Arizona State University

The Sun Devils qualified 11 athletes for tonight’s finals of the Women’s Swimming Pac-10 Championships. Seven athletes earned NCAA consideration cuts with one athlete earning an automatic qualifying time.

Jamie Martinez qualified for the "B" consolation final in the 400 IM with a personal best time of 4:21.66. The sophomore took almost over eight seconds off her previous fastest time and was also under the NCAA consideration time. Ashley Evans also qualified for the "B" consolation final after finishing in 4:23.49.

Martinez set a new personal best and put herself at sixth on ASU’s all-time list in the 100 back. The San Jose native touched in under the NCAA "B" cut at 55.82 to put herself in the "A" consolation. Mirela Kardasevic and Rikka Brunner both qualified for the "B" consolation final with times of 56.60 and 57.53 respectively.

Caitlin Andrew qualified for the Championship Final in the 100 fly. The senior, who holds the ASU record in the event, clocked in a season-best time of 52.66. Her time was the second-fastest 100 fly time of the day so far and is an NCAA automatic qualifying time. Ashton Aubry qualified for the "A" consolation final with an NCAA "B" time of 54.17.

In the 200 free, Lindsey Brown qualified for the "A" consolation final with an NCAA consideration time of 1:49.12. Brown’s time marks a personal best for the senior. Ellis Schieman clocked in a time of 1:50.17 to qualify for the "B" consolation final. Schieman’s time is also under the NCAA "B" cut.

Lindsey Russenberger added her name to ASU’s all time list in the 100 breast. The senior touched in at 1:03.18 to put her name at seventh all time. Russenberger qualified for the "A" consolation final with her time and earned an NCAA "B" time. Sara McDaniel qualified for the "B" consolation final with a time of 1:03.82. Ilene Lesch and Evans also qualified for the "B" final after touching in at 1:04.09 and 1:05.46 respectively.

The Sun Devils will compete in the championship finals of their respected events tonight. Along with the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast and 100 back, the Sun Devils will also compete in the 400 medley relay. Live stats are available at www.collegeswimming.com

An important discovery has been made with respect to the mystery of “handedness” in biomolecules. Researchers led by Sandra Pizzarello, a research professor at Arizona State University, found that some of the possible abiotic precursors to the origin of life on Earth have been shown to carry “handedness” in a larger number than previously thought.

The work is being published in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The paper is titled, “Molecular asymmetry in extraterrestrial chemistry: Insights from a pristine meteorite,” and is co-authored by Pizzarello and Yongsong Huang and Marcelo Alexandre, of Brown University.

Pizzarello, in ASU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, worked with Huang and Alexandre in studying the organic materials of a special group of meteorites that contain among a variety of compounds, amino acids that have identical counterparts in terrestrial biomolecules. These meteorites are fragments of asteroids that are about the same age as the solar system (roughly 4.5 billion years.)

Scientists have long known that most compounds in living things exist in mirror-image forms. The two forms are like hands; one is a mirror reflection of the other. They are different, cannot be superimposed, yet identical in their parts.

When scientists synthesize these molecules in the laboratory, half of a sample turns out to be “left-handed” and the other half “right-handed.” But amino acids, which are the building blocks of terrestrial proteins, are all “left-handed,” while the sugars of DNA and RNA are “right-handed.” The mystery as to why this is the case, “parallels in many of its queries those that surround the origin of life,” said Pizzarello.

Years ago Pizzarello and ASU professor emeritus John Cronin analyzed amino acids from the Murchison meteorite (which landed in Australia in 1969) that were unknown on Earth, hence solving the problem of any contamination. They discovered a preponderance of “left-handed” amino acids over their “right-handed” form.

“The findings of Cronin and Pizzarello are probably the first demonstration that there may be natural processes in the cosmos that generate a preferred amino acid handedness,” Jeffrey Bada of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif., said at the time.

The new PNAS work was made possible by the finding in Antarctica of an exceptionally pristine meteorite. Antarctic ices are good “curators” of meteorites. After a meteorite falls — and meteorites have been falling throughout the history of Earth — it is quickly covered by snow and buried in the ice. Because these ices are in constant motion, when they come to a mountain, they will flow over the hill and bring meteorites to the surface.

“Thanks to the pristine nature of this meteorite, we were able to demonstrate that other extraterrestrial amino acids carry the left-handed excesses in meteorites and, above all, that these excesses appear to signify that their precursor molecules, the aldehydes, also carried such excesses,” Pizzarello said. “In other words, a molecular trait that defines life seems to have broader distribution as well as a long cosmic lineage.”

“This study may provide an important clue to the origin of molecular asymmetry,” added Brown associate professor and co-author Huang.

Jenny Green, jenny.green@asu.edu
480-965-1430
Chemistry and Biochemistry Department 

The Sun Devils Gymnastics Camp (SDGC) invites you to look at their new website for their summer camps, www.sundevilgymansticscamp.com. The site contains information about this year’s camps with an easy to navigate layout. The dates, times and prices of the camp are available on the camp website.

Registration for the two camps will be conducted online this year. SDGC will also accept both credit and debit cards this year through www.sundevilgymansticscamp.com. .

There will be two camp sessions this year. The All Level camp will run June 1-6 while the Optional/Elite Level Camp will be held June 8-13 and will be limited to 175 campers. The All Level Camp will be held at Wells Fargo Arena and the Optional/Elite Camp will be help at the John Spini Gymnastics Training Center and will be limited to 60 campers. Campers have the option of staying overnight right on the beautiful Arizona State University campus.

Campers will receive a specially designed gymnastics camp backpack and t-shirt. All meals will be included in registration price. There will also be a camp leotard on sale during the camp.

The camp will be headed by Camp Director and current ASU associate head coach Maggie Ethier. Ethier will be assisted by ASU’s head coach John Spini, assistant coach Bob Peterson along with some of the current members of the Sun Devils gymnastics team. Spots fill up fast so hurry up and sign up today on www.sundevilgymansticscamp.com.

Two members of the Arizona State University cross country program, Ali Kielty and Jenna Kingma, have been named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic team for the 2007 cross country season, the Association announced Friday. The duo, both of which earned All-America honors for their athletic success in 2007, also led the women’s team to academic honors as well.

The United States Track & Field, Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) annually honors outstanding academic achievement and this year was no different as the Sun Devil women were one of 158 Division I teams (of 325) that carried a 3.00 grade point average or higher during the season to earn USTFCCCA Team All-Academic honors. The Sun Devils, who averaged a 3.64 GPA, were one of 35 teams that recorded a GPA of 3.50 or higher and were one of the eight teams in the Top 10 standings at the NCAA Championships to earn academic honors. The women placed fourth overall in Terre Haute, Ind., to earn their second trophy finish in the last three seasons.

