7 CAREER
MISTAKES
TO AVOID
Common errors
that can thwart
your promotion
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

DOWNTOWN
GAME
CHANGER

VOLUME 21 NUMBER 4

How a city and a
university worked
to revitalize
the area

F I N D I N G S T R E N G T H I N S U R V I VA L

Powering
through
cancer

Desert Dragons
survive, thrive and
move forward

Show your pride!
sundevilbookstores.com

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Fall 2018
Our Fall 2018 gear is in! Come check out Tommy Bahama,
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Some items only available in stores!

Exclusive Apple Offer
for ASU Alumni*
®

Exclusively through the Sun Devil Campus Store
• Special low education pricing on Mac® and iPad®
• Plus, trade-in credit and Apple® repair service on campus.

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Sun Devil Marketplace | 660 S College Ave, Tempe, AZ | 480-965-4488
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Trade-in Trade-up

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WELCOME

Innovation is
everywhere at ASU
The official publication of
Arizona State University
Fall 2018, Vol. 21, No. 4
MANAGING DIRECTOR

Jill Andrews �97 BS, �03 MPA
SENIOR DIRECTOR

Lindsay Kinkade
SENIOR EDITOR

Penny Walker
ART DIRECTOR

Heidi Easudes
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR

Andy DeLisle
EDITORIAL

Stephen Des Georges �14 MAIS,
Lori K. Baker �85 BA
PRODUCTION

Cathy Skoglund �96 BS,
Joel Lobaugh �17 BAS
ADVERTISING SALES

John Davis 480-965-5051
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

PO Box 875011
Tempe, AZ 85287-5011
480-727-5440
asuthrive@asu.edu
magazine.asu.edu

Just 15 years ago, if you were standing at
the top of a building in downtown Phoenix,
you would look down on a very different
urban core than the one that exists today.
Now the area crackles with energy, electrified with innovative
thinking. Vacant lots are filled with residence halls and classroom buildings, and the light rail ding-dings its way down the
thoroughfares. Join us as we take a deep dive into the changes
occurring at the Valley’s center (pg. 20) and discover how ASU
researchers are exploring ways to mitigate heat and improve the
quality of life during the metro area’s increasingly hot summer
months (pg. 28).
Innovation has inspired scientists to take a closer look at
crested cactuses (pg. 36) — those rippled, otherworldly flora
just might help us understand how to better control cancer
found in humans. New thinking in cancer treatment has also
inspired groups like the Desert Dragons and First Descents
(pg. 40), encouraging them to support survivors in increasing
their activity during recovery.
And innovation isn’t confined to the lab or classroom. It’s a
mindset, as revealed in the story about an ASU alumnus and
his son who embarked on a monthlong cross-country trip in
an electric car and dispelled myths along the way (pg. 59).
Innovation can defy conventional wisdom, as author May Busch
shows us how being indispensable in your job can actually
sabotage your chances for a promotion (pg. 14). Innovation has
permeated ASU’s culture for decades, even when Jimi Hendrix
warmed up on campus 50 years ago (pg. 64).
In a nutshell, innovation is cool.
— ASU Thrive team

On the cover
The Phoenix Desert Dragons, a
team made up of breast cancer
survivors, paddles along Tempe
Town Lake.
Photo by: Jarod Opperman

ASU Thrive is printed on paper
that is certified to the Forest
Stewardship Council® (FSC®)
Standards.

FPO

ASU Thrive (USPS 024-438; ISSN 1940-2929) is published quarterly by the Arizona State University
Enterprise Marketing Hub, PO Box 875011, Tempe, AZ 85287-5011, 480-727-5440. Subscriptions are sent to
all ASU alumni. For detailed information about alumni memberships, visit alumni.asu.edu/upgrade. Periodicals
postage is paid at Tempe, Arizona, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Please send address changes
to ASU Thrive, Attention: Circulation, PO Box 875011, Tempe, AZ 85287-5011. Permissions: Portions of this
publication may be reprinted with the written permission and proper attribution by contacting the ASU Thrive
editor. ASU Thrive can be accessed online at magazine.asu.edu.

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

1

FIND

Go

Calendar of events
Plan your autumn with our event highlights
on ASU campuses. 4
Update

The latest news briefs, from the new home
for Greek organizations on campus to the
launch of a Global Locust Initiative to fight
food insecurity. 8
Advance

Aiming for the next level
Crested cactuses
— the result of a
mutation — give
researchers fresh
insight into cancer.

Seven common mistakes that could cost
you that next promotion. 14
Briefs: ASU professors’ research has
real-world application for your career. 16

Develop

Valley of
the heat?
As Phoenix’s mercury stays
higher longer, the metro
area becomes a living lab for
research to mitigate urban
heat. 28
Downtown Phoenix has
sprung to life as a place
to live, work, play and
attend ASU.

Record-setting year
in fundraising 34



youtube.com/asu
youtube.com/ASUAthletics
2

FA L L 2018

alumni.asu.edu/linkedin
linkedin.com/school/arizona-state-university

instagram.com/arizonastateuniversity
instagram.com/asu_alumni
instagram.com/sundevilathletics
instagram.com/asuyoungalumni

ELLEN O’BRIEN/ASU; JAROD OPPERMAN/ASU

Game changer for downtown Phoenix
How a university and a city worked
together to revitalize an urban core. 20

Fighting
locust
plagues.

Heal

A new angle on cancer
Crested cactuses inspire researchers to
look for new ways to control, rather than
eradicate, the disease. 36

New strength
in survival

In the past, people were told to take it easy
after cancer treatment. Now, survivors are
finding empowerment through athletic
challenges. 40
ASU alumna and cancer
survivor Angela Lopez
on Oregon’s Rogue River.

Briefs: Cancer news from around the
university. 46

Play

Sun Devil Stadium by the numbers
Facts and stats on the venue’s reinvention. 50
Throwing the distance
Maggie Ewen’s incredible college career. 51
Briefs: The latest from Sun Devil Athletics. 52

Maggie Ewen is the
only woman in NCAA
history with a title
in three throwing
events: hammer
throw, shot put
and discus.

Connect
KATE JACOB; PETER VANDER STOEP

Chapters update: Ways to engage, including the
new ASU Alumni website. 54
Class notes 55
Thunderbird grad is new PepsiCo CEO 56
Devils dominate ‘40 Under 40’ 57
A carbon-neutral road trip 59
Alumna wins Boston Marathon 60
50th anniversary of Hendrix concert 64

twitter.com/asu
twitter.com/asu_alumni
twitter.com/thesundevils
twitter.com/asuyoungalumni

facebook.com/arizonastateuniversity
facebook.com/asualumni
facebook.com/arizonastatesundevils

Tk

itunes.asu.edu
pinterest.com/arizonastate
soundcloud.com/asualumni
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

3

Hacks for
Humanity
2018
Hacks for
Humanity,
sponsored by
Project Humanities
at Arizona State
University, is a
36-hour hackathon
for the social good,
challenging participants to create
technologies to
address local and
global issues.
The finished
products must
embody these
seven Humanity
101 principles:
kindness, compassion, integrity,
respect, empathy,
forgiveness and
self-reflection.
Oct. 6–7, all day,
Tempe campus,
Stauffer
Communication
Arts B
Free

First Fridays Poetry
on Roosevelt Row
With a mission of making poetry
part of the vernacular of Phoenix,
this event has a different theme
each month — from poetry-on-demand written on typewriters
using requests from the crowd, to
readings from Iron City Magazine,
a prison journal produced at ASU.
Oct. 1, 7 a.m.–10 p.m., and the first
Friday of each month. Patio just west
of Modified Arts,
407 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix.
Free

Family

FA L L 2018

Transform Tension
into Collaboration
Join Thunderbird School
of Global Management
and ASU Professor
Tamara Christensen for
this one-day workshop
focused on helping
you find your creative
sweet spot that comes
when tension leads to
innovation.
Oct. 24, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.,
Downtown Phoenix campus,
Arizona Center Tower
Ticketed $25+ Credited course

Barber Shop Chronicles

Work-Life Balance

For generations, African men
have gathered in barber shops to
discuss the world. This dynamic
new play leaps from a barber
shop in London to Johannesburg,
Harare, Kampala, Lagos and
Accra. These are places where the
banter can be barbed and the truth
is always telling.

This workshop provides
insight into personal
work-life balance. You
will gain essential tools
to manage work and life
more effectively, while
increasing productivity
and overall satisfaction.

Oct. 13, 7 p.m., Tempe campus, ASU
Gammage
asugammage.com
Ticketed Mature

4

Urban Sol: Movement

Oct.31, 9–10 a.m.,
Polytechnic campus,
Classroom Bldg., Room 120
Free

Urban Sol is a cross-institute
initiative that harnesses
the resources of the ASU
Herberger Institute for Design
and the Arts to promote
the urban artist culture of
DJs, MCs, graffiti artists
and dancers in the Valley of
the Sun. A rich, uncharted
collaboration among scholars,
performers and urban artists,
the partnership encourages us
to take notice of the urban art
movement and the importance
of its contribution to teaching
and research of the arts.
Nov. 18, 3–9 p.m., Nelson Fine
Arts Plaza, Tempe campus
facebook.com/urbansolaz
Free

Nov.

