs, grievance decisions and codes and constitutions.

“I feel a responsibility to my community, because it has been ignored and disenfranchised,” she says. “If I don’t help them, who will?”
Ferguson-Bohnee grew up in a rural community in Louisiana, where her dad worked in a paper mill and her mother was a stay-at-home mom. She became hooked on law and politics while competing in a mock trial as a high school student. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Native American studies with an emphasis in policy and law from Stanford University, she earned a law degree from Columbia University School of Law with a certificate in foreign and comparative law.

“There were very few Native American students at Columbia,” she says. “That was a good experience, because I was able to interact with people of different backgrounds, most of whom were interested in public-interest law and rights-based issues.”

Initially, Ferguson-Bohnee says she intended to practice international rights law, “but I had received several grants from Stanford to work on historical projects on Louisiana Indians, and from there, I realized I should be focusing in this area.”

After law school, Ferguson-Bohnee clerked for judge Betty Binns Fletcher of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and then joined Sacks Tierney, where a substantial part of her practice focused on Voting Rights Act issues. She has assisted in complex voting-rights act litigation and has drafted state legislative and congressional testimony on behalf of tribal clients with respect to voting-rights issues.

As a lawyer, Ferguson-Bohnee often has returned to Louisiana to speak to high school students and others.

“They need to see that they have more opportunities, because they don’t know that they do,” she says.

In her role as director of the Indian Legal Clinic, Ferguson-Bohnee said she plans to continue cultivating existing relationships with tribes, while enabling students to build confidence and gain experience as lawyers. She would like to investigate potential issues within the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona Inc. that might be appropriate for students to be involved with, and start an American Indian rights summer fellowship program for students interested in working in impoverished Indian communities or with indigenous peoples on rights-based issues.

A group of researchers at ASU’s Biodesign Institute recently presented findings from their work in areas including autism, cancer, renewable energy and diagnostic devices.

It might have been a typical symposium, except for one thing: the presenters were all high school students. The 26 Arizona students participated as paid interns for six weeks, contributing to an actual research project ongoing at the institute.

“We felt it was important for the students to work directly on a project as part of a research team in the same way they will if they pursue a career in research science,” says Rick Fisher, director of educational outreach at the Biodesign Institute.

The Biodesign internship included participants from 13 Valley schools and is the largest bioscience high school internship in Arizona. It supports a Valley initiative to strengthen the area’s bioscience and biotechnology industry.

Students applied for the program and were selected by a review team from the Biodesign Institute based on a variety of factors, including science courses taken, grades, a short essay explaining their interest, and teacher references.

“The level of accomplishment and intellect of these students is remarkable,” Fisher says. “We know that, overall, the United States has been losing ground in effectively preparing students for careers in math and science, but looking at these bright students, you realize that there are incredible pockets of excellence. The credit for their success must be shared by both the students and their teachers.”

This is the second year for the Biodesign Summer High School Internship, which is funded by a grant from the ASU Foundation’s Women & Philanthropy program and the state-funded Technology and Research Initiative Fund. The objective is to enable high school students to participate in a cutting-edge laboratory research environment to further their education and interest in science as a career.

Some examples of this summer’s interns and their projects include:

• Kathryn Scheckel, a 2006 Xavier College Preparatory graduate and a Flinn Foundation Scholar, who worked in the institute’s Center for Innovations in Medicine with researcher Kathryn Sykes. Sykes’ team is attempting to identify genetic fingerprints of deadly infectious agents to create vaccines against them. Scheckel worked on validating genetic material for use in vaccines.

• Veronica Shi, a 2006 graduate from Corona del Sol High School and a U.S. Presidential Scholar, worked in the institute’s Center for Evolutionary Functional Genomics with researcher Alan Fillipski. In a center devoid of the standard “wet lab” test tubes and chemicals, new types of scientists are emerging. These researchers use computers to identify genetic mutations that cause disease. By looking at DNA databanks – gold mines of genetic information – they compare the published genomes of species ranging from humans to mice and chickens to puffer fish to gain new insights into human disease. Shi developed a computer program to analyze the impact of mutations.

Julie Kurth, (480) 727-9386

Three ASU American humanics students have been awarded Next Generation Nonprofit Leaders Program (NextGen) scholarships.

Aydaly Briones, Jamie Patton and Shannon Wagner each will receive $4,500 from NextGen as part of a multiyear Kellogg Foundation Grant to American Humanics Inc. to support students across the American humanics campus affiliate network. The NextGen scholarships support costs associated with the students’ senior internships in nonprofits.