Individually, Kingma placed 37th overall and Kielty was 42nd at the national meet to earn their first All-America honors in cross country and are two of just 91 student-athletes to earn academic honors from the USTFCCCA this year. Kingma, a Pac-10 All-Academic Honorable Mention selection, earned her second national academic honor for cross country from the USTFCCCA in as many years and her fourth honor overall after being a two-time selection in track & field. Kielty is making her first appearance on the cross country list and her third overall selection after earning accolades in track & field last year.

Student-athletes are eligible to earn recognition from the USTFCCCA if they carry a cumulative 3.25 GPA or higher and place in the Top 15 (or 10-percent) at the NCAA regional championships or earn All-America honors at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

USTFCCCA All-Academic Selections
Women’s Individuals - Ali Kielty & Jenna Kingma
Women’s Team - Arizona State University

For 25 years the School of Justice and Social Inquiry has served as the intellectual hub for the study of justice at Arizona State University, conducting critical inquiries into complex legal and social problems. The school has educated generations of social change agents and justice studies scholars through its interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the school, it will host a series of special events March 6-7 on the ASU Tempe campus.

“We are delighted to share our accomplishments over the past 25 years and our vision for the next era of scholarship in justice studies. And, we are honored that so many distinguished alumni and visiting scholars from throughout the United States and China will be joining us to commemorate our 25th anniversary,” says Marjorie S. Zatz, director of the School of Justice and Social Inquiry and one of the original faculty members of the program.

“From our poster session and plenary on visions of justice and justice studies on Thursday afternoon through our three distinguished guests’ presentations on Friday morning, we’ll have something of interest for everyone concerned about social justice,” she says.

ASU has been a trailblazer in the field of justice studies. The School of Justice and Social Inquiry became the first justice studies program in the country in 1983.

The program was originally created for criminal justice professionals in ASU’s College of Public Programs and grew to be a research center for the study of justice in 1974.

“This wouldn’t have happened if ASU wasn’t a research university on the move,” says Zatz, “and we continue to be a leader in the field in multidisciplinary research.”

The 25th anniversary of the School of Justice and Social Inquiry coincides with this year’s 50th anniversary of ASU becoming a university.

The school, in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences since 2003, includes 20 faculty members, 70 doctoral and graduate students, and close to 700 undergraduate majors and minors. Six of those faculty members have been with the school since its inception and set the tone for innovative and cross-disciplinary research.

In addition to Zatz, whose work focuses on racial, ethnic and gender disparities in court outcomes, other pioneers include Gray Cavender and Nancy Jurik, who recently teamed up to develop a series of articles analyzing how societal roles are portrayed in the television hit series “Prime Suspect.” Regents’ Professor David Altheide is an expert in the area of fear and the media. John Johnson, along with lecturer Rudy Gerber, have just published a book on “The Top Ten Death Penalty Myths.” Pat Lauderdale’s latest book, published with doctoral alumna Annamaria Oliverio in 2005, is titled “Terrorism: A New Testament.”

“Today, we number 20 faculty trained in seven different disciplines. Our faculty are highly respected nationally and internationally. Four have been elected presidents of national professional associations and many others have received major awards for scholarly contributions and pedagogical innovations. Our graduate students have gone on to found justice studies programs at other universities in the U.S., Canada and Europe, and are themselves the recipients of numerous academic awards. I know of no other program like ours that can boast such strength,“ notes Zatz.

With five Fulbright scholars working abroad in 2007, including faculty members and graduate students, the school fosters a globally engaged environment that strives to create relevant solutions to complex social problems.

Currently, the school has two visiting faculty members from Manchester University. Russell and Rebecca Dobash are internationally acclaimed leaders in researching domestic violence, and both earned their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at ASU.

”We are exploring five core areas of research and teaching and finding new collaborative ways to explore these critical areas that challenge our future,” says Zatz.

To mark the anniversary, three distinguished lecturers will discuss the current and future direction of justice studies from 9 a.m. to noon, March 7 in Coor Hall, Room L1-74, at ASU’s Tempe campus. The speakers and their presentation topics are:

* John Hagan, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Sociology and Law at Northwestern University on “Darfur and the Crime of Genocide.”

* Sally Engle Merry, professor of anthropology and law and society at New York University on “Law, Human Rights and Social Movements: Exploring the Justice Scaffold.”

* Suli Zhu, dean of Peking University Law School on “Disciplines, Rituals, Addressing and Social Ordering: An Institutional Understanding of Everyday Confucianism.” Zhu is a doctoral alumnus of the school.

A lunch and roundtable workshops are scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. March 7 in a tent on the Student Services lawn. More information about the poster session and plenary on March 6 is at 480-965-7682 or online at asu.edu/clas/justice.

Erica Velasco, erica.velasco@asu.edu
480-965-1156
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Briann January scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half and Dymond Simon scored all 13 of her points in the first half as Arizona State won its third straight game, defeating UCLA 73-67 on Thursday night.

By virtue of the win the Sun Devils clinched the No. 3 seed in next week’s Pac-10 Tournament in San Jose.

The Sun Devils shot 44 percent for the game while scoring 20 points off of UCLA’s 19 turnovers. Led by juniors Lauren Lacey (11 points) and Sybil Dosty (10 points), ASU also had a 30-20 advantage in points in the paint.

Nina Earl and Tierra Henderson both led UCLA with 12 points.

ASU (19-9, 13-4 Pac-10) controlled the action for much of the first half after taking an early 11-2 lead. A field goal by Kate Engelbrecht gave ASU its largest lead of the half, 27-10 with 10:15 remaining.

The Bruins (14-14, 9-8 Pac-10) used an 11-2 run to cut ASU’s lead to eight points, however the Sun Devils would eventually extend back out to a double-digit lead and took a 40-28 lead into the locker room.

In the second half it was the Bruins quickly seizing the initiative, scoring eight of the first 10 points to cut ASU’s halftime advantage in half, 42-36. The Sun Devils would extend their advantage back to nine points before another Bruin run later in the half cut the ASU lead to three, 49-46, with just under 11 minutes remaining. The Bruins would get within three points on two other occasions, however would get no closer. After a layup by Earl cut ASU’s advantage to 59-56 with just over six minutes left, the Sun Devils went on a 6-0 run to take a 65-56 lead.

ASU closes out the regular season on Saturday (11 a.m. PT/noon MT) when it faces the USC Women of Troy at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. The game will be televised live by Fox Sports Net.

The preliminary trials of day two of the Pac-10 Women’s Swimming Championships brought about a new school record for the Sun Devils. Caitlin Andrew shattered her own school record in the women’s 50 free, bringing her time down to 22.14 from 22.39. The senior All-American recorded the fastest preliminary time as well as an NCAA automatic qualifying time. Her time is also the fourth fastest 50 free recorded this season.