Oct.

GO

TIM TRUMBLE

Dec.

Native
American
Heritage
Festival

Celebrate the
culture and customs
of indigenous
peoples at the
Native American
Heritage Festival,
featuring the 18th
annual Veterans
Day Weekend
Traditional Pow
Wow at ASU’s West
campus. Sample
traditional foods,
browse arts and
crafts booths, and
enjoy the stunning
dancing, singing
and drumming
performances.
Learn more about
the symbolism,
protocol and
spiritual meanings of
the dances, regalia
and drums.
Nov. 10, 11 a.m.–
10 p.m.,
West campus,
Fletcher Library Lawn
asuevents.asu.edu/
west
Free Family

COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS

Decomiso
“Decomiso” is an installation-based exhibition by the
Argentinian contemporary artist
duo Guillermo Faivovich and
Nicolás Goldberg. Since 2006,
Faivovich and Goldberg have
been engaged in an intensive
and wide-ranging research
project — “A Guide to El Campo
del Cielo” — that forms the basis
of their practice. The artists have
been in residence at the ASU Art
Museum, where “Decomiso” can
be seen and experienced.

Indwelling

This exhibit is supported by
the Andy Warhol Foundation
for the Visual Arts, ASU Design
and the Arts Library and
Páramo Gallery.

“Indwelling” is a solo exhibition
at the ASU Art Museum of Yuri
Kobayashi, a contemporary artist
who combines traditional woodworking practices and refined
Japanese aesthetics to create
sculptures that reflect her identity,
experiences and thoughts.
With multiple handcrafted
wooden components, each
work attempts to decipher and
represent, in abstract form, this
perpetual desire to represent the
ineffable.
This exhibit is supported by the
Windgate Charitable Foundation
as part of the Windgate
Contemporary Craft Initiative
at ASU Art Museum. Visit the
museum website for directions
and hours and information about
bringing classes to tour exhibitions
or meet with curators.

Oct. 20, 2018, to March 16, 2019,
11 a.m.–5 p.m., Tempe campus
asuartmuseum.asu.edu

Now through Dec. 8, 2018,
11 a.m.–5 p.m., Tempe campus
asuartmuseum.asu.edu

Free

Family

Free

See asuevents.
asu.edu for
additional ASU
events.

Check in at
events to earn
Pitchforks and
rewards!
Download the Sun
Devil Rewards
app today for ASU
event listings, news,
games and more.
sundevilrewards.
asu.edu.

Family

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

5

GO

2018 Football
schedule
FOLLOW US
ArizonaStateSunDevils
SunDevilAthletics
The Sun Devils

SEPTEMBER

1 (Sat.) 7:30 p.m. vs UTSA

Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night — Wear Gold!

8 (Sat.) 7:45 p.m. vs Michigan State
Black Out / City of Tempe Night — Wear Black!

14 (Fri.) 4:30 p.m. Friday Night Inferno
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

15 (Sat.) 7:30 p.m. at San Diego St.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

21 (Fri.) TBD Friday Night Inferno
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

22 (Sat.) TBD at Washington
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

29 (Sat.) TBD vs Oregon State
Family Weekend / Hall of Fame Game /
Hispanic Heritage Night — Wear Gold!

OCTOBER

5 (Fri.) TBD Friday Night Inferno
DENVER AND BOULDER, COLORADO

6 (Sat.) TBD at Colorado
BOULDER, COLORADO

18 (Thu.) 6 p.m. vs Stanford

Maroon Monsoon / Sun Devil Club /
Jr. Sun Devil Club Night — Wear Maroon!

27 (Sat.) TBD at USC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

NOVEMBER

2 (Fri.) 11 a.m. Legends Luncheon
HYATT REGENCY, PHOENIX, AZ

3 (Sat.) TBD vs Utah

Homecoming / Green Game — Wear Gold!

10 (Sat.) TBD vs UCLA

Salute to Service / Senior Day — Wear Gold!

17 (Sat.) TBD at Oregon
EUGENE, OREGON

24 (Sat.) TBD at Arizona
TUCSON, ARIZONA

Schedule subject to change
For tickets, please call 480-965-5333 or visit
TheSunDevils.com/football
6

FA L L 2018

Homecoming week
A time-honored tradition, ASU Homecoming brings
together students, parents and alumni to celebrate our
Sun Devil spirit. The weeklong festivities highlight all
things Sun Devil through athletic events, fun on- and
off-campus activities and entertainment.
October 28–November 3, 2018

Legends
Luncheon:
1970 Peach Bowl
The 2018 Legends
Luncheon will honor the
undefeated 1970 Peach
Bowl champions, the team
that earned Arizona State
University its first-ever
bowl victory! Help us
recognize the players
and coaches.
Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, 11
a.m., Hyatt Regency
Phoenix, 122 N. 2nd St.,
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Ticketed

Family

Lantern Walk
Lantern Walk was first
celebrated in 1917.
Each year students,
alumni, faculty, staff and
friends climb to the top

homecoming.asu.edu

of “A” Mountain carrying
lanterns to light up Tempe,
following in the footsteps
of our Sun Devil ancestors.
Friday, Nov. 2, DJ at the
base of “A” Mountain at 6
p.m; hike up “A” Mountain
at 7 p.m. Free Family

Homecoming
parade
Student organization
floats, the ASU Marching
Band, colleges,
departments, community
organizations, local
celebrities and the most
famous Sun Devil of all,
Sparky, parade down
University Avenue.
Saturday, Nov. 3,
4 hours prior to kickoff of
the football game.
Free

Block Party
Come one, come all to
this festival-like event
filled with food, fun,
entertainment and 100
tents of demos and
information about many
units and projects at ASU.
Saturday Nov. 3,
immediately following the
parade. The event is family
friendly with plenty of bike
parking. Please do not
bring pets.
Free

Sparky’s Touchdown
Tailgate
Sparky’s Touchdown Tailgate is a pregame event that
takes places prior to every home football game. We
have giant backyard games (Jenga, Connect 4, mini
golf and more), fun inflatable games, a photo booth
and selfie station with Giant Sparky, an airbrush tattoo
artist, cool giveaways and the Sun Devil Marketplace
street sale. Food and beverages will be available to
purchase on site. Also, mingle with and meet notable
Sun Devils, including Mr. Sun Devil himself, Sparky!
alumni.asu.edu/events/gameday/tailgates

Home games

On the road

At College Avenue
Commons, between
Sixth and Seventh
streets, within walking
distance of our
reinvented Sun Devil
Stadium, three hours
before kickoff.

ASU at San Diego State,
Saturday, Sept. 15,
4.30 p.m. – 7.30 p.m.

Free

Ticketed

Family

Family

ASU at Washington,
Saturday, Sept.
15, all day
ASU at Colorado,
Saturday, Oct. 6
ASU at USC,
Saturday, Oct. 27

Football game:
ASU vs. Utah

Free

Ticketed

Family

Sun Devil Stadium,
time TBD.
Ticketed

Family

Family

Win a homecoming trip for two
If you’re a Sun Devil Football fan, Sun Devil Rewards has a sweepstakes
you won’t want to miss! One lucky Devil and guest will win a homecoming
weekend loaded with perks, courtesy of Coca-Cola. We’re talking
roundtrip airfare, two-night stay at a nearby hotel, lunch with ASU Football
legends and a pair of tickets to the exclusive Sun Devil Rewards suite to
watch the big game. Don’t miss out on the trip of a lifetime! If you’re not a
member of Sun Devil Rewards, the official ASU loyalty app, download it
today and start getting perks for your ASU pride.

Devils on Mill
Join ASU students and community members to get
hyped for the home football game. With food, ASU
gear, music, carnival rides, games and activities, you
do not want to miss out on this event! Consider Devils
on Mill for your pregame tailgating, perfect for Sun
Devils of any age!

Home games
Between Forest and Mill avenues on Sixth Street,
three hours before kickoff. eoss.asu.edu/pab/
devilsonmill

For all the details, go to sundevilrewards.asu.edu/homecoming-sweeps

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

7

UPDATE

Cool
partnership
solves hot
problem
Anyone who has been
in Arizona during the hot
months understands why
misters are so important;
their cloud of heavily
pressurized water droplets
can cool the temperature
by up to 30 degrees. Local
business Mr. Misters is
working to bring that same
cooling experience to
boaters. They’ve partnered
with students at the
Polytechnic School to
develop a misting system
for small watercraft.

The few boat misting
systems on the market use
the boat’s power to pull
water from an onboard
refillable tank. ASU
students worked with Mr.
Misters to design a new
system that operates using
a solar-powered battery
that pumps and purifies
water directly from the
lake to the misting heads,
eliminating the need for an
onboard tank. The work
was conducted through
the Polytechnic School’s
eProjects program, which
enables students to gain
hands-on work experience
with industry partners.
8

FA L L 2018

Viral connection to Alzheimer’s disease
A first-of-its-kind study has implicated the presence of viruses in the
brain in Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists at the ASU-Banner
Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center and colleagues at the
Icahn School of Medicine provide multiple lines of evidence to suggest
that species of herpesviruses contribute to the development of the
disorder. It brings science a step closer to clarifying the mechanisms by
which infectious agents may play important roles in the disease.
“Previous studies of viruses and Alzheimer’s have always been very
indirect and correlative. But we were able to perform a more
sophisticated computational analysis using multiple levels of genomic
information measured directly from affected brain tissue,” says the Icahn
School’s Joel Dudley, senior author of the paper. “I don’t think we can
answer whether herpesviruses are a primary cause of Alzheimer’s
disease. But what’s clear is that they’re perturbing and participating in
networks that directly underlie Alzheimer’s pathophysiology.”