Briones, from San Luis, Ariz., is the former president of the American Humanics Student Association and is interning with the Yuma United Way.

Patton, from Mesa, Ariz., is the former campaign chair for the American Humanics Management Institute, which raised more than $42,000.

Patton is interested in women’s issues.

Wagner, from Tucson, Ariz., will serve an internship in India. She is a former American Humanics Student Association recruitment committee member.

“These scholarships take our students one step closer to fulfilling their goals of positively influencing the nonprofit sector,” says Stacey Vicario Freeman, American humanics senior program coordinator. “I have no doubt their contributions will create real change for the communities they serve.”

Ryan Tang, one of four ASU American humanics students funded earlier this year, has been hired in a full-time position at the YMCA headquarters in the development office. All told, in this inaugural year of the NextGen program, ASU American humanics students have received $31,500 in new or external scholarship dollars in support of their efforts. Nonprofits at which NextGen awardees interned earlier this year contributed about $10,000 in matching funds, providing $41,500 in total funds for these emerging leaders.

“There is a looming leadership void in the nonprofit sector,” says Robert Ashcraft, director of the ASU Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management and a professor of nonprofit studies in the university’s School of Community Resources and Development. “It is encouraging that American Humanics Inc., through this W. K. Kellogg Foundation grant, created the NextGen scholarship program to identify promising ASU students who will fill that void. This is further validation of our role as the preferred provider of entry level nonprofit professionals through our nonprofit certificate and degree programs.”

Founded in 1980, ASU’s American humanics program is part of the School of Community Resources and Development, in association with the ASU Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management. ASU is one of the leading programs in the nation, preparing future nonprofit professionals.

Students pursuing American humanics certification complete various experiential requirements including participation in the student association, 18 credit hours of in-class coursework and a 12-credit-hour internship. For more information, visit the Web site www.asu.edu/copp/nonprofit/edu/ah.htm.

Amy Cox O'Hara, (602) 496-0185

An eight-person delegation from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) recently spent two days visiting the Decision Theater. They traveled from Wuhan, China, to see firsthand how the Decision Theater is organized and equipped to help decision-makers address public policy issues.

The HUST delegation received in-depth briefings on the theater’s visualization, simulation and modeling, and collaboration tools. They heard from a variety of experts about everything from strategic planning and project management, to visualization technology and group intelligence software. They also met with two Decision Theater clients representing public and private sectors.

Xu Xiaolin, the delegation leader and HUST’s dean of the College of Public Administration, says he’s impressed with what he saw and heard during the visit. He particularly notes the value of the Decision Theater in helping to address a host of urban growth challenges.

“This enables cities to be managed better,” Xiaolin says. “It offers a more scientific approach to managing a city. It gives more people a voice regardless of where they may live,” referring to the power of digital technology as a planning and participation resource. The dean believes his university will have its version of a Decision Theater up and running within a year. He foresees continued strong collaboration with ASU, saying “the future is beautiful between ASU and HUST.”

Xiaolin says he would like to see the HUST visualization center called the “New Sino-American Decision Theater,” but the name will determined by several people sometime later.

Initial discussions about a HUST Decision Theater began more than a year ago and have included ASU President Michael Crow and other senior ASU officials. Rick Shangraw, the Decision Theater’s executive director and ASU’s vice president for research and economic affairs, visited HUST and other Chinese universities in May. While promoting the Decision Theater concept there, Shangraw saw the university’s preliminary construction plans and the proposed location for their Decision Theater on the campus. Given their ongoing strong interest in building a Decision Theater, Shangraw invited his HUST hosts to visit ASU for additional discussions on how ASU and HUST can collaborate.

The delegation’s visit to ASU concluded with the signing of a joint memorandum of understanding between the Decision Theater and HUST’s College of Public Administration. The program ranks fourth among colleges in China. HUST ranks fifth among all universities in China, and delegation members say the university’s appetite for innovation is a major reason for the recognition.

“This is a prestigious research university with whom we already enjoy a strong friendship,” Shangraw says. “I’m excited about the prospect of collaborating with them through our respective Decision Theaters on issues of mutual interest and concern, such as the environment, urban growth, education and public health. The future is indeed bright.”

John Skinner, (480) 965-4098
Decision Theater

ASU’s College of Human Services has selected Bonnie E. Carlson as the new chair of the Department of Social Work.

Carlson comes to ASU from the University at Albany, State University of New York’s School of Social Welfare, where she has been teaching since 1979.

She begins serving as department chair this fall.