Jen Beckberger qualified for the "B" final with an NCAA consideration time of 22.85. Her time was the 11th fastest overall. Jess Perazzo and Lindsey Brown both qualified for the "C" final with Perazzo touching in at 23.11 and Brown at 23.22. Both times are under the NCAA "B" cut. Brown’s time moves her to seventh on ASU’s all-time list.

Shannon Garrett and Ellis Schieman both qualified for the "C" final of the 500 free. Garrett came in at 4:55.61 while Schieman clocked in a time of 4:55.94.

In the women’s 200 IM, Ashley Evans made the "C" final. The sophomore clocked in an NCAA "B" qualifying time of 2:02.94.

The finals competition will begin tonight at 6:00 p.m. Along with the events swam in the preliminaries today, the women will also compete in the 200 free relay. The Sun Devils currently hold the nation’s fastest time in the 200 free relay.

Fans who wish to follow the action live online can view live stats here.

The No. 10 Arizona State University water polo team (10-7, 0-2 MPSF) will return to the road this weekend for a pair of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) games as the Sun Devils are set to face No. 8 San Jose State (8-6, 1-1 MPSF) at noon Saturday in San Jose, Calif., before closing the trip at 1 p.m. Sunday at No. 2 Stanford (9-2, 1-1 MPSF). The games, which will count toward league standings, are the first MPSF games for the year on the road for the Sun Devils after dropping home contests to No. 3 USC and No. 4 Hawai’i last week.

McGRATH ON FIRE
Addison McGrath entered the game with No. 4 Hawai’i last week having scored a career-high four goals in a game on 11 occasions, including three times during the 2008 season, one shy of tying the program’s single-game record of five (held by five different Sun Devils). The junior came out firing and tied the record in the first half alone, scoring three in the first and two in the second. After not scoring in the third, McGrath scored twice more in the fourth to give her seven on the game, the most in a single-game in ASU history.

WAIT, THERE IS MORE…
McGrath not only scored seven goals against the Rainbow Wahine, she also added one assist to tie a single-game record for points with eight. McGrath, who entered the season tied for points in a game (seven) with five other players, has scored eight points in a game twice this season, adding a four-goal, four-assist showing against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at the Lancer Invitational on February 2.

AND THEN THERE IS THIS…
With 14 goals scored in her last five games, Addison McGrath has 40 goals on the year, the sixth-most in a single-season, to bring her career total to 133. With one goal this weekend at San Jose State and Stanford, McGrath will tie Katie Hedley (2004-07) for the most goals in program history at 134 and will surpass the record total with two or more goals on the road.

MILESTONES
Several Sun Devils reached milestones over the weekend at the UC Irvine Invitational and here is a look at some of their accomplishments:
• Addison McGrath scored one goal and one assist against No. 6 San Diego State to record the 200th point of her career, moving her into second all-time.
• McGrath also recorded a career-high four assists in a win over No. 12 Long Beach State.
• Senior Katy Lawlor’s goal scored against No. 9 Loyola Marymount was the 100th point in her Sun Devil career. She is the seventh Sun Devil to record 100 points in program history.
• Kelly Phelps tallied four goals and five total points against No. 17 CS Northridge to set career-highs in both categories.
• Freshmen Nikki Unbehaun recorded the first hat trick of her career with a three-goal performance against No. 17 CS Northridge.

NATIONALLY KNOWN
Following a 2-2 weekend at the UC Irvine Invitational, the Sun Devils slipped two spots to No. 10 in the national rankings, released Wednesday. This weekend’s opponents are both ranked in the Top 10, including No. 2 Stanford and No. 8 San Jose State.

IN THE RANKINGS
In the latest national Top 20 rankings, 15 of the other 19 teams (Arizona State is No. 10) already have or will be opponents of the Sun Devils this season, including the entire Top 5 and nine of the Top 10 teams. UCLA (No. 1), Stanford (No. 2) and California (No. 3) hold the top positions this week with No. 4 USC and No. 5 Hawai’i rounding out the Top 5.

BIG UPSET
The Sun Devils, ranked 10th at the time, went 2-2 at the Stanford Invitational and finished seventh overall last weekend. The highlight came in the first of two games on Sunday as Arizona State handed No. 2 USC an 8-5 defeat, marking the highest ranked foe ASU has defeated in program history. The win, ASU’s first over a Top 3 team in 23 tries against the nation’s Top 3 programs, surpassed the Sun Devils’ 8-5 defeat of then-No. 4 Hawai’i at the 2006 Stanford Invitational.

HISTORICAL
Arizona State’s win over USC was not only historic for the Sun Devils as their highest ranked opponent they have defeated, but it also marked the first time since the NCAA began sponsoring a national tournament (2001) that a team outside of the Top 5 has knocked off a team in the Top 3 while also becoming just the fourth program to defeat USC in that span. The only other time a team other than UCLA or Stanford has defeated USC since 2001 was when No. 4 Hawai’i scored a 10-9 defeat of the top-ranked Trojans at the MPSF Championships in Irvine (April 29, 2006). Loyola Marymount, ranked fifth and seeded third at the NCAA Championships, was the other team outside of the Top 3 to defeat a Top 3 team when it upset No. 2 Stanford in the national semifinals at the 2004 tournament in Palo Alto, Calif.

FAST START
Standing 10-7 this season, the Sun Devils have tied the program record for best start as both the 2006 and 2008 squads opened the year 8-3. Both teams also posted six-game winning streaks during that span and placed seventh at the Stanford Invitational.

IN THE MPSF
Addison McGrath moved into the fifth position on the MPSF scoring list this week with her 2.35 goals per game average. Overall, McGrath has scored 40 goals in 17 games, which stands as a tie for the most goals this season in the MPSF with Pacific’s Kellie Fletcher. Defensively, Caylinn Wallace is ranked second in the league with 9.34 saves per game while her 161 total saves ranks as the most in the MPSF. As a team, the Sun Devils are second with 162 goals scored, rank seventh with 9.53 goals scored per game and are seventh in allowing 7.24 goals per game.

"ADD" IT UP
In 17 games this season, junior All-American Addison McGrath has scored 40 goals, including a single-game record seven against No. 4 Hawai’i. Her 133 goals currently rank second all-time in Arizona State history, one behind record-holder Katie Hedley’s 134 (2004-07). The third player to score 100 or more in a career, McGrath leads the team this season with 64 points on 40 goals and 24 assists. Her 100th goal came at the Michigan Invitational against Indiana.

McGRATH’S MULTIPLES
With her performances over the weekend, Addison McGrath continued to build upon her solid career numbers that include her scoring at least one goal in 61-of-72 games played while marking the 21st time she has scored three or more in a contest with her four-goal performance against No. 17 CS Northridge.