Online degree in World War II studies a first
ASU and the National WWII
Museum have announced a
new online master’s degree
program in World War II
studies. The fully accredited
Master of Arts degree
will provide 30 hours of
coursework taught by the
world’s top World War II
scholars from both ASU and

the museum. It will also draw
upon the museum’s one-of-akind collection that includes
tens of thousands of artifacts
and personal accounts from
the World War II generation.
Enrollment is now open
for the online Master of Arts
in World War II Studies
program. Deadline for

applications is Dec. 1; find
more at asuonline.asu.edu.
In addition to the master’s
degree program, a series
of online noncredit courses
will be available via ASU’s
Continuing and Professional
Education program (cpe.asu.
edu); registration opens in
October.

ASU-LACMA fellowship
aims to increase diversity
ASU is partnering with the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art on a new master’s fellowship
designed to increase diversity among museum
professionals. The three-year program will
combine traditional master’s-level coursework
and a thesis with working 30 hours a week
at LACMA or the ASU Art Museum, which is
part of the Herberger Institute for Design and
the Arts. The first-of-its-kind program, which
launched in August, will offer mentorship with
curators and faculty and will enable students to
accelerate their careers.

Researcher pinpoints optimal
age of puppy cuteness
The meme says “All dogs are puppy,” but a
study led by Professor Clive Wynne, director
of ASU’s Canine Science Collaboratory,
found dogs’ attractiveness to humans peaks at
roughly eight weeks, the same point at which
their mother weans them and leaves them
to fend for themselves. The findings provide
insight into the depth of the relationship
between humans and dogs, the
oldest and most enduring of any
human-animal relationship.
“[The study] doesn’t mean
to say that we stop loving
our dogs past [eight weeks],”
he says. “The eight-week point
is just the point where the hook
is biggest, the ability of the
animal to grab our interest
is strongest. But, having
grabbed our interest, we
continue to love them
all their lives.”
ALFONSO E. PEREZ-GONZALEZ; CHARLIE LEIGHT/ASU

Live the Sun Devil
Shelf Life
ASU abounds with
academics who
are also authors
— often prolific
ones — and their
publications range
from research-backed
guides to literary
works to theoretical
explorations. Now
there’s a one-stop
shop where readers
can go to see who’s
writing about what.
Sun Devil Shelf Life,
a new and growing
resource for readers
and writers, is an
online platform that
serves as a database
for the myriad books
written by members of
the ASU community,
including alumni and
current students.
Publications are
searchable by author
name, subject and
genre.
Find your
next read at
asu.edu/shelflife.

ASU Prep school
ties for top spot
in state ratings
The ASU Prep Poly STEM Academy
in Mesa tied for the top spot in
Arizona school ratings for 2017,
based on the final letter grades and
scores released this spring by the
state Department of Education. The
K-4 charter school, located on
ASU’s Polytechnic campus, tied
with Ocotillo Ridge Elementary
School for the highest percentage in
scoring based on a formula that
weighs proficiency in the AzMERIT
standardized tests, as well as
improvement in scores of some
subgroups and other factors.

Keep up with the headlines at ASU by
subscribing to the ASU Now newsletter at
asunow.asu.edu/subscribe.
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

9

UPDATE

New community
for Greek
organizations
ASU welcomed undergraduates
into the Greek Leadership
Village housing complex this fall.
The community, at Rural and
Terrace roads on the east side
of the Tempe campus, houses
about 950 fraternity and sorority
members in a cluster of dwellings.
The village includes 27 Greek
chapters in three- or four-story
townhouses, each ranging from
19 to 41 beds for sophomores,
juniors and seniors.
The centerpiece of the
Greek Leadership Village is a
33,000-square-foot community
center with office and activity
space for every chapter at ASU,
not just those with housing in the
village. The community center,
which includes retail space and
a ballroom, also houses all five
governing councils of Greek Life.

Alpha Phi Alpha alumni
Gerald Richard (left) and
Tafari Osayande talk on a
balcony overlooking the
central courtyard at the new
Greek Leadership Village on
the Tempe campus.

10

FA L L 2018

CHARLIE LEIGHT/ASU

Researchers plan
to integrate radar
measurements with
additional data from
the newly launched
NASA/GFZ GRACE
Follow-On satellites.

Space tech aiding water research on Earth
In recent decades, the overpumping of groundwater, combined with drought, has
caused some vital underground aquifers to permanently lose essential storage
capacity. With the hope of providing water resource managers with better tools,
scientists from ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory are using the latest space technology to look underneath
Earth’s surface to measure this precious natural resource.
They’ve focused their efforts on one of the world’s largest aquifer systems,
located in California’s Central Valley, a major agricultural hub that produces more
than 25 percent of the nation’s food crops. Using satellite-based Earth remote
sensing techniques, the team found that during a three-year period from 2007 to
2010 there was a drop of nearly 32 inches in the level of groundwater, a decline
that should normally take decades. The most striking result, however: Up to 2
percent of storage capacity was lost permanently.

Solving a pest problem
that has been plaguing us
During a plague year, locusts affect the
livelihoods of one in 10 people on Earth.
An issue of that size inevitably attracts the
brightest problem solvers. Representatives
from 12 countries recently gathered at ASU
for the inaugural meeting of the Global
Locust Initiative, a new research and action
program designed to help scientists,
governments, agribusiness workers and

Aging with autism
In 1980, “infantile autism” was
recognized by the medical
community. Schools, parents and
doctors began to identify children
with what would later be called
autism spectrum disorder, and the
number of diagnoses skyrocketed.
Today, the first children diagnosed
with autism are now adults, and
College of Health Solutions Assistant
Professor Blair Braden wants
to know how autism is affecting
their lives. With 1 in 59 children
diagnosed with ASD, it’s a disorder
that affects many, yet little is
known about its impact on aging in
adulthood.
In an ASU partnership with the
Barrow Neurological Institute and
the Southwest Autism Research &
Resource Center, Braden will spend
the next four years studying the brain
activity of adults with ASD to better
understand the cognitive changes
that occur during aging in adulthood
and identify what behaviors in adults
are the best predictors of age-related
cognitive decline. Nearly all previous
research on the subject has been
limited to children, making this firstof-its-kind study significant for what it
will reveal about aging with autism.

farmers cope with locust plagues.
The goal of the initiative — a unit of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of
Sustainability — is the well-being of farm communities and global sustainability.
“It’s a challenge all continents except Antarctica are dealing with,” says
founding director Arianne Cease, an assistant professor in the School of
Sustainability.
Learn more at locust.asu.edu.
NASA/JPL-CALTECH; CHARLIE LEIGHT/ASU

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

11

UPDATE

Millennials give up their
voice by not voting
Millennials account for nearly a third of the
voting-age population in Arizona, and yet only 19
percent of the votes cast for president in 2016
were in that age group — leaving governing
decisions to a demographic of voters that is
older, richer and whiter. Whether that scenario
amounts to a crisis was the topic of a recent
panel discussion, sponsored by the Morrison
Institute for Public Policy at ASU.
“There’s no guarantee that the younger
people who aren’t voting today will suddenly
become voters. Voting is a habit. How do we
change that?” said the institute’s Joseph Garcia.
Read more at bit.ly/2vOn4Yx.

Chinese tomb reveals
unknown extinct species

A modern-day lar gibbon ape

An international team, including postdoctoral
researcher Alejandra Ortiz of ASU’s Institute of
Human Origins, has discovered a new genus
and species in an unusual place: a tomb. The
Junzi imperialis, a small-bodied ape that lived
in China as recently as 2,200 years ago, was
discovered in what was the ancient capital of
Chang’an (now Xi’an) in the high-status tomb of
Lady Xia (grandmother of China’s famous first
emperor Qin Shi Huang). The tomb had 12 pits
with animal remains and other grave goods.
Today, all species of living apes are
threatened with extinction due to human
activity and habitat loss. Yet it has generally
been believed that prior to the Industrial Age,
ape diversity had not been depleted by human
pressures. The well-preserved partial skull of
Lady Xia’s gibbon challenges this view.
12

FA L L 2018

Justice not blind
to gender bias
In a psychology study
at ASU, six attorneys
with trial experience —
three men and three
women — performed
identical re-enactments
of a forceful closing
argument to look at
how people perceive an
attorney’s effectiveness
in the courtroom when
expressing anger.
The study reveals
male and female test
viewers found the angry
male attorneys to be
commanding, powerful,
competent and hirable.
They found angry
female attorneys to be
shrill, hysterical, grating
and ineffective. Women
and men felt the same
way, indicating this bias
operates at an implicit
level, says Jessica
Salerno, ASU lead
researcher on the study.
“A good attorney
is expected to show
traditionally male
characteristics
in court — anger,
aggression, power.
But what’s happening
is that men benefit
from this, while we are
penalizing women for
showing these same
characteristics,” she
says.