Carlson received her master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan in 1974, and her doctorate in developmental psychology and social work from the University of Michigan in 1980.

She is a published author who has taught courses titled “Human Behavior and the Social Environment” and “Treatment of Family Violence.”

Her research focuses on all types of family violence and substance abuse.

Carlson has completed various studies on domestic violence, including:

• Children of abused women and the effects of children of witnesses to domestic violence.

• Dating violence.

• A comparison of the effects of child abuse and witnesses to domestic violence.

• Domestic violence victims with mental retardation.

• Substance-abusing mothers in the child welfare system.

• Trauma histories of drug-abusing women.

Carlson takes over duties as ASU’s social work chair from Wendy Hultsman, who has been serving as interim chair for the department while chairing the Department of Recreation and Tourism Management.

In baseball parlance, Paul Smiley would be a utility player, a master of many trades who covers a lot of ground and does so at the highest level of the game.

A faculty associate in Arizona State University’s School of Global Management and Leadership, Smiley’s resume is as varied as it is impressive. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern Illinois University, he earned his master’s in public administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. His military credentials include graduation from the Senior Leadership School at the Joint Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., the Air Force Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala., the Joint Warfare Planning course at Maxwell AFB, and the prestigious U.S. Force Fighter Weapons School “Top Gun” graduate program at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

Smiley, who now directs the student recruitment efforts for a pair of new graduate degrees offered by the School of Global Management and Leadership – Master of Accountancy and Applied Leadership and Master of Applied Leadership and Management – isn’t just textbook smart. From 2000 through 2002 he was commander of the 607^th Air Control Training Squadron at Luke Air Force Base and before that served three years (1997-2000) as an operations staff officer for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. Serving in the Air Force from 1983 through 1996, Smiley flew, trained personnel, and earned a number of leadership assignments. He flew 22 combat support missions in Operation Desert Storm, was Air Operations War Planner at the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Kosovo conflict, and during 25 years of service to his country, he has been awarded over 20 medals and citations.

And now he is looking for students looking to take their education to a higher level.

“This is something that excites me,” says Smiley, who was chairman of the school’s Dean’s Advisory Council last year. “Having taught at ASU’s West campus during the past four years, I can tell you the faculty and the curriculum are world-class. Our graduates not only get an advanced degree, they receive an overall experience that will make them better people, better managers, and effective leaders.”

Now the founder and president of Sonoran Technology and Professional Services in nearby Goodyear, Smiley sees parallels between recruiting students and his life in the military.

“There are two comparisons that comes to mind,” says Smiley, who lives in Goodyear with his wife Malinda and 13-year-old daughter Rachel. “First in any endeavor, people need to know and understand the value of what they are doing. Oftentimes, it’s difficult to see the end result at the beginning of the journey; there’s a big picture you must make clear. Second, is the value in terms of financial reward. It’s understood you are not going to get rich serving in the military, compared to certain professions in the civilian market. The graduate student, unlike the military person, wants to know what the payoff is in terms of financial reward. As I recruit graduate students, the challenge is to present the opportunity these two degrees offer in terms of reward, both financial and the personal and professional growth that are the result of these programs.”

The new degree programs have been designed by the school to address a numbers game that the Valley and other growing markets face.

“There is a fundamental and urgent need for business leaders who can deal effectively with the new challenges created by a rapidly emerging global economy,” says Pierre Balthazard, director of graduate programs for the School of Global Management and Leadership. Balthazard notes that local growth in the managerial and administrative professions has registered more than six percent annual gains since 1994. He cites research estimates that one in 10 individuals are put into roles of leadership. Given the Valley’s current population of more than two million, it is no stretch to postulate the need for more than 200,000 leaders in order to be globally competitive. The number will double to 400,000 in the next 25 to 35 years, Balthazard says.

Smiley, whose leadership and management skills were honed as a mission crew commander on the E-3 AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft, says the reputation of the School of Global Management and Leadership and its accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) give him the upper hand in the recruitment game.

“Graduate students are sharp and forward-thinking, and they have a perception of the marketplace and the impact the ‘right’ advanced degree can have on their lives,” he says. “They know you can go to any number of schools that are not nationally accredited and be in the same position after completing a graduate program. Employers want the ‘best,’ and they are keenly aware of the schools – like ours – that are accredited and graduating excellent leadership and management candidates. We are offering value in education, not just a degree.”

In other words, Smiley is convinced he and the new degree programs offered by ASU’s School of Global Management and Leadership will pass muster and send a new generation of students soaring into the world of global business well-equipped to manage and lead.