MORE ON MULTIPLES
Addison McGrath’s 21 games that she has scored three or more goals ranks as the most in program history with Katie Hedley standing second with 14 in her four-year career. When you look at four-or-more goal scoring performances in a game, McGrath leads the program with 13 games while Rowie Webster is second with five. Overall, counting games in which a player scores two or more goals, McGrath is tied for second all-time with 35 games with Ashley Bower while Hedley leads the way with 42 games. Senior Katy Lawlor also is in the Top 10 as her 15 games with two or more goals ranks tied for the eighth most all-time.

MORE THAN ONE
Speaking of scoring in bunches, three Sun Devils scored at least two goals in a game twice over the weekend, including freshmen Nikki Unbehaun and junior Addison McGrath, who tied for the team lead with seven goals in the four-game tournament. McGrath had two against No. 9 Loyola Marymount, four against No. 17 CS Northridge and one against No. 6 San Diego State while Unbehaun netted one against LMU, her first hat trick against CSUN and two against No. 12 Long Beach State. Senior Katy Lawlor also had two games with multiple goals, including three against LBSU and two against SDSU after scoring once against LMU.

NEW TO THE LINE-UP
Of the nine freshmen on the 2008 roster, five saw their first minutes of playing time at the Michigan Invitational. Nikki Unbehaun (four games) and Candice Phillippe (three) started for the Sun Devils while Christy Stibbe, Lauren Hayes and goalie Kaitlyn Morris each saw action during the weekend. At the Stanford Invitational, Kristen Wagner also saw her first playing time of the year.

CLOSING IN
Several Sun Devils are closing in on joining the Top 10 record list, half of which are looking to add their names to the career ledger. Katy Lawlor has 31 career assists and needs one more to tie for 10th all-time while Amanda Stepp (79) is four points away from tying for 10th. Kelly Phelps has scored 48 career goals and needs eight more to tie for ninth. On the freshman lists, Lauren Hayes has 13 goals and needs one more to tie for 10th while Candice Phillippe (nine) and Kristen Wagner (eight) are two and three assists away, respectively, from tying for 10th on the rookie chart.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
New to the record lists this week are three season marks and three career marks. On the season ledger, Addison McGrath added her name to the goals list (sixth with 40), points (seventh with 64) and assists (tied for ninth with 24) while also moving up to No. 8 with 84 career steals. Katy Lawlor moved up to No. 6 in career points with 107, making her just the seventh Sun Devil to record 100 points in a career, while Caylinn Wallace recorded the 900th save of her career.

BRICK WALLACE
With her fourth of six saves against No. 6 San Diego State at the UC Irvine Invitational, goalie Caylinn Wallace recorded the 900th save in her Sun Devil career. Wallace ended the weekend (including the Hawai’i game and four at the UCI event) with 48 saves in all.

IN THE SERIES… SAN JOSE STATE
The Sun Devils are 3-5 all-time against the Spartans, but won the last meeting in an 11-10 overtime decision in Tempe on March 4. Earlier in the season, the Sun Devils had fallen, 11-10, at the Stanford Invitational and 9-6 at the UC Irvine Invitational. Arizona State is 1-1 in games played in San Jose, winning the last meeting, 5-3, during the 2006 season.

IN THE SERIES… STANFORD
The Sun Devils are still in search of their first victory in the series with the Cardinal as Stanford holds a 6-0 advantage. Arizona State lost a 14-4 decision to SU at the Stanford Invitational earlier this year and is 0-3 in games played in Palo Alto.

WELCOME BACK
The 2008 Sun Devil roster features 18 players, including nine that return from the 2007 squad. The returning players feature three seniors in Traci Aparicio, Katy Lawlor and Caylinn Wallace, one junior in Addison McGrath and five sophomores in Jennifer Campo, Bonnie Miles, Kelly Phelps, Amanda Stepp and Kari Walsh.

HELLO! MY NAME IS…
The second half of the squad is comprised of nine freshmen; Lauren Hayes, Elizabeth McCoy, Kaitlin McCoy, Kaitlyn Morris, Candice Phillipe, Angela Salgado, Christy Stibbe, Nikki Unbehaun and Kristen Wagner.

PRESEASON MPSF SELECTIONS
The MPSF conducted a preseason poll of the 13 head coaches in the league last week with the Sun Devils receiving 56 points and the eighth-position in the poll, just three points behind seventh-ranked San Jose State. Defending champion UCLA was selected first and was followed in the Top 5 by USC, California and Stanford (tied for third) and Hawaii. The Sun Devils finished 10th in the MPSF Championships last year, which were held in Tempe.

NEXT TIME OUT
The Sun Devils will return to the road for two more MPSF games next weekend, facing UC Irvine at noon on March 8 before closing out the weekend against Long Beach State at noon on March 9.

With the publication of a new report, “The State of Black Arizona,” ASU has joined with the Greater Phoenix Urban League to create a snapshot of the status of blacks in Arizona, the issues they face and the progress that has been made.

The report was released at a launch event Feb. 28 at the headquarters of Arizona Public Service. The report contains data, analysis and essays by many people in the African-American community.

It is meant to be a starting point for dialogue, according to George Dean, chief executive officer of the Greater Phoenix Urban League (GPUL).

“The project represents the culmination of more than a year’s work gathering input and ideas from African-American community leaders, professionals and academicians,” Dean says. “While this document isn’t a definitive and comprehensive scientific analysis of the status of blacks in Arizona, it is a starting point from which the community can determine what issues beg further research.”

The report reveals that African-Americans in Arizona do relatively well financially, with a median income slightly higher than that of African-Americans across the country. But they rank lowest among all ethnicities for overall health status, and problems with the education of youth are a recurring theme.

A significant concern that rings through many of the essays in the report is the perceived lack of an African-American community in Arizona. Although the state’s black population has increased by 141 percent since 1980, individuals are so dispersed that many African-Americans feel disconnected from one another.

The changing dynamics of Arizona’s African-American population have been an under-studied force in recent years. It became evident, as ASU staff and faculty compiled the report, that many details about the community are not readily available.

The collaborative project began when GPUL approached ASU with a request almost two years ago. The university brought its resources to bear, recruiting an advisory committee of 26 individuals from the community and ASU, sifting through available data to try to find reliable information on the local African-American community.

Ultimately, the committee members drew together statistical information on population dynamics, academic achievement, employment and income levels, health, crime and other indicators. Twenty-three individuals wrote essays, from a businessman calling for renewed African-American leadership to a high school student who struggles to define her African-American identity.