MET Professional Academy juniors Dakarai Alberty
(left) and Adrien Frisque. Not pictured: SimpleSec
team member Koby Caputo.

EPICS helps
high schoolers
change the world
An app to help teachers locate students in an
emergency, diagnostics to identify dangerous
bacteria in Arizona’s Oak Creek and
technology that supports homeless community
outreach were among 40 projects presented
at a high school innovation showcase at
ASU. The Engineering Projects in Community
Service (EPICS) High School is a servicelearning program for middle and high school
students in which teams partner with local
community agencies to design solutions that
meet specific needs.
The program provides the precollege
innovators with up to $600 to fund their
projects. There is also prize money for certain
categories at the showcase, and members
of the overall winning project each receive a
$1,000 scholarship to ASU.
One team with a head start on changing
its world is EPICS overall first-place winner
SimpleSec from Peoria’s MET Professional
Academy. At a time when students have
become school-safety activists, this team
created an app with a geolocator designed to
help teachers locate students during an oncampus emergency.

JAMIE ELL/ASU

v: to move forward;
to rise in rank, position
or importance; to
make progress

Advance

DIVERSITY

Some
civilizations build
Gothic cathedrals, and some
build huts. It’s the same with
ants, but having a diverse
group of builders might lead
to superior structures.
Researchers at ASU
discovered that ant colonies
with mixed-size groups built
longer nests, excavated more
sand and produced more
architecturally complex nests
than single-size worker
groups. Diversity in the ant
world — and our world, too
— makes us stronger.

CHARLIE LEIGHT/ASU

Aiming for
the next
level

Seven
common
mistakes that
could cost
you that next
promotion. 14

Briefs

Professors’
research with
real-world
application
for your
career. 16

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

13

ADVANCE

Aiming for the
next level
B Y M AY B U S C H
Is this a promotion year for you? Or maybe you have a big
milestone promotion coming up next year that you don’t
want to miss?
Working toward your next promotion is both an
exciting and nerve-wracking time. There’s so much to play
for, yet the result is uncertain and it’s not in your control. If
only we could give ourselves our promotions!
I’ve been through many promotion cycles in my career.
Some for me, others for my team members, and now with
my executive coaching clients.
When I think back on my 10 promotions during a 24year career, on the way to managing director and chief
operating officer for Morgan Stanley, Europe, I can see
patterns of how to earn a promotion and common ways
people stay stuck in their jobs.
It’s easy to sabotage your chances of promotion
Every promotion is a milestone in your career. It’s a
sign of progress, recognition and reward. So you can’t
help but work hard and give it your best shot. But what if
all your hard work is not enough to get the promotion you
deserve?
What if you’re not doing the right things?
Worse yet, could you be doing the wrong things
without knowing it and killing your chances of promotion?
While these are natural fears, they’re also worth
thinking about … in a calm, strategic manner.
In fact, it’s easy to go about getting promoted in the
wrong way despite good intentions. That’s because no
Continued on page 16

May Busch is senior advisor and executive in
residence in ASU’s Office of the President. She
is also a professor of practice in the W. P. Carey
School of Business and chairs the Idea Enterprise.
Find her at maybusch.com/asuthrive.

14

FA L L 2018

7 common mistakes
that can kill your
chances of promotion
Here are seven common mistakes I’ve observed over my
24-year career and now as an executive coach. Any one
of these can sink your chances of promotion. Worse yet,
they’re easy traps to fall into. I know I did! See if you’re
making some of these mistakes. Then start thinking
about what you can do instead to have a better chance of
winning your promotion.

Mistake #1:

Mistake #2:

Relying on your
work to get
noticed

Being invisible

I used to think that if I kept
my head down, worked hard
and produced excellent
results, the rest would
fall into place. Maybe it’s
just a “nice Chinese girl”
approach, but I can tell
you it doesn’t work beyond
your very earliest years on
the job. Unfortunately, your
work can’t speak and good
news doesn’t travel nearly
as fast as bad news. So
don’t be lulled into the belief
that doing great work is
sufficient. Don’t think that it
alone will get you noticed.
Make sure you keep
people updated on your
accomplishments.

This mistake is about not
speaking up and not showing
up. In my case, I was always
“too busy working” to attend
anything that wasn’t directly
related to producing excellent
work. And for those meetings
and events I had to attend,
I was too self-conscious to
say anything. I would sit on
the side and only speak when
asked. This combination
made me less visible to senior
people. When no one knows
who you are, it’s hard to form
a positive opinion about
how deserving you are of
promotion, and I missed out
that year. Make the time
to show up and learn to
speak up.

Mistake #3:

Mistake #5:

Being
indispensable

Playing it safe

I realize this runs counter to
advice you’ve been given, but
being indispensable for what
you’re currently doing is a
real mistake if you want to get
promoted. I remember sitting
in a senior planning meeting
when someone suggested,
“Steven could be promoted
to fill that open slot,” and
Steven’s boss jumping in to
say, “Don’t touch Steven. I
need him in his current role.”
If you’re so valuable in the
role you’re doing, you may be
too valuable to promote into a
new role. After all, they can’t
possibly find someone as
good as you to do it. It’s fine
to be seen as indispensable
in the short term, but don’t
leave it so long that you get
stuck because you’re seen as
the only person who can do
the job. Make sure there’s
someone else who can
step in behind you.

Mistake #4:

Leaving it too late
Don’t be like my team member,
Carlo, who waited until two
weeks before promotions
were going to be announced
before he came to my office
to make his case. By then,
decisions had been made and
new information wasn’t going
to help. And don’t be like Nick,
who spent the first half of the
year operating at half effort.
Then, he kicked into high gear
a month before performance
evaluations. While it was great
that he was calling on clients
more actively and participating
in our internal meetings more
proactively, it was too little, too
late. Start thinking early, know
what promotion you’re aiming
for a year from now, and carve
out time to make a plan. And if
you’re worried it’s too late,
there’s no better time to
start than right now.

As one of just a handful of
Chinese kids in my town, I
spent most of my growing-up
years wishing I could be just
like everyone else. That desire
to conform, to be liked and
to blend in with the group
became an instinct for going
along with the crowd and
not rocking the boat when
I started to work. But that’s
follower behavior, and we’re
in a world where leaders are
the ones who get promoted.
It took me too long to realize
that playing it safe and being
just like everyone else meant
I didn’t stand out. Instead, it’s
the time to bring out what
makes you special and
worthy of recognition.

Mistake #6:

Being in the
wrong job
Some jobs don’t lead to
promotion to a higher level or
greater responsibilities. The
key is to know this before you
pin your hopes on getting
promoted. When my boss
moved up to run a bigger
unit, he asked me to be his
operations officer or “righthand person.” I was thrilled to
move with him to this new role.
Better yet, the star performers
of the firm had gone on from
operations officer positions
to bigger and better things.
When the time came to look at
the next step, I learned that the
operations officer role I was in
wasn’t seen in the same light.
Our unit was much smaller
and less complex. It wasn’t
the training ground that led
to immediate superstardom.
I ended up having to move
to a revenue-producing role
and take an extra year to
demonstrate my value. If
you’re in a role that doesn’t
lead to promotion, then
take everything you can
from it and use it as a
steppingstone to a role
that affords an opportunity
for promotion.

Mistake #7:

Not having your
boss on your side
Laura loved her work, was
doing well with her clients
and had great relationships
with her colleagues. She had
just one problem: She and
her boss didn’t get along.
No matter who’s at fault, the
result is the same. Without her
boss’s support and advocacy,
Laura wasn’t about to get
promoted. Unless your boss
is about to be fired, I’ve never
seen anyone get promoted
when their boss doesn’t rate
them. If you haven’t figured out
the care and feeding of your
boss, this would be a great
time to do it. This is the time
to be doing your job well,
which includes making
your boss look good and
making their life easier.

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

15

ADVANCE

Continued from page 14
one shows you how to do it. Sure, you get
told the “facts,” like key competencies and
important deadlines. But that’s just the official
part and it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
What are the unofficial, unspoken truths to
getting promoted they don’t tell you?
One of the keys to success is simply to
avoid going about it in the wrong way. If you
stay away from the “killer mistakes,” you’ll
improve your chances of getting promoted
significantly.
Position yourself to be promotion-ready

Whether your next promotion opportunity
is around the corner or a year or two in the
future, it’s important to make the effort to put
yourself in a position to be promotion-ready.
And a great place to start is by addressing
seven common mistakes or, better yet,
avoiding them in the first place.
When you miss out on a promotion, it’s
hard not to take things personally because it
feels like you’ve been rejected from the club.
And it’s all very public.
That’s why I’ve shared these common
mistakes. I don’t want you to go through the
trial and error (lots of errors!) that I did. I want
you to have a smoother time of it. I want you to
have the best chance of setting yourself up to
succeed.
Remember, if you’re making some of
these mistakes, you are not alone. The most
important thing is to start addressing the
ones that are holding you back, and keep

Workers think
of companies
as people,
and behave
accordingly
Most employees know that
relationships with their coworkers are important, but it’s
likely not many realize that they
also think of their company as a
person.
But they do.
A new research paper
by a professor in the W. P.
Carey School of Business at
ASU shows that not only do
people “anthropomorphize”
organizations — by attributing
human qualities to nonhuman
entities — but that it affects the
way they behave.
“The more we explored,
the more we found that yes,
indeed, people not only talk
about the organization that way,

they actually think about it that
way and that affects the way
they see the organization,” says
Blake Ashforth, professor and
Horace Steele Arizona Heritage
chair.
“We were surprised to find
that it has pretty major effects.
“In marketing, this is old
news. They’ve had brand
personality for many years.
But to people who manage
organizations, this is simply not
talked about.
If you think of an organization
as a person, you treat it that
way, Ashforth says. “You use
interpersonal norms, like being
polite, being fair, reciprocity.”

taking steps.
And now, it’s time to get out there and take
action to put yourself in the best possible
position to win your next promotion!