In an effort to align itself with ASU President Michael Crow’s vision to create a more sustainable university, the University Technology Office (UTO) and ASU’s Digital Document Services are replacing campus printers and copiers with more energy-efficient models by Canon. All four ASU campuses – Downtown Phoenix, Polytechnic, Tempe and West – will receive new machines for use in student computing labs as part of a larger endeavor to incorporate Crow’s initiatives into ASU’s computing and printing services.

The new multifunctional machines will give students more printing and copying options, including black-and-white and color printing, duplex (double-sided) printing, and finishing options such as stapling. The student price for an 8.5-by-11-inch black-and-white copy or print is 8 cents per page, while a color copy or print will cost 75 cents per page. Students also can copy or print on 11-by-17-inch paper for 16 cents per page in black and white, and $1.50 per page in color.

ASU is the first university to implement a sustainability program of this magnitude and will create a new university standard in the process. UTO and ASU’s Digital Document Services will extend this approach throughout the university, eventually decreasing the number of printers and copiers needed on each campus while increasing energy efficiency and productivity.

The new printers and copiers will be accessible on all of ASU’s campuses by Aug. 20.

For more information about digital sustainability at ASU, please Robert Lane, director of Digital Document Services, at robert.lane@asu.edu.

Developers of SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, announced that Canon U.S.A. Inc., will join other forward-thinking companies at the 37-acre, mixed-use center at the southeast corner of Scottsdale and McDowell roads under development as a hub for technological innovations and a portal for expanding global trade.

Canon will lease 9,000 square feet in the first building, scheduled to open this fall, to take advantage of the ASU resources available to SkySong tenants. Canon will have a demonstration and showroom area on the ground floor and office space on the fourth floor.

“Canon is a well-established, global digital technology company and a leader in innovation,” says Steve Duncan, senior vice president, Higgins Development Partners. “Canon’s decision to locate at SkySong provides further evidence of the project’s benefits to global technology-based enterprises that understand the significant value of having daily access to a university such as ASU. ASU is one of SkySong’s differentiating factors that will subsequently also bring the knowledge workers who are key to the long-term growth of Scottsdale’s and the Valley’s economies.”

Last fall Canon established an alliance with ASU to build a world-class “Sustainable Digital University.” As part of that initiative, Canon is working with ASU to identify cooperative research projects and to explore and evaluate new technologies.

“Canon is guided by the philosophy of Kyosei – ‘all people harmoniously living and working together into the future,’ ” says Ryoichi Bamba, executive vice president and general manager, Canon U.S.A. Inc. “Canon, Arizona State University and the SkySong developers have a common vision for the future of technology in our everyday lives, and share a commitment to sustainability. We expect the SkySong facilities to foster innovative thinking and technology developments for both Canon and its partners.”

According to Rob Melnick, ASU’s associate vice president for Economic Affairs, “Canon has held a ‘top five’ position in global rankings for patents issued for more than 20 years – it is easy to see that their excellent reputation for innovation and invention activity coupled with their commitment to sustainability – ‘maximum value with minimum resources’ as they say, are why Canon is a superb fit for SkySong. This is exactly the type of global giant that should be mingling with the cutting-edge companies and entrepreneurs at SkySong. The ASU-Canon relationship was one that was quickly forged due to the entrepreneurial direction and values that both organizations embrace.”

Established more than 70 years ago, Canon is a global leader in professional business and consumer imaging equipment, information systems and other special industrial products. Canon continues to build on its inventive and innovative strengths, which have led them to creative applications in environmental technologies and the implementation of strong corporate protocols based on sustainable principles.

ASU will be one of the key tenants of SkySong’s first phase, occupying about 80,000 square feet of the 157,000-square-foot, four-story building about to be completed. Several premier ASU programs that facilitate the transfer of technology developed at ASU into the marketplace and develop new entrepreneurial talent from within the University and business community will be located at SkySong.

In addition, the university will have interdisciplinary research programs in engineering-related fields. SkySong will become a focal point for the intensification and expansion of programs in these fields and the development of new research in this area.

The developers have commenced construction of the second commercial building, an identical structure directly across the boulevard from the first, and anticipate initial occupancy in the second quarter of 2008. Development of the initial residential phase and the parking structure in the southeast corner of the project also is advancing. The accelerated development schedule is ahead of the build-out terms committed to when leasing the land from Scottsdale to become a catalyst for the area’s revitalization and redevelopment.