“ASU recognizes and appreciates the numerous contributions of African-Americans in Arizona and is proud in helping to present this innovative and useful resource, the first edition of ‘The State of Black Arizona,’ ” says ASU President Michael Crow. “The success of our state relies on our ability to strengthen our communities and empower them to meet and exceed their vast potential. To do so, it is imperative that we fully comprehend the existing state of affairs and work together strategically to create the progress needed.”

While the report is a major first step, according to Dean, it is meant to be a catalyst for increased dialogue and research into African-Americans in Arizona. More information is needed about where the community stands and what it needs to grow and prosper. Little data have been collected since the end of the state’s Black Town Hall in 1997.

“The time has come for continuing efforts to better understand this community, and to level the playing field so that African-Americans in Arizona have the same status as all other Arizonans,” Dean says.

The full report will be online at www.asu.edu/asuforaz.

Publication of the report coincides with the Urban League’s 44th annual Whitney M. Young Jr. Awards Dinner at 6 p.m., Feb. 29, at the Marriott Camelback Inn, chaired by Crow. The Rev. George Brooks Sr., a civil rights activist and the founding pastor of Southminster Presbyterian Church, will receive a posthumous award at the event. GPUL will give a corporate award to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, and another individual award will be announced that night.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has selected Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and a team of other research universities to develop new technologies and training programs that will enhance the nation’s security.

The University of Arizona will lead the research efforts for the new Center of Excellence for Border Security and Immigration, and the University of Texas at El Paso will lead its educational components. Arizona State University will play a key role on the research team. The center will receive $15 million over six years.

The establishment of the center by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security follows more than two years of work assembling a team of U.S. universities, Mexican and Canadian institutions, government agencies, technology companies and national laboratories.

Research at the center will focus on new technologies such as surveillance, screening, data fusion and situational awareness using sensors, unmanned aerial vehicles and other technologies. The center will also provide research on population dynamics, immigration administration and enforcement, operational analysis, control and communications, immigration policy, civic integration and citizenship, border risk management and international governance.

Educational programs will include training programs to develop science, technology and management solutions to prepare the next generation of border security professionals while further enhancing the skills of personnel currently in the field. The center will also provide tools and practices that can be rapidly deployed to end users.

“This partnership demonstrates the Arizona’s leadership in research activities in the area of border security and immigration,” said ASU Vice President of Research and Economic Affairs R.F. “Rick” Shangraw, Jr. “ASU’s active research programs in wireless communications, supply chain management, international conflict and transportation security will make significant contributions to this center of excellence.”

Rick Van Schoik, who is the director of ASU’s North American Center for Transborder Studies will lead ASU’s participation in the Center of Excellence for Border Security and Immigration. Researchers across many units at ASU will be participating in the center.

“ASU has tremendous expertise in areas which directly relate to borders, security and immigration,” said Van Schoik. “This partnership will result in multi-university, multi-disciplinary approaches to long standing and complex challenges.”

Taxonomy, the science responsible for species exploration and classification, has been largely ignored in recent decades – a disregard that ASU’s new International Institute for Species Exploration is out to change.

“Our vision is to spark a renaissance in taxonomy through a transdisciplinary fusion of ideas and technologies,” says founding director Quentin Wheeler, an entomologist and ASU vice president and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“In particular, we are, in concert with partner museums and botanical gardens around the world, committed to transforming taxonomy into what will effectively prove a new field: cybertaxonomy,” he says.

“This fusion of the traditional theories and goals of taxonomy with computer engineering and cyberinfrastructure will create a powerful, distributed, worldwide research platform for descriptive taxonomy,” Wheeler says. “This goes far, far beyond databases or Web sites. One of our first projects is designing a network of remotely operable digital microscopes so that a scientist in Brazil might manipulate, examine and photograph a type specimen in a museum in London, while videoconferencing at the same time with a colleague in the United States.”

To bring attention to cybertaxonomy and to celebrate the founding of the institute a symposium and inaugural Linnaean Legacy Lecture is planned for March 3 on ASU’s Tempe campus. The symposium – “What’s on Your Planet? Species Exploration and Charting Biodiversity” – will be held from 1 to 4:30 p.m. in the Fulton Center, Sixth Floor Boardroom. The inaugural Linnaean Legacy Lecture, co-sponsored by the institute and the Linnean Society of London, will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Life Sciences Building, A-Wing, room 191.

The guest lecturer is Norman I. Platnick, the Peter J. Solomon Family Curator of Spiders at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. His topic is “Coming of Age (at 250!): The Past, Present and Future of the Systematics Workforce.”

The lecture is named for the great Swedish naturalist, Carl von Linne – also known as Carolus Linnaeus – who initiated the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications. The 300th anniversary of his birth was celebrated worldwide in 2007.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the beginning of animal naming, though today, millions of species remain unknown or unidentifiable, inaccessible to science and society.

“Frankly, the speed at which species are becoming extinct is alarming,” Wheeler says. “Charting the species of the world and their unique attributes are essential parts of understanding the history of life. Reliable taxonomic information is necessary for managing sustainable ecosystems, attaining conservation goals, and detecting introductions of pests, vectors and invasive species.”

To draw attention and increase public awareness of biodiversity and taxonomy, the International Institute for Species Exploration partnered with Media Alchemy of Seattle to produce a humorous video titled “Planet Bob.” Launched on YouTube last October, the video combines live action, state-of-the-art animation, and the vocal talents of venerable TV host Hugh Downs and others,

The Web site www.PlanetBob.asu.edu and the video “Planet Bob” represent new ways to present this topic, in a creative fusion between academia and popular technology, Wheeler says.

More information about the March 3 symposium and launch events is available at species.asu.edu.

The Arizona State University wrestling team will open the championship season this weekend as the Sun Devils head to McArthur Court in Eugene, Ore., for the 46th Pac-10 Conference Wrestling Championships, hosted by Oregon, Sunday and Monday. The competition opens at 11 a.m. Sunday and runs through 9 p.m. that night before starting again at 3 p.m. Monday and concluding at 9 p.m.

THE STAKES
When the Sun Devils take the mats in Eugene this weekend, several things will be at stake. At the conference level, individual crowns and the program’s 17th Pac-10 title will be on the line while berths into the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo., March 20-22. Although the coaches will determine how the selections will be made prior to the tournament, in years past, the Top 3 placers at each weight class (30 wrestlers) and nine wildcard selections (as selected by the coaches following the tournament) will advance to the national championship tournament.