“A lot of people use their own manager as a
template for how the organization must be as
a person ... A lot of this stuff happens in offices
and hallways and meeting rooms.”
– BL AKE ASHFORTH , PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT

The Sun Devil 100 celebrates leaders of the
100 fastest-growing companies among ASU
alumni nominees. Nominate yourself or a
worthy Sun Devil by Nov. 2 at alumni.asu.
edu/form/sun-devil-100-nominate-worthy.

16

FA L L 2018

“This helps confirm that local cooperative
groups tend to stay small in human
history while successful regional and
state formations all came about from
networking across diversity — in this
case, geographical distances — and
securing a buy-in for a common cause.”
— Kelly Knudson, bioarchaeologist, professor in Arizona State
University’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change

Use ancient lesson to
grow your influence
A study of ancient
cultures in Peru has
found the most effective
growth strategy for
leaders of some early
city-states was not
coercion through law or
force, but the hosting
of large feasts and
inviting diverse swaths of
people outside their own
network to partake.
But are parties
really an important part
of human culture and
evolution, even today
— or just a diversion?
Kelly Knudson, ASU
bioarchaeologist and
an author on the multiinstitutional study, firmly

Free career
services for life
for grads

believes it’s the former.
Case in point is
Paracas — the first
group in the region to
flourish and become
highly complex, despite
no formal governance
entities — and a court
called Cerro del Gentil,
likely the main spot for
celebration.
“We think the
feasts held there likely
provided some of the
first incentives for
pilgrimage, support and
partnership with those
leaders in societies that
had no other methods of
complex, overt control,”
Knudson says.

ASU Alumni offers free career services
for life to Sun Devil alumni, including job
and internship connections, with access
to thousands of job postings online; career

COURTESY OF CHARLES STANISH AND HENRY TANTALEÁN

Holding a feast requires
a surplus of goods, a
process made much
easier through collective
action and cooperation at
scale. The ASU research
team analyzed organic
and inorganic samples
to determine the origin of
materials found at Cerro
del Gentil.

advice in both virtual and in-person meetings;
and career resources you can access 24/7.
Register at alumni.asu.edu/benefits/alumnicareer-and-professional-development-services.

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

17

Proud to be the exclusive banking partner of ASU®.

Supporting ASU. Supporting the community.
®

MidFirst Bank is committed to helping the ASU® community thrive, and offers a variety of product, services and
educational programs to ASU® alumni, including:
• ASU® branded debit, credit and gift cards provided exclusively by MidFirst Bank
• More than 20 convenient MidFirst banking centers across the Valley
• The MoneyMoments® financial education program helps people of all ages develop
strong money management skills
• Official partnership with Sun Devil® Athletics
MidFirst Bank is proud to support ASU®. When you use your ASU® debit or credit card, MidFirst Bank gives back to
the university. In just six years, MidFirst has donated more than $2 million for special initiatives and scholarships,
and for other student, employee and alumni programs.
We’re proud to be an ASU® partner and we’ll continue doing our part to strengthen the university.

midfirst.com/asumag

|

602-801-5000

Member FDIC

v: to create, especially by
deliberate effort over time;
to promote the growth of;
to cause to evolve

Develop

EXCELLENCE

A banner year
is unfolding for Barrett,
The Honors College: The
growing college welcomes more than 2,000
new students this fall. It
offers resources and
support as well as unique
experiences at ASU’s four
metro Phoenix campuses
for students such as
Terrell Brown, an honors
sophomore from Surprise,
Arizona, majoring in
medical studies.

Downtown
Phoenix

Revitalizing a
city core. 20

Valley of
the heat?

Phoenix is a
living lab for
research on
mitigating
heat. 28

Setting
records

Fundraising
update. 34

DOMINIC VALENTE/ASU

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

19

Walter Cronkite School
of Journalism and Mass Communication
and Arizona PBS

Beus Center for Law and Society
and the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

College of Nursing
and Health Innovation

Arizona Biomedical
Collaborative

20

FA L L 2018

JAROD OPPERMAN, ANDY DELISLE/ASU

PHOTO CREDIT

Phoenix

DEVELOP

“Of all the things that have benefited downtown
Phoenix, ASU having a presence in downtown has
been the biggest game changer of all.”
– N I C O L E S TA N T O N , P H O E N I X O F F I C E M A N A G I N G PA R T N E R , Q U A R L E S & B R A DY

B Y G EO R G A N N YA R A
Herberger Institute
for Design and the Arts
Grant Street Studios

The
Collaboratory
on Central
at the
Westward Ho

Thunderbird School
of Global Management
at Arizona Center

It doesn’t take long to find a
Phoenician who has a story or two
about the years when downtown
Phoenix pretty much went dark
at 5:05 p.m. Sure, the arena and
ballpark were there. But when the
game or concert was over, most
people hopped into their cars and
hightailed out. Describing postdinner food options as “limited”
was generous. And nightlife? Ha.
Having worked in downtown
for 20 years, Nicole Stanton, the
Phoenix office managing partner
for Quarles & Brady law firm,
recalls when she brought in her
own food for late nights at the
office because the alternative was
going hungry.
Today, a short evening stroll
through these once-sleepy streets
indicate those days are in the
city’s rear-view mirror. The bevy
of entertainment venues, cultural
events, hospitality services and
recreational experiences have since
generated multiple reasons to linger.
And Arizona State University’s
downtown campus — established
in 2006 — is in the thick of the
whirlwind resurgence that has
made downtown Phoenix an
enviable hot spot.
The timing of the arrival and
progression of the downtown
campus and surrounding
community growth isn’t
coincidence.
“Of all the things that have
benefited downtown Phoenix, ASU
Continued on page 25
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

21

Catalyzing moments in a
downtown’s evolution
Many elements make the center of Phoenix the vibrant place it
is today. From campus development to community partnerships,
many investments and events have come together to bring the
Downtown Phoenix campus to life. A few highlights:
1989

Artlink connects
art spaces
Artlink forms
and organizes
Art Detour,
a multi-day,
self-guided tour of
galleries, studios
and businesses
in and around
downtown.
1990

ASU Downtown
Center at the
Mercado
Day, evening
and weekend
courses, degrees
and professionaldevelopment
programs
including urban
design, policy and
community service

The Mercado

ASU’s
growth
to many
locations

22

FA L L 2018

are introduced.
Programs bring
faculty, students,
local government,
state agencies and
other organizations
together to
work on local
and statewide
challenges.

1994

The ASU Art Museum’s Artist Residency

First Fridays

program hosted a changing lineup of

Artlink and other downtown Phoenix artists start to officially
promote this monthly art walk, which has grown to become one
of the largest in the U.S. With many venues open free to the
public each month, First Fridays succeeds in bringing people
back to downtown Phoenix. The event currently attracts from
14,000 to 20,000 visitors monthly and continues to grow.

1990–96

2005

New artist
enclaves
emerge

Phoenix Urban
Research Lab

Due to
construction of
what are now
Chase Field and
Talking Stick
Resort Arena,
many artists in
the warehouse
district are
displaced, leading
them to purchase
properties in new
areas, including
Roosevelt Row
and Grand
Avenue. USA
Today later names
Roosevelt Row
one of the 10 Best
City Arts Districts
in America.

2001

Downtown Phoenix Ambassadors
The Downtown Phoenix Partnership starts
a safety program that would evolve into a
hospitality service with specially trained
downtown Phoenix customer-service
ambassadors, who help with events and
navigation of downtown.

Known as PURL,
this working
research center
opens and fosters
the idea for
the downtown
campus. Through
a combination
of supported
research,
coordinated
coursework
and public
programming,
PURL assembles
different academic
units within the
university and the
public sphere.
PURL launches
Phoenix Urban
Design Week, a

programming as artists spent time in
the live/work/gallery arrangement.

series of highly
anticipated
annual events still
active today.
2005

ASU, City of
Phoenix partner
on campus
development
ASU and the
City of Phoenix
announce a
transformative
partnership for the
development of the
ASU Downtown
Phoenix campus,
which is approved
by a 2-to-1 margin
by the city’s voters
one year later.