Longer-term plans for all phases of SkySong construction over the next 10 years call for the project to comprise about 1.2 million square feet of commercial office, retail and research space in addition to residential units. Designed for innovative companies whose global business success is enhanced by a facilitated collaboration with ASU’s human and technological assets, the completed project will be a vigorous, 21st century center for innovation, commercialization, entrepreneurship and business development.

Canon joins a growing list of global companies locating at SkySong including Qwest Communications Inc., a leading provider of high-speed Internet, digital television, digital voice and wireless services; and Finao Capital, a venture capital firm that focuses on early stage technology companies.

This spring, ASU announced that two innovative, entrepreneurial companies from Mexico would establish U.S. operations at SkySong: Ensitech, a software development firm offering on-demand solutions for eBusiness, and Energy Ventures, a provider of performance management services for companies committed to electric power production.

Other international tenants include Aurigin Technology Pte. Ltd., a Singaporean technology business that develops innovative products for the optoelectronics, photonics, microelectromechanical and biomedical industries and produces components found in consumer electronics such as computers, digital cameras and portable music players; Litree Co., a Chinese firm specializing in water purification technology, and another Chinese firm, Fscreen Sci-tech Co. Ltd., developer of solar-energy technology, and Sebit, an e-learning company from Turkey.

Three Tempe artists – Lisa Adamsen, Nicole Royse and Beth Ann St. George – will show photography, acrylic on canvas and quilted textile art at ASU Gammage from Aug. 17 to Oct. 14.

Adamsen says her photographic work is “all about the details.”

“Without the details, the big picture does not exist,” she says. “The flower does not exist without its petals, leaves, pollen and even the insects.”
She will exhibit digital and 35 mm photos shot across the United States.

“Some of the subjects were growing by the side of a highway or dirt road, and some were in formal gardens or national parks, but all became part of this display because their details were intriguing,” she says.

Royse will show acrylic on canvas works focusing on abstraction through line, exploration of shape, and experimentation with texture and color.

“This collection of acrylic paintings draws on the natural world that we encounter every day, particularly flowers, as well as the Arizona landscape, each work exploring and rediscovering the complexities of the natural world,” she says.

St. George’s work expresses African sensitivities and uses the process of art as meditation.

“Each work reflects a story, a feeling, a message, that moves the viewer beyond merely the design itself,” she says.

The pieces have such titles as “Rainbow of Forgiveness,” “Wings of Prayer,” “Star of Hope” and “River of Life.”

Viewing hours at ASU Gammage are 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, or by appointment by calling (480) 965-6912.
For more information, contact Lesley Davis at (480) 965-6912.

ASU is debuting a five-week introductory course to introduce first-year students to the unique culture, challenges and opportunities at the nation’s largest university.

Nearly 9,000 freshmen spent their first day as college students on ASU’s four campuses Aug. 20, bringing to ASU diversity in their backgrounds, interests and goals. By the end of their first semester, all ASU freshmen will know what is expected of them as college students and how to succeed. The new course, ASU 101, will be presented to students in a small class environment.

It would be great if a first-year student could know what a graduating senior knows about being successful in college,” says Duane Roen, a professor of English at the Polytechnic campus. “We have a wonderful opportunity to share this knowledge with them, and to tell them what seniors said about what they needed in college.”

Roen, one of more than 200 faculty teaching ASU 101, says building an intimate community within a large setting is crucial to connecting students to the university and helping them achieve success.
Provost Elizabeth D. Capaldi agrees.

ASU 101 guarantees that every freshman is connected to a small group of students and an instructor who can teach them how to succeed in college and give them a sense of the intellectual excitement and rigor of ASU,” she says.

More than 600 sections of ASU 101 will be offered this fall across the four campuses. Each course meets once a week for an hour and a half, and the class size is capped at 19 students, allowing students to develop a sense of community and get the attention they deserve. The class is mandatory for incoming freshmen.

"If it’s important for students to be enrolled in this course, then it needs to be mandatory,” Roen says. “It’s the only way we can increase retention and help more students earn degrees.”

ASU is not the only university to introduce such a course. The University of Florida touts a similar class for incoming students called “First-Year Florida.” According to the university, the one-credit, one-hour per week course teaches students the “tips, tricks and tactics necessary for survival” on Florida’s large, diverse campus. Other schools have followed with similar courses, including the University of Maryland.

In November, the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition completed its seventh national survey of first-year seminar programming in American higher education. Chief academic officers, chief executive officers or chief student affairs at all regionally accredited colleges and universities with undergraduate students and lower divisions were invited to participate in the Web-based survey.

The results included:

• 92.2 percent of institutions who responded indicate that their first-year seminars are offered for academic credit.