IN EUGENE
This year’s tournament will mark the fifth time Oregon has played host to the competition and the fourth time the Sun Devils will be in the field (ASU was in the Pac-10 in 1969, the first time UO hosted the event). In the three previous times the Sun Devils participated in the Pac-10 Championships in Eugene, they placed second in 1979, second in 1992 and won the 2001 tournament. In the most recent event held at Oregon, the Sun Devils scored 123.50 points, beating out Boise State (110.50) for the crown. Individually, David Douglas (133), Eric LarkinSteve Blackford (165) and Kellan Fluckiger (285) each won titles to help the Sun Devils to victory. Lee Roy Smith, the head coach at the time, was named the Coach of the Year while Larkin was named the Wrestler of the Year. (141),

NEW AGE INFORMATION
Arizona State’s Patrick Pitsch was one of two student-athletes that participated in a podcast with the Pac-10 Conference. Designed to preview the Championships, the podcast can be found on the wrestling page of the Conference’s web site, pac-10.org.

RESULTS
For all the latest results and news from the 2008 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships, including ticket information, visit Pac-10.org or GoDucks.com.

REVIEW: 2007 PAC-10 CHAMPIONS
Arizona State won three individual titles and accumulated 76.5 points to place fifth overall at the 2007 Pac-10 Championships in Bakersfield, Calif. Brian Stith won this second title in three years at 157 pounds while Patrick Pitsch captured his second in a row at 165. Senior Greg Gifford won the 184-pound title in his first Pac-10 event. John Espinoza (125) placed fourth and Jason Trulson (197) placed third to join the three champions as representatives of the Pac-10 at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

LOOKING TO TIE
If the Sun Devils win the team title this weekend, it would move them back into a tie with Oregon State for the most titles won at the Pac-10 Wrestling Championships with 17. The Beavers broke the tie by winning the crown last year in Bakersfield, Calif., pushing the Sun Devils to second with 16. Combined, Boise State (3), Oregon (3), CS Bakersfield (2), Washington (2), UCLA (1) and Washington State (1) have won 12 titles total.

GOLDEN
Since the Sun Devils joined the Pac-10 Conference in time for the 1978-79 season, Arizona State has competed in the wrestling championships 29 times. During that span, 54 different Sun Devils have secured 94 individual championships, including Eric Larkin and Markus Mollica, both of which were four-time winners. Ten others have won three crowns, most recently Ryan Bader, who captured gold at 197 pounds in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

RETURNING CHAMPIONS
Three individuals return to the Pac-10 Championships this year looking to defend their crowns won last year, including Sun Devil senior Patrick Pitsch at 165. Pitsch, the two-time defending champion, is joined by Stanford’s Tanner Gardner (125) and CS Fullerton’s Morgan Atkinson (149) as returning champions.

HISTORICAL
Weight classes were reorganized by the NCAA in time for the start of the 1998-99 season and in the past nine tournaments held with the new weight classes, two Sun Devils have won the 165-pound weight class twice, including Steve Blackford (2000 and 2001) and Patrick PitschRyan Bader at 197. (2006 and 2007). If Pitsch wins this weekend, he will be the first three-time winner at 165 pounds and just the third three-time champion in the nine lower weight classes (heavyweight has not changed). The other two wrestlers to do so were Scott Jorgenson of Boise State at 133 pounds and ASU’s

PROJECTIONS
If the most recent rankings hold true at the coaches’ seeding meeting prior to the Championships, the Sun Devils will have five wrestlers seeded among the Top 3 at the respective weight classes, including Patrick Pitsch (165) and Jason Trulson (197), both of which are ranked No. 1. The other three Sun Devils ranked among the Top 3 include No. 2 Anthony Robles (125), No. 3 Todd Schavrein (133) and No. 3 Brent Chriswell (184).

PAC-10 RANKINGS
The Pac-10 coaches normally seed the Top 6 wrestlers in each weight class for the tournament and, if that holds true this year, the Sun Devils will have one other Top 6 entry in Chris Drouin (141). Quinton Pruett (285) is No. 7, Alex Pavlenko (157) is No. 8 and both Orlando JimenezRick Renzi (174) is No. 9. (149) and

FIRST TIMERS
Six Sun Devils will be competing in their first Pac-10 Championships this weekend, including five redshirt freshmen. The rookies making their debuts will be Anthony Robles (125), Todd Schavrein (133), Chris Drouin (141), Orlando Jimenez (149) and Brent Chriswell (184). The sixth newcomer is senior Quinton Pruett at heavyweight.

IN THE RANKINGS
Individually in the InterMat/NWCA/NWMA rankings (February 13), a pair of rookie Sun Devils are listed among the national Top 20 with Anthony Robles is ranked No. 17 at 125 pounds while Brent Chriswell is ranked No. 15 at 184 pounds.

ROOKIE RANKINGS
Both Sun Devils ranked nationally are freshmen, which is rare this time of year. At 125 pounds, Anthony Robles is one of four rookies ranked in the Top 20 and is third among those freshmen at No. 17 behind No. 10 James Nicholson (Old Dominion) and No. 14 Tyler Clark (Iowa State) and No. 15 Joey Fio (Oklahoma), who he pinned during the season. The other weight class ASU has a ranked rookie is at 184 pounds where No. 15 Brent Chriswell and No. 8 Kirk Smith (Boise State) are the lone freshmen in the poll. The duo could face one another at the Pac-10 Championships this weekend.

END IN ON A LOSS
The Sun Devils head into the Pac-10 Championships after losing their final dual of the season, 28-16, to Stanford (February 20) in Tempe. During the 29 years the Sun Devils have competed in the Pac-10 tournament, ASU has entered the tournament on a loss seven other times, winning three Pac-10 titles and placing in the Top 3 in all but one, 2004. The last time Oregon hosted the tournament (2001), ASU entered the event having lost two duals in a row and walked away with its 13th Pac-10 team title.

YOUNG LINE-UP
Overall this season, 13 rookies have made their debuts and have accounted for 85 of the teams 150 victories, including 54-of-84 dual wins and 27-of-37 Pac-10 wins. The freshmen have won 15 (of 22) major decisions, five (of five) technical falls, 16 (of 26) falls and nine (of 15) forfeit victories.

ROBLES ROLLING
So far this season, Anthony Robles is 19-8. Of his 19 victories, 14 have produced bonus points, including five major decisions, four technical falls and fourth falls, all team-highs, as well as one win by forfeit. For the year, he has earned 75 bonus points, the most on the team, with fellow rookie Todd Schavrien second on the list with 43 bonus points.

MILESTONES
Earlier this season, at the Reno Tournament of Champions, Patrick Pitsch (165) scored the 75th victory of his career with an 11-4 defeat of Daniel Atondo (CS Bakersfield). Jason Trulson (197) went 2-0 against the Oregon schools with his second win, a 3-0 decision over Shaun Dee of Oregon, giving him 50 career victories. Rick Renzi (174) is four wins away from his 25th career victory.

AGAINST THE PAC-10
Since Thom Ortiz took over the program in time for the 2001-02 season, ASU has built a 40-8-0 record against Pac-10 foes, including an 18-6 record on the road and 22-2 in Tempe.