2005

Phoenix Public
Market’s
open-air market
debuts
Located at what is
now the Phoenix
Public Market
Café parking lot,
this destination
spot is composed
of more than 80
independent
vendors selling
wares, including
local produce and
other goods every
Saturday.

1885

1984

1996

ASU Tempe campus

ASU West campus

ASU Polytechnic campus

The Territorial Normal School is created
to train teachers and teach agriculture
and mechanical arts. Today, ASU
offers hundreds of majors that engage
undergraduates and graduates in
multidisciplinary research and exploration.
The Novus Innovation Corridor will
integrate mixed-use urban development
with enhanced collegiate athletic venues.

Established by the Arizona Legislature
as the university’s second campus, ASU
West is located on the western edge of
Phoenix. Today the campus offers more
than 50 undergraduate and graduate
degrees across six colleges. The Gary K.
Herberger Young Scholars Academy on
the campus is a learning environment for
highly gifted students in grades 7-12.

Founded as ASU East on the former
Williams Air Force Base, this campus
offers degrees in interdisciplinary sciences,
engineering, management, aviation,
technology and education. Industry
partnerships provide learning opportunities
within advanced lab spaces. ASU Prep
preschool, STEM Academy for K-8 and a
STEM high school are on this campus.

MATTHEW ENNIS; DOWNTOWN PHOENIX INC.

2006

2007

2008

2009

The new
campus

Groundbreaking for
Cronkite School

Light rail opens

ASU
Preparatory
Academy
Phoenix

The Downtown
Phoenix campus
officially opens
with 2,766
students and
three colleges
— College of
Nursing, College
of Public Programs
and University
College — housed
in two office
buildings speedily
remodeled for
classroom use.
Students move
into a refurbished
1955 Ramada
Inn, which serves
as a temporary
residence hall for
the campus’s first
two years. Later
in the year, the
School of Social
Work moves to
the downtown
campus,
becoming part
of the College of
Public Programs.
Two years later,
the School of
Criminology
and Criminal
Justice relocates
from the West
campus to join
the college. Today
the campus offers
programs across
eight degreegranting colleges
and schools.

Former CBS News
anchor Walter
Cronkite breaks
ground on what
will become the
campus’s first
newly constructed
building,
designed to
house the Walter
Cronkite School
of Journalism
and Mass
Communication
and Arizona PBS.
In 2008, the fourth
college of the
campus opens its
new home, a stateof-the-art digital
communications
complex.
2007

A biomedical
collaboration
The Arizona
Biomedical
Collaborative
Building opens as
part of the Phoenix
Biomedical
Campus, a medical
and bioscience
campus. The
LEED-certified
building houses
bioinformatic
programs for ASU
and research
programs for
the University of
Arizona.

Valley Metro
light rail service
begins, linking
the Downtown
Phoenix campus
to Tempe.

The academy
opens downtown.
Today it includes
preschool,

elementary,
middle and high
schools, and its
curriculum helps
students develop
critical thinking
and learning skills
to prepare them
for college.

2009

Civic Space Park
City officials dedicate Civic Space Park, a 2.7-acre grassy oasis
that replaces abandoned storefronts and empty lots. The A.E.
England Building, an abandoned 1926 auto dealership on the
city’s historic registry, is dedicated after a major renovation, and
serves as an anchor in the park. It is used daily for classes, public
meetings, art displays and special events.

2008

Downtown living
Students move into Taylor Place, a newly
built 13-story residential complex with
a rooftop terrace, mountain vistas and
city views. A second tower opens the
following year.
2008

2008

Phoenix
Convention
Center is
revamped

CityScape
construction
begins

A $600 million
demolition and
expansion is
completed,
creating a new and
improved venue
to accommodate
national
conventions and
crowd-drawing
events like Phoenix
Fan Fusion,
Comicon and NFL
Super Bowl fan
activities.

Construction
begins on a
1.2 millionsquare-foot
urban multi-use
development,
to be used as
office buildings,
residential units, a
hotel, retail shops,
restaurants, bars
and entertainment
venues. It’s also
the site of an
outdoor ice rink
each winter.

With a dramatic multicolored net sculpture by artist
Janet Echelman hovering above, an interactive water
feature and open park space, Civic Space Park
becomes a central gathering spot for the downtown
community and ASU student activities.

2002

2008

2012

2018

Mayo Clinic and Arizona State
University Alliance for Health Care

SkySong
Innovation Center

ASU at Lake Havasu

ASU in Downtown Mesa

Together, Mayo, the recognized world leader
in patient care, education and research, and
ASU, the nation’s most innovative university,
are bringing the brightest minds together
to accelerate cutting-edge research
discoveries, improve patient care through
health care innovation and transform medical
education to enhance health outcomes.

The center is responsible
for more than 100 spinoff
companies that have collectively
raised more than $600 million in
venture capital. It is also home
of the ASU Online/Starbucks
degree program with ASU’s
EdPlus team.

This collaboration between the
Lake Havasu Foundation and ASU
brings the university’s innovative
approach to higher education to
a location unserved by the state
university system. Students at
Havasu now choose from more
than 20 four-year undergraduate
degree programs.

The city council approves
a partnership with ASU for
a campus in the center of
Arizona’s second-largest city.
ASU agrees to bring at least
750 students and 40 faculty
members, with at least 25
scholarships earmarked for
students within Mesa city limits.

CHARLIE LEIGHT/ASU; TOM STORY

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

23

2009

2013

2014

New nursing
building

$275 million

Beus Center for Law and Society

The Downtown
Phoenix campus
dedicates its
second new
academic building,
an 84,000-squarefoot building, part
of the College
of Nursing and
Health Innovation.

worth of goods and services
created by ASU’s 2013 nonpayroll
spending around the downtown
campus. These goods and
services are supplied by Phoenix
businesses.

2,100 jobs
$101 million

2011

Sustainability
focus
The Downtown
Phoenix campus
dedicates its first
solar power grid
on the roof of the
Cronkite School.
Sustainability is a
key feature of the
campus, which has
seven LEEDcertified buildings.
2011

Crescent
Ballroom opens
This music venue,
bar and restaurant
hot spot opens and
quickly establishes
itself as a premiere
Valley music
destination. It is
the first of several
downtown venues
by promoter
Charlie Levy;
his second, the
concert space the
Van Buren, opens
in 2017.
2012

Fifth college
based
downtown
The newly
established
College of Health
Solutions opens
on the Downtown
Phoenix campus.

24

FA L L 2018

Construction begins on the $129 million,
260,000-square-foot complex that will
become the new home for the Sandra Day
O’Connor College of Law in 2016. The
building space is designed to be inviting,
engaging and accessible to everyone who
is interested in learning about the law,
its effect on our daily lives, and the many
services and resources available through
ASU and other BCLS partners.

in labor income

$168 million
in gross product

2013

Feast on the Street
This half-mile-long dining table set up
on First Street turns the stretch into a
pedestrian promenade in celebration of
food and art in one of the largest outdoor
events downtown to date, galvanizing
art, food and neighborhood community
ties. The feast is a free public event and
community project initiated by the ASU
Art Museum and the Desert Initiative,
Roosevelt Row Community Development
Corp. and artists Clare Patey and
Matt Moore.

2013

Adaptive reuse
The new Student
Center opens
in the historic
U.S. Post Office
building on Central
Avenue adjacent to
Civic Space Park.

set by strong
attendance, Viva
PHX debuts soon
after, bringing
a live music
extravaganza
hostsing 50 bands
on 13 stages
across downtown.

directly created by ASU’s
spending downtown
2014

Grant Street
Studios opens
This venue for the
ASU School of Art
in the Herberger
Institute for Design
and the Arts
moves several
of its graduate
studio programs
to the Phoenix
Warehouse
District.

Leo Beus addresses guests during the
grand opening of the Beus Center for

GRID Bike
Share launches
The first ever
city-shared bike
system launches in
the urban core of
Phoenix with bikes
available for rent
via a mobile app.

2013
2013

McDowell
Mountain Music
Festival
Originally held
in Scottsdale,
the festival now
known as M3M
moves to Margaret
T. Hance Park.
This 100-percent
nonprofit music
festival has
attracted visitors
with major bands.
The precedent

Fitness center
Students celebrate
the grand
opening of the
new Sun Devil
Fitness Center, a
73,800-squarefoot health and
recreational
complex featuring
extensive cardio
and weight
equipment and
a rooftop pool
overlooking
the campus.

Law and Society.

2014

2016

2017

ASU’s
Collaboratory
on Central in the
Westward Ho

11,465

The community
service clinic
combining
health and social
outreach opens
inside the historic
Westward Ho
hotel. This clinic
includes office
and event space
on the first floor of
the landmark 1928
hotel. It houses
students studying
social work,
nursing, health
monitoring and
counseling, and
the ASU Center for
Applied Behavioral
Health Policy.

students

644
faculty
members
2018

Phoenix backs
expansion for
Thunderbird
The Phoenix City
Council approves
a $13.5 million
investment for a
new downtown
building to house
the Thunderbird
School of Global
Management.

Grant Street Studios marks a
major move for ASU art courses
and practice into downtown.