• 46 percent of institutions require their first-year seminars for all first-year students.

• 43.4 percent report increased persistence to sophomore year.

• 41.1 percent report improved peer connections.

• 17.8 percent report increased persistence to graduation.

Capaldi and Roen say the ultimate goal with ASU 101 is to increase retention among the university’s student body, especially between the freshmen and sophomore years.

"We care about each individual student and their success, and ASU 101 reflects this commitment,” Capaldi says.

ASU 101 students and instructors will discuss the essentials for academic and personal success, such as choosing a major, social diversity, study skills and university resources. The course uses a combination of multimedia presentations, writing exercises, and discussions both in class and online to introduce unique elements of ASU, such as sustainability and global engagement. It is a rigorous course that teaches the intellectual and research basis of student success strategies, with a flexible curriculum that allows each section to be tailored to the students’ needs.

According to the American Association of Higher Education, “Learning is a complex process. It entails not only what students know, but what they can do with what they know; it involves not only knowledge and abilities, but values, attitudes, and habits of mind that affect both academic success and performance beyond the classroom.”

Roen echoes this claim.

"We need to work with students as closely a we can and talk to them not only about work in our fields but about navigating through the university, learning what resources are available, developing good study skills, and knowing how to make decisions on career choices,” he says.

For his first class, Roen plans to ask students what they think they need most to have a good start at ASU and to carry them through four years. While he will emphasize student success above all else, he sees the importance of familiarizing students with the principles of the New American University, which instructors have the option of teaching in this course.

I think students will understand ASU’s approach to entrepreneurship if we connect it to what makes sense for them,” Roen says. “For example, explain what entrepreneurship means to a biologist and what it takes to get ideas out there.”

Delia Saenz, an associate professor of psychology and director of the Intergroup Relations Center at the Tempe campus, plans to incorporate the required elements – academic success and integrity – into the course, but she also wants to educate students on sustainability and social embeddedness. Above all, she says giving students a chance to learn in a small community at the earliest stage will help with retention.
“Student retention is especially critical from freshman to sophomore years, and much of it can be attributed to the fact that they feel lost in such a big place,” Saenz says.

When asked how ASU 101 will be a success, Saenz replies: “The most important ingredient is instructor enthusiasm. The instructor needs to adopt the students and serve as an anchor point for them. We won’t see immediate results, but let’s be patient and keep working toward our purpose, and we’ll get through the hurdles.”

ASU has announced that Scottsdale-based American Solar Electric will be moving about half of its 32 employees to Skysong – ASU’s Scottsdale Innovation Center.

American Solar Electric designs and builds photovoltaic (solar electric) power systems for commercial, industrial and residential clients. The company is responsible for the installation of more than 3 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) power in Arizona.

American Solar Electric expects to install about 1.5 MW of solar electric power by the end of this year, and the company aims to increase that number to 5 MW per year by 2010. It also plans to expand, opening regional sales offices this year in Northern and Southern Arizona. Recent large projects include installations for Tucson, and for Taylor & Associates. The company is under contract to Frito-Lay for what will become one of Arizona’s largest rooftop PV systems.

The staff at SkySong will consist of teams focusing in management, engineering, sales, marketing and accounting.

President and co-owner Sean Seitz believes that entering into SkySong will present a mutually beneficial atmosphere by building relationships with ASU, as well as other companies moving into the center.

“SkySong provides American Solar Electric with a number synergistic opportunities,” Seitz says. “Between collaboration with ASU and the other businesses locating at the campus, we expect our presence on the campus to open up new partnerships and business opportunities.”
Seitz also is pleased to remain close to the company’s Scottsdale roots.

“Maintaining a presence in Scottsdale is also important to us,” he says. “It’s where we started, and we appreciate the leadership the city has given in the area of promoting ‘green’ building and solar energy development.”

The company joins other trend-setting firms at SkySong, such as FScreen Sci-Tech Co (a solar technology firm from China) Aurigin Technology (a biomedical technology firm from Singapore) and Sebit (an e-Learning firm from Turkey).

Through an initiative to engage Arizona’s emerging young leaders, ASU’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, in partnership with the Arizona Republic and Tucson Citizen, offers Arizona high school seniors the opportunity to earn a scholarship award to attend ASU.

This prestigious scholarship is designed to encourage Arizona high school seniors to think about public policy issues in Arizona and to promote the concept of “stewardship” – public leadership committed to doing what is best for the state and its residents, regardless of political philosophy or personal gain.