SCORING BIG
The Sun Devils have combined to win 150 bouts this year with 68 of those victories producing bonus points. Of the 68 bonus point victories, Arizona State has won 26 by fall, 22 by major decision, five by technical fall and added 13 forfeit victories and two injury defaults.

QUICK STICK
Of those 26 wins by pin-fall, only 13 have come outside of the first period this year. Brent Chriswell (184) has recorded the fastest fall of the year as he pinned UC Davis’ Jon Clark in just 33 seconds of his first match with the Sun Devils and added a fall time of 1:02 over Zach Geisen of Stanford last weekend in the final dual of the season. At the Keystone Classic, Arizona State recorded four wins by fall, including three in the first two minutes of a bout. Anthony Robles added another quick fall at Oklahoma, pinning Joey Fio in 1:22.

NOT-SO-QUICK STICK
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Kenny Lester turned in one of the latest falls of the season this year as he pinned Cal Poly’s Jim Powers at 6:58 of the heavyweight bout, or two seconds before the end of the bout. Lester was leading the match on points and was set for the win, but a late takedown gave the Sun Devil big-man a chance for the pin, which he took.

DUALS SWEEP
For the fourth time since it began hosting the Sun Devil Duals in 1999 (eight Duals), Arizona State walked away with a 3-0 record on the day as it scored wins of 22-13 over Army, 42-10 over Grand Canyon and 21-17 over No. 23 Penn. The Sun Devils previously swept the Duals in 2005, 2004 and 2001. The 2004 edition, like this year’s, included an upset of a ranked foe (defeated No. 2 Iowa State, 22-20) as well as a win over another Arizona school (24-17 over Embry-Riddle). Since the first Sun Devil Duals, ASU holds a 17-6 all-time record.

FIRST WINS
Arizona State faced a pair of foes for the first time over the weekend and walked away with victories, including wins of 22-13 over Army and 42-10 over Grand Canyon. The win over GCU, an Arizona school based in Phoenix, improved the Sun Devils’ all-time record against Copper Canyon State teams to 54-9-0.

HAPPY TO UPSET
Three upsets took place at the Sun Devil Duals, including two individual victories and one team win for Arizona State. In the first dual of the day against Army, No. 19 Anthony Robles used his quickness to build an early lead before winning his bout at 125-pounds in a 15-4 major decision over No. 16 Fernando Martinez. In the third dual of the day, No. 18 Brent Chriswell, who had not wrestled since the finals of the Keystone Classic on November 17 — a 7-3 loss to No. 17 Lior Zamir of Penn — stepped onto the mat to face Zamir again, this time ranked No. 13. In a tough battle, the Sun Devil freshman picked up a reversal to open the third period and held on for a 2-1 victory. Chriswell’s victory also helped the team knock-off the No. 23 Quakers, 21-17.

MORE ON THE UPSETS…
The win for Anthony Robles was his second upset victory of the season as he also defeated then-No. 8 Javier Maldanado of UT Chattanooga in the semifinals of the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia… Brent Chriswell’s upset of No. 13 Lior Zamir not only exacted a measure of revenge for an earlier loss this season (his only loss so far this year), but is also marked the second time Chriswell has downed the No. 13-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds after also knocking off then-No. 13 Doug Umbehauer of Rider at the Keystone Classic.

IN THE COMMUNITY
Over the past several weeks, the Sun Devil wrestling team has been getting out in the community more and working with local children. On November 22, the day before Thanksgiving, the Sun Devils visited the Crossroad Youth Intervention Center in Phoenix where they interacted with the children while handing out dinner and dessert. On November 27, the wrestlers headed over to the UMOM New Day Center in Phoenix where they read to numerous children from the community.

CAMPBELL ON THE ROSTER
This year, the Sun Devils have a first on their roster as Kelsey Campbell is the first woman to join the Arizona State program. A transfer from Pacific (Ore.), Campbell comes to Tempe after competing for the Boxers during the 2005-06 season and then representing the ASU Women’s Club Team last year. During the 2006-07 season, Campbell competed in her first National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships and won the 63kg (138.5) national title as an unseeded competitor. In the event, she knocked off the No. 4, No. 1 and then No. 2 seeds on her way to her first tournament title.

TOP OF HER CLASS
Kelsey Campbell is currently ranked on a pair of national women’s lists, including No. 2 at 59kg in the Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Association rankings. She also is ranked No. 5 in TheMat.com’s U.S. Senior Women’s Rankings (January 2008).

CAMPBELL TAKES THIRD
In her latest tournament action, Kelsey Campbell competed at the prestigious Dave Schultz Invitational and finished third at 59kg (130 pounds). Campbell opened the tournament with a loss to Othela Lucas, ranked No. 1 collegiately at 59kg and fourth in the U.S. women’s rankings, in a 2-0, 1-0 decision. From there Campbell ripped off three wins in a row in the consolation rounds, including dominating scores of 5-0, 6-0 and 5-0, 7-1. She advanced to the third-place bout with a 1-0, 2-0 defeat of Natascha Ballas of Germany before meeting Lucas in the medal round. Campbell, who entered that bout having lost the last three matches to Lucas, won with a 0-4, 2-0, 2-1 score.

AHOY, CAPTAIN!
Seniors Patrick Pitsch, Rick Renzi and Jason Trulson and junior Quinton Pruett have been selected as the team’s captains for the year.

HOME OF THE SUN DEVILS
Wells Fargo Arena serves as the home of Arizona State’s home wrestling duals, as well as basketball (men and women), women’s gymnastics and women’s volleyball. Opened in the spring of 1974, the 14,198-seat arena has been the home venue of some of the Sun Devil greats with all 16 Pac-10 team titles and one of the two Western Athletic Conference crowns attained by ASU. Since its opening, 57 Sun Devils have captured 109 individual conference titles while 67 different athletes have earned a total of 98 All-America honors. The Sun Devils stand 167-54-2 all-time inside Wells Fargo Arena (205-88-2 all-time at home). With its 36-3 defeat of Utah Valley on Jan. 10, 2005, ASU recorded its 150th victory at WFA.

NEXT TIME OUT
Those Sun Devils that qualify will next take the mats on March 20-22 in St. Louis, Mo., at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

Road trips – or trips of any kind, really – are meant to be shared. It’s always nice to have a traveling companion – or a cadre of friends – to share the mountaintop triumphs, the hours spent soaking up culture in trendy bistros or outdoor markets, or the days spent on a boat cruise into a picturesque river valley.

The ASU Alumni Association is expanding its group travel program, Sun Devil Destinations, and invites its members, ASU employees and the public to a free open house for the program. The open house will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., March 5, at Old Main on the Tempe campus.