ANDREW PIELAGE; DEANNA DENT/ASU; TIM TRUMBLE

ASU Downtown Phoenix footprint
The City of Phoenix has undergone many changes in land use since
its founding in 1881. ASU’s partnership with the city was designed to
activate vacant parcels, increase pedestrian activity, create new urban
housing models, foster mixed-use and retail development, build an urban
park at the center of the city, support arts and culture, and cultivate civic
ambition in the fifth-largest city in the U.S.

Buildings housing ASU programs or offices

To DeSoto
Central Market

To Roosevelt Row

McKinley St.
Pomo Pizzeria
Phoenix Public La Flor De Calabaza
Market Café
The
Breadfruit
Pierce St.

University
Center
Parking

Sun Devil
Fitness Complex

2nd Ave.

Taylor
Place

FreeportMcMoRan
Westin

Security
Building
Hotel
San Carlos

T o I -10
ASU
Preparatory
Academy

Taylor St
AZ Republic
Parking

Beus
Center
for Law
and Society

Downtown
Technology
Exchange

TGEN

Sheraton
Hotel

Arizona
Republic/
12 News

Arizona Center,
APS
temporary home to
Thunderbird and
Herberger offices

Chase
Parking

Arizona
Biomedical
Complex

Polk St

Arizona
Biomedical
Collaborative

Van Buren St

Van Buren St
Chase
Tower
Office
Space

7th St.

AMC 24
Theatres

Health South

Polk St

Central
Station
Transit
Center
Federal
Building
US
Court

Cronkite
Arizona PBS

Fillmore St.
Health North

5th St.

A.E.
England
Building

Valley Youth
Theater

Skyline
Lofts

3rd St.

Civic Space
Park

The Met
at 3rd and
Fillmore

2nd St.

Post
Office

St. Croix
Villas

1st St.

Lincoln
Family
YMCA

Central Ave.

1st Ave.

Westward
Ho
Collaboratory
on Central

Herberger
Theater

St. Mary’s
Basilica

Diocese
Pastoral
Center

The Mercado

Children’s
Museum
of Phoenix

Monroe St
US
Bank
Tower

Wyndham
Phoenix
Hotel

Phoenix
Convention
Center

Hyatt
Regency

Symphony
Hall

3rd St.

2nd St.

Phelps
Dodge
Tower

1st St.

Central Ave.

1st Ave.

Renaissance
Square

Create at
Arizona
Science
Center

Phoenix
Convention Center
North

Adams St.
Wells
Fargo
Plaza

$223
million
bond

Bioscience
High
School

E V A N S C HU R C H I L L
N E I G HB O R HO O D

Heritage
Square

Arizona Science Center

CityScape
Luhr’s
Center

Collier
Center

Jefferson St.
Police
Museum

Phoenix
Convention Center
South

Courtyard
by Marriott
Sing
Maricopa
High
County
Cafe
Superior
Courthouse

East
Garage

Jefferson St
Madison St.

Talking Stick
Resort Arena

Jefferson
Street
Garage

Chase Field

Jackson St.

Grant Street Studios

LINDSAY KINKADE/ASU

8th St.

Bank of
America

7th St.

CityScape

Fry’s Grocery
(construction)

To I-17

Superior Court

Patriots
Square
Park

5th St.

Washington St
Historic
City
Hall

Continued from page 21
having a presence in downtown
has been the biggest game
changer of all,” Stanton says.
It’s the result of a transformative
partnership begun in 2005
between the city and ASU to
develop a downtown campus. Less
than a year later, Phoenix voters
showed their support, approving a
$223 million bond by a 2-1 margin,
an unprecedented investment in
higher education by a city.
Wellington “Duke” Reiter,
executive director of the University
City Exchange at ASU and senior
adviser to
President
Michael M.
Crow, lent
his creative
vision in the
design of the
was supported by
Phoenix voters by Downtown
a 2-1 margin, an
Phoenix
unprecedented
campus
investment by
more than a
a city in higher
decade ago.
education.
“At the
time, we were communicating
the mutual benefit for the city and
university around such an idea,”
Reiter says. “Having a relatively
empty urban core in the fifthlargest city in the United States
was not helpful in the attraction of
new companies or research talent.
Accordingly, both parties were
motivated to fix the problem.
“Now that the campus is well
established, the city is seeing more
activity on the streets, increased
retail and a renewed interest in the
benefits of civic space — exactly
what was anticipated. The park
area around which many university
and new private-sector buildings
are gathered was purposefully
designed to generate an enhanced
relationship between residents,
students, and employees in the
area — a way for people to get to
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

25

know their city and the university
anew. Such urban amenities grow
out of great partnerships,” he says.
The Valley Metro light rail line,
hospitality services and corporate
and independent businesses also
play roles, changing the downtown
landscape and culture with an
influx of amenities that cater to
locals’ and visitors’ needs.
According to a recent Downtown
Phoenix Inc. report, this buzz is
fueled by 7,000 residential units,
13,000 students, 400 tech and
creative companies, and hundreds
of hotel rooms that host business
and leisure travelers. In combination
with major sports, arts and cultural
events, this development is a
powerful factor in an estimated $9.7
billion annual value of total goods
and services in the area.
The vision of a traditional
campus that’s contained by
geography to a few square
blocks has diminished over the
years. As buildings spread out to
accommodate more programs
moving downtown — most recently
the Thunderbird School of Global
Management — students and
faculty have followed suit, becoming
part of downtown community’s
social fabric and creating age,
profession and background
diversity, explains Jim McPherson,
downtown Phoenix
advocate and executive
director of Sustainable
Communities
Collaborative. Many
have become true
residents and see
downtown as a spot
to truly live, work and
play alongside their
nonuniversity neighbors.
“The campus
MCPHERSON
design has evolved
and become what the grassroots community envisioned,”
McPherson says.

“The campus
design has
evolved and
become what
the grassroots
community
envisioned.”
–JIM

26

FA L L 2018

Students on the Downtown Phoenix campus
Undergraduate

Graduate

12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Final fall 2018 numbers unavailable at time of printing.

#2 program in the U.S.
for graduate local
government management
and No. 1 in the Pac-12
ahead of Penn State, Georgetown
and USC. It is one of nine
graduate degree offerings in
ASU’s School of Public Affairs
that is ranked in the top 10 in the
U.S.
– U.S. News & World Report

Proximity and partnership
with business
Downtown companies have also
benefited from ASU’s presence.
Sandra Day O’Connor College of
Law students take on internships or
other jobs at downtown law firms.
Among them, Quarles & Brady,
which invites top students to participate in its summer associate class.
For a decade, The Arizona
Republic/azcentral has
collaborated with the Walter
Cronkite School of Journalism
and Mass Communication on
a breaking news multimedia
reporting class that places student
interns in virtually every department
in the newsroom, from photo and

Top 10 in public affairs
for graduate programs
ahead of University of Chicago,
Columbia University and Duke
University
– U.S. News & World Report

#27 law school in U.S.
ahead of Wake Forest University,
Pennsylvania State University,
Ohio State University and
University of Georgia
– U.S. News & World Report

digital production to features and
sports. Each semester, about
14 students are assigned to the
breaking news desk, where they
get real-life experience speaking
to police and fire personnel and
witnesses, then generate stories
for print, online and even Facebook
Live content.
“What we get are additional
young journalists who can be on
the scene in many more places than
we could without them,” says Kathy
Tulumello, news director for Arizona
Republic/azcentral.

Building art audiences
From professional opportunities
to a rich cultural life, downtown
has evolved in skyline-changing
leaps and fine-grain growths, too,
especially in Phoenix’s creative
community downtown.
Roosevelt Row started as an
informal idea among many artists
who had relocated into the area. As
a recent alum of the ASU School of
Art, Greg Esser was working with
others from his ASU studio to build
projects on Roosevelt including
galleries like Eye Lounge and 515
Gallery. He credits the evolution of
downtown Phoenix in part to the
high concentration of artists, one
aspect of “making” a destination.
“One of the driving changes in
the perception of downtown was by
the artists and the building of First
Fridays over the years. It created
a catalytic impact that supported
businesses relying on that First
Friday audience,” says Esser.
Now as a leader in the
Herberger Institute for Design
and the Arts, Esser is supporting
expansion of ASU’s art and design
efforts downtown. His work is now
focused on the next wave of artists,
collaborating with the school’s
leadership and the more than
300 graduate students at Grant
Street Studios on the next chapter
of growth.
With a law school that offers
affordable legal advice, several
colleges serving health and wellbeing needs, hundreds of artists
building creative works and an
urban campus that is inviting to all,
the university has bonded with the
core of the nation’s fifth-largest city.
“ASU’s presence downtown
has brought a vibrancy, a livelihood.
People live downtown now, they
don’t just work here,” Stanton
says. “The benefit of that and the
transformation it had on downtown
cannot be understated.”
COURTESY OF JONES STUDIO

Artist’s rendering of the new building, expected to open in 2021.

A new era for Thunderbird
ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus
will be getting a new neighbor this
fall when the Thunderbird School of
Global Management begins classes
at a renovated Arizona Center. The
iconic school’s graduate programs
and Thunderbird Executive Education
program will eventually be housed in a
new building, slated for January 2021,
that will rise on the north side of Polk
Street between First and Second
streets, next to the Beus Center for
Law and Society. It will include space
for classrooms, meetings and offices
and feature two levels for executive
education. There will also be rooftop
function space.