The 2007-2008 award recipients, who were selected through a highly competitive “blind review” process, are:

• Charles David Alan Jannetto, from Desert Ridge High School in Mesa, who received the first-place award – a $1,500 scholarship to ASU – for his essay on “Safe Schools Legislation.”

• Allison Pilar Wiley from Globe High School, who received the second-place award – a $1,000 scholarship to ASU – for her essay on “Lack of Honors Programs Could Prove Detrimental to Students’ Futures.”

• Dawson Thomas Rauch from Fountain Hills High School, received an honorable mention for his essay on “Illegal Immigration.”

Elaine and Richard Morrison of Gilbert, Ariz., established this unique program to commemorate Morrison Institute’s 20 years of policy research and to continue to expand the Morrison Institute’s public service as evidence of their devotion to Arizona’s future.

Sponsors of the Young Steward of Public Policy Scholarship Program are Salt River Project, General Dynamics and APS. Young Steward awards are not based on financial need, academic achievement or program of study, but the awards only are given to students who attend ASU.
Young Steward of Public Policy Scholarship awards are based on an outstanding essay about a public issue of critical importance to the state of Arizona and the specific policy recommendations on how the issue should be addressed.

To read the awarded essays, or for further information about how to apply to the 2008-2009 Young Steward program, visit the Web site www.morrisoninstitute.org and click the link Public Policy Scholarship, or call (602) 496-0900.

Representatives from Logical Steps, a Singapore-based Web applications company, visited Phoenix and met with numerous ASU officials in preparation for starting operations at SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, when it opens later this year.

ASU’s Office of Economic Affairs played host to the visit of the company’s chief executive officer, Viswanath “Vish” Parameswaran, and co-founder and president Jason Sparks.

Logical Steps, founded in 2002, delivers new media platforms and content for immersive experiences. The firm is dedicated to leveraging the latest technologies and user-centric design principles to deliver Web, mobile, personal data assistant and desktop applications for marketing, learning, gaming or rich Internet application development. Of specific interest to the firm is data visualization, real-time data and framework creation for data visualization.

The company has a development center in India and aims to offer attractively priced, high-level Web-based software to the U.S. market.
“We look forward to starting business operations in the United States,” Parameswaran says. “We believe the support and opportunities offered by ASU, and the services available at SkySong, provide our company a decided advantage in entering the U.S. market.”

Logical Steps representatives met with numerous research and technology groups at ASU, including Applied Learning Technologies Institute (alt^I), ASU Technopolis, the School of Computing and Informatics, Technology Ventures Clinic, Technology Based Learning and Research (TBLR) and Partnership for Research in Spatial Modeling (PRISM). Tours of Decision Theater and SkySong also were included as part of their tour. Richard Franklin, director of the Enterprise Arizona Venture Center located at SkySong, coordinated the visit.

“Logical Steps’ location at SkySong demonstrates the appeal of ASU resources to international companies,” Franklin says. “As a tenant, Logical Steps can engage with ASU and other tenants to help bolster its research, product development and customization for the United States and other markets.”

The visit marked another step in the growing relationship between ASU and technology interests in Singapore. Following a delegation visit from the International Enterprise Singapore Wireless Mission to Scottsdale in March, Nate Summer, director of strategic marketing for SkySong, traveled to Singapore and met with several interested companies in April, including ST Consultancy, an educational software consulting firm, and Eye Power, an educational gaming company, both of which have formally signed a letters of intent to locate operations at Skysong. Aurigin Technologies, a builder of equipment for computer chip manufacturers, signed a letter of intent last fall.

ASU researchers are part of a team led by UOP, a Honeywell company that is looking at alternative sources of oil that could be used to produce Jet Propellant 8 (JP-8) or military jet fuel.

The goal of the project, which is backed by a $6.7 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is to develop and commercialize a process to produce JP-8, which is used by U.S. and NATO militaries.

The ASU team in the School of Applied Arts and Sciences will lead an effort to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of using algae as an alternative feedstock resource. ASU’s researchers Qiang Hu and Milton Sommerfeld will screen for oil-rich algal strains, evaluate their potential as oil producers and develop an algal feedstock production system that will yield competitively priced oil that can be converted into jet fuel.

Hu and Sommerfeld, who direct the Laboratory for Algae Research and Biotechnology, have focused on algae as a source of renewable oil for more than 20 years. The benefits of oil produced from algae are endless, according to the ASU researchers.

“Algae are non-food/feed sources, so there is no inherent conflict of using food crop plants for fuel rather than for food,” say Hu and Sommerfeld. “Also, algae can be grown on land that is unsuitable for agriculture and can use saline or brackish water, making the algae feedstock production system complementary, rather than competitive, to existing agriculture.