According to Jennifer Holsman, executive director of operations at the Alumni Association, Sun Devil Destinations has been growing rapidly since it was unveiled last year. About a dozen trips have been conducted by the association, with nearly 100 intrepid Sun Devils traveling to Paris, Italy, the Panama Canal and Peru.

Holsman says the association will be expanding the number of family-friendly vacation options it offers, as well as adding trips of interest to young alumni and recent graduates. This year, Sun Devil Destinations will take travelers to China, India, Paris, Spain, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and the Tuscany region of Italy, as well as to Aspen, Colorado and New York.

Participation in the program is limited to members of the Alumni Association, although each member can bring one guest per trip. Holsman says the program was a frequently requested benefit, and that alumni had given her many ideas for destinations, itineraries and trip themes.

Holsman says the association welcomes university staff to join alumni on the trips, and she encourages faculty and staff with appropriate expertise to contact her regarding collaboration with Sun Devil Destinations as a trip lecturer or guide.

“Faculty-facilitated trips are extremely popular at other schools,” she says. “Scholars with a research expertise in a specific geographic or cultural area are encouraged to get in touch with us.”

At the March 5 event, trip vendors such as Orion Worldwide Tours, AHI, Travel Unlimited, Global Adventure, GoNext, International Ventures, Discovery Treks, Avalon Waterways and many others will be on hand to share information about their tours and answer questions about trips planned for this year and 2009.

Light refreshments will be served at this open house, which is free. Giveaways and door prizes also will be presented to some lucky attendees.

To R.S.V.P. for the program, visit the Alumni Association home page www.asu.edu/alumni and click on “Travel Preview.”
For information on the open house or the Sun Devil Destinations program, contact Jenny Holsman at (480) 965-5275 or jholsman@asu.edu.

Arizona State University’s College of Teacher Education and Leadership has its first center, the state’s first civic education research effort.

Established to foster collaborative, use-inspired research in civic education at local, national and international levels, the Center for Civic Education and Leadership will be directed by Nancy Haas, an associate professor of secondary education at the college.

“The center will be a powerful vehicle to promote the importance of civics in education,” says Haas, who has developed a preservice teacher training program in civic education that serves as a model for emerging democracies, including Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Civics has taken a back seat in education, and it’s important for advocacy groups to increase civic education and participation.

“The center, whose mission is focused on research related to civic education, teacher professional development, and civic participation, will join forces with other like-minded organizations to promote this work throughout Arizona. There is a critical need for collaborative inquiry and action research to increase the quantity and quality of civic education and participation in civil society.”

Haas, who has been working to launch the center for more than a year, will be joined by Assistant Director Elizabeth Hinde, an assistant professor in the college’s elementary education department, who specializes in social studies education. Both Haas and Hinde are members of the Sandra Day O’Connor Our Courts Curriculum Content Team, joined by Charles Calleros of ASU’s College of Law and Abigail Taylor of the Georgetown University Law Center. The team is creating an online, interactive national civics curriculum for middle schools.

“The aspect that will separate this center from others around the country is the research we will conduct,” says Hinde. “We have been meeting with teachers and other educators in focus groups and exploring how civic education is perceived to be and how it is being taught in middle and high schools. Right now, the way civics is being presented in school often doesn’t encourage participation; the content is either not deep enough or it is not taught with a great deal of context.”

The deficiencies in the presentation of civic education were highlighted in a survey conducted in 2002 by The Polling Company. The poll found that 64 percent of Americans could not name any of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices. In fact, the poll found that twice as many Americans could identify the name and number of the Rice Krispies characters than the members of the country’s highest court. Another 2002 poll, this one by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), reported that only a quarter of 15- to 25-year-olds reported regular attentiveness to politics and political affairs.

“The decreasing confidence in the institutions of representative government, the increasing clamor for direct democracy – using the initiative and the referendum as examples – and the expansion of advocacy democracy drives the need to increase the effectiveness of civic education and to provide professional development for K-16 educators,” says Haas, who joined the ASU faculty when the teacher education college launched in 1986 and last year won the Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award for her commitment to the education of homeless children.

“One of the main goals for the center will be to collaborate with preK-12 schools to conduct research and program development to positively impact civic education,” she says.

The center will pursue five major categories of activities that will align with its goals.

• The creation of a civic education program, Our Courts, initiated and guided by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The collaboration with ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and Georgetown University’s Law Center will address the evident crisis in civic education and help educators seeking to increase student achievement in civic education;
• The development of undergraduate and graduate courses in civic education and leadership. In a cooperative effort with civic education organizations such as the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education, the center will also offer professional development opportunities for practicing teachers, school resource officers, and others involved in civic education;
• The enhancement of the social embeddedness of the college and the center. The center will conduct forums and presentations to increase awareness of civic responsibility for the local academic and civic communities. Seminars and conferences concerning civic education and designed to attract a national audience are also planned;
• The evaluation of the effectiveness of civic education curricula and programs on local, national and international levels. On a national plane, Our Courts will be evaluated by the center through pilot tests that will be evaluated and revised as necessary;
• The increase of civic participation through a partnership with the Center for Civic Participation at Mesa Community College that will conduct awareness campaigns and workshops for the public.

“An unintended consequence of the “No Child Left behind” program is a decrease in civics education in favor of content that will increase test scores,” says Haas. “This is unfortunate and I believe the founders of our country would likely frown on this practice. Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘I know no safe depositary of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education.’

“These words are prophetic and ring true. The center will dedicate itself to bringing civic education to those who will lead us in the future.”

Championship Information:
Championship Information: The Arizona State men and women’s diving teams head to Federal Way, Wash., this week to compete in the Pac-10 Diving Championships. The championships begin Thursday Feb. 28 and conclude Mar. 1.

Leader of the Pac:
At last year’s Pac-10 Championships, Micky Benedetti swept the individual awards as he was named Pac-10 Male Diver of the Year and Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year. He won both the three-meter dive and the platform. Last season, Mark Bradshaw earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year for his fifth consecutive season.

Diving into the Olympic Games:
Former Sun Devil diver Joona Puhakka has qualified for this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing for his native Finland. Mark Bradshaw will help coach his former Sun Devil athlete.

Pac-10 Diver of the Month:
Benedetti has twice earned Pac-10 diver of the month this season. The junior was named Pac-10 Diver of the Month for the month of November and December. The addition of these two honors tallies up to four monthly honors for Benedetti.

Qualifying Marks? No Problem!
All four of ASU’s divers that are not redshirting this season have qualified for the NCAA Zone Meet in both the one and three meter and have reached the qualifying marks numerous times this season. The women’s qualifying marks are 265 and 280 for the one and three meter. The men’s are 300 and 320 for the one and three meter respectively.