“Moreover, since algae can use carbon dioxide from waste or flue gases as a nutrient for growth, an added value of algae feedstock production is environmental carbon sequestration.”

While algal oil is very similar to other vegetable oils in terms of fatty acid composition, the oil yield of algae is projected to be at least 100 times that of soybean per acre of land on an annual basis.

ASU, UOP, Honeywell Aerospace, Southwest Research Institute and Sandia National Laboratories researchers will be working to help develop and commercialize a process to produce jet fuel that is vegetable- or algal oil-based rather than petroleum-based.

“We are confident that we have assembled a strong team of experts that will be successful in proving the viability of biofeedstock technologies for JP-8 and other jet fuels, while offering the U.S. military another option for sustainable liquid fuels critical to their programs,” says Jennifer Holmgren, director of UOP’s Renewable Energy and Chemicals business unit.

Fuel produced by the new process will have to meet stringent military specifications and is expected to achieve 90 percent energy efficiency for maximum conversion of feed to fuel, to reduce waste and to reduce production costs. UOP expects the technology will be viable for future use in the production of fuel for commercial jets.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2008.

A historic collaboration came to fruition this month as the first class of students at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix in partnership with Arizona State University began classes in downtown Phoenix.

The event was celebrated with a luncheon Aug. 3, where ASU President Michael Crow welcomed the trailblazing class that will help shape the school’s curriculum and establish traditions to serve generations to come.

“You are in a design-build operation,” Crow says. “All 24 of you are entering into an absolutely unique learning environment.”

The medical-education curriculum at the college features an interactive teaching approach and an emphasis on biomedical informatics - computer technology skills that support information gathering, diagnosis and the creation of tailored medical treatments or personalized medicine. Mentored scholarly research projects that each student undertakes on an individual basis will form the core of a shared, broad-based learning experience (learning community) over four years. Classes also focus on the integration of clinical and basic-science training.

“You’re going to be a different kind of doctor,” Crow says.

Dean Edward H. Shortliffe cited the fact that the ultimate beneficiaries of the innovative work accomplished at the college will be patients. Shortliffe is a nationally-renowned clinician, educator and expert in biomedical informatics who was recruited from Columbia University to serve as dean of the Phoenix program.

“It’s truly historic,” Shortliffe says. “This is a tremendous opportunity and not one that’s equaled in many places.”

UA President Robert Shelton addressed the crowd through a videotaped message. “We are so pleased to be expanding this exceptional college to the capital city in partnership with ASU,” Shelton says.

Building a school in just three years from its inception was only possible because of the incredible effort put forth by ASU and UA with the support of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Phoenix City Council members, the Arizona Legislature and the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR), Shortliffe adds.

ABOR member Robert Bulla cited the importance of the historic partnership between the two schools, which was basically an idea whose genesis was planted on a fishing trip. “This effort could not have been accomplished without the commitment and dedication of so many people,” Bulla says.

Students will attend classes in the historic Phoenix Union High School, at the corner of Seventh and Van Buren streets on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The building underwent nearly two years of renovation to provide state-of the art educational facilities that seamlessly meld the old and new with a variety of innovative technologies to enhance instruction.

Among the 24 future doctors in the inaugural class is Sarah Whitley, who received a full, four-year scholarship to the college from Apogee Physicians. She is following in the footsteps of her grandfather who took classes in the same Phoenix Union High School buildings more than 70 years ago.

Twenty-four faculty members from ASU and UA will instruct the Class of 2011. David A. Young, Kathleen S. Matt and Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan represented ASU on an academic task force charged with designing the curriculum for the Phoenix program.

“The medical arena is evolving and physicians increasingly need to be versed in areas such as biomedical informatics. Changing the way we teach and train medical students now will help ensure their success in the future,” Young says.

Among many advantages and partnership opportunities that the medical college will enjoy as part of the Phoenix Biomedical Campus is the opening of the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative building 1 that houses the downtown Phoenix headquarters of the ASU Department of Biomedical Informatics, in collaboration with UA and the Department of Basic Medical Sciences of the Phoenix program. The building will serve ASU students and researchers in the biomedical arena, as well as students attending the medical college. Classes in the biomedical informatics program downtown begin Aug. 20.

The future also holds promise for students attending classes on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus where the Translational Genomics Institute (TGEN) is already housed. The UA College of Pharmacy will occupy space in TGEN in the future and Northern Arizona University will expand its Allied Health programs to the campus.