“ We are extremely
excited about
Thunderbird’s move
to the downtown
ASU campus.
For Thunderbird to now
be located in the fifthlargest and one of the
fastest-growing cities
in the country, and
one with international
connections and
ambitions, is an
incredible opportunity
for us.
– SANJEE V KHAGR AM ,
D I R ECTO R- GEN ER A L A N D
DEAN OF THUNDERBIRD

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

27

DEVELOP

Valley
heat?
of the

As Phoenix’s mercury stays higher longer, the metro area
becomes a living lab for research to mitigate urban heat.
S TO R Y B Y B I L L B E R TO L I N O
P H OTO S B Y J A R O D O P P E R M A N A N D E L L E N O ’ B R I E N

An abstract view of the shade structure near the Sun Devil Welcome Center, the Phoenix skyline and the shaded walkway in front of the Memorial Union.

28

FA L L 2018

Autumn
means

looking forward to the first
crisp evenings and breaking
out the cozy layers — elsewhere in the country, that is.
In Phoenix, residents still have months of warm weather
ahead, and that’s after a summer of record-setting
temperatures.
Not only is Phoenix situated in the southwest desert
— the hottest region in the United States — it also
happens to be the hottest major city in the country,
and among the hottest in the world. More than 300
days of sun and thousands of square miles of concrete,
asphalt and glass combine to make Greater Phoenix a
living laboratory for the urban heat phenomenon and its
associated ills.
And it’s only getting hotter.
Climate scientists predict daytime high temperatures will get higher, and nighttime low temperatures
will continue their alarming upward trajectory. This
is happening in a city that has already warmed an
average of 5 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century,
according to Nancy Selover, the state’s climatologist at
ASU’s Arizona State Climate Office.
This geographic and climatic sweet spot places
Arizona State University in a unique position to study
the complex dynamics of the urban climate system. Its
teams of researchers are exploring ways to mitigate
extreme heat and develop strategies to improve the
quality of life — not only locally, but with ideas that can
have a positive impact on a global scale.
Addressing the issue from multiple angles
What makes this an even more pressing issue
is the knowledge that extreme urban heat is an
induced problem and, on a macro level, it’s being
exacerbated by climate change that is making the
Southwest warmer.
“There are such extreme conditions here that if
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

29

Lot 59 — infamous among students in years past for
its sun-baked expanse — has become more hospitable
thanks to the addition of extensive solar shade panels.

we can make a difference, then
presumably, the lessons learned
are applicable to other places.
Phoenix is a perfect laboratory,”
says Wellington “Duke” Reiter,
senior adviser to the president at ASU.
“We live in a First World nation
with available resources. We have
the means by which to address
this problem — others may be
less fortunate. I think we have an
obligation to give it a shot.”
And that’s exactly what’s
happening.
Across multiple disciplines,
bringing together climate and
social scientists with planners and
designers, ASU is developing and
evaluating strategies for sustainable urban designs and living.
The epicenter of this work is
happening at the university’s Urban
Climate Research Center.
Studying the effects of
30

FA L L 2018

“Hurricanes,
tornadoes, floods
and storms attract
a lot of attention,
but extreme heat
and cold are actually
the leading causes
of weather-related
deaths.”
­— DAVID HONDULA, CLIMATOLOGIST
AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
IN ASU’S SCHOOL OF
GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCES
AND URBAN PLANNING

landscape change and its impact
on urban heat has personal
meaning for Matei Georgescu,
senior sustainability scientist at
ASU’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global
Institute of Sustainability.
In 2002, Georgescu joined his

parents on a cross-country trip
to Arizona, where they settled in
northwest Glendale. At the time,
the house was at the edge of the
urban expanse.
A year later, when Georgescu
visited on winter break, he could no
longer see the desert landscapes
that had once been visible from
the home.
“The buildup had been
happening so rapidly that there
was a complete replacement of the
natural land,” he says.
This instilled a lifelong interest
in the phenomenon of urban heat
and became the subject of his
dissertation, which developed land
use models to quantify the effects
on climate, energy and water.
“I fell in love with the subject
because it was something I could
see, something I could feel and it
had meaning for me personally,”
Georgescu says.
JAROD OPPERMAN/ASU

Researchers from ASU and the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine compared how
different types of cars warm up on hot days when exposed to different amounts of shade and sunlight.
One hour is about how long it can take for a child trapped in a car to suffer heat injury or even die. “These
tests replicated what might happen during a shopping trip,” says ASU Research Professor Nancy Selover.
“I knew the temperatures would be hot, but I was surprised by the surface temperatures.”

Georgescu recently put the
university in the spotlight for his
work as part of a research team
that published a groundbreaking
analysis quantifying the projected
value of urban farming on a global
scale. The benchmark study, “A
Global Geospatial Ecosystem
Services Estimate of Urban
Agriculture,” was published in the
journal Earth’s Future and was
covered in a variety of news media
outlets. One scientist notably
called the study “a major advance.”
The study found that not only
does urban agriculture have the
potential to increase global food
production by several percent, but
it has other tremendous benefits
such as reducing the use of fossil
fuels, generating an energy savings
of up to 15 billion kilowatts and
cooling the built environment.
Georgescu is now leading a
similar analysis for the Phoenix
ALEX ESTRELLA/ASU

metropolitan area.
“This is a complex system where
you need architects, urban planners, climate scientists, multiscale
analyses, transportation engineers
— that’s what’s going to get the job
done,” Georgescu says. “And that
is the real strength of ASU, which
is bringing all these components
together.”
As a climatologist and assistant
professor in ASU’s School of
Geographical Sciences and Urban
Planning, David Hondula studies
the impacts of extreme weather on
health and society. He is engaged
in research that can help governments better understand extreme
heat and develop strategies in how
to respond to it.
“Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods
and storms attract a lot of attention,
but extreme heat and cold are
actually the leading causes of
weather-related deaths,” he says.

And in Maricopa County, there are
more than 100 heat-related deaths
each year.
What makes extreme heat such
a hazard? “The persistent, chronic
nature of it,” Hondula says. “Heat
is a discriminating hazard. It picks
on elderly, poor and people who
don’t have the means to get out of
harm’s way.”
Helping the city prepare
Hondula is working with the city of
Phoenix to develop a first-of-itskind readiness plan that will guide
how the city identifies, tracks,
prepares for and responds to the
dangers of extreme urban heat.
The “HeatReady” program would
be a comprehensive approach
to heat management, much like
other cities have done for catastrophic storms.
Recently, the “HeatReady” idea
was selected as a finalist in the
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

31

ASU’s campuses
have hundreds of types of trees
(find a map of Tempe notable trees
at bit.ly/2KR7hl5), and they beautify
the campus while providing muchneeded shade. But shade doesn’t
have to mean trees — relief from the
sun can also be found with covered
walkways, artistic shade structures
and solar canopies that generate
power while shading people and
cars. And that’s important: ASU
researchers have found that shade
can make you feel up to 18 degrees
cooler, while air temperature might
only vary by 5 degrees. So break
out the umbrella and stay cool.

32

FA L L 2018

ELLEN O’BRIEN/ASU

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors
Challenge, a national competition
that challenges cities to confront
their most pressing problems and
to develop innovative ideas to
solve them.
Phoenix advanced as one of
35 finalists out of a pool of more
than 320 applications and will
earn a $100,000 grant to further
develop the program. Ultimately, it
could receive a $1 million or
$5 million grant.
Hondula is also working on
a National Science Foundationfunded project to study and model
the impacts of a large-scale power
failure that would occur simultaneously with an extreme heat event
in Phoenix, Detroit and Atlanta. He
said they have already identified
cooling centers in Arizona that
are backed up by generators, and
those that are not.
Many of these projects have
a heavy education component
for undergraduate and graduate
students, who have been gaining
experience in the field and in
the labs.
One of the most physically
noticeable effects of urban heat is a
rise in nighttime temperature during
summer. In other words, the cooling
effect in the city is not happening
like it once did.
For example, if Phoenix doesn’t
get lower than say, 90 degrees at
night, then the next morning when
the sun comes up, the day naturally
starts warmer.
“There is a cumulative effect.
It will ratchet up over a number
of days, and that’s what happens
with those heat waves that we
experience,” says Selover. “I like to
refer to it as the nights aren’t long
enough anymore.”
She attributes this, in part, to
dense building materials such as
concrete and pavement, which
hold heat much longer than natural

“There are such
extreme conditions
here that if we can
make a difference,
then presumably,
the lessons learned
are applicable to
other places.
Phoenix is a
perfect laboratory.
We live in a First
World nation with
available resources.
We have the means
by which to address
this problem —
others may be less
fortunate. I think we
have an obligation
to give it a shot.”
— WELLINGTON REITER,
SENIOR ADVISER TO
THE PRESIDENT AT ASU

materials and don’t dissipate it well.
“When you have more natural
materials and those that are not
so dense — dirt and sand — they
don’t conduct the heat very deeply
into the material, so when the
night comes, the heat is very near
the surface and it dissipates very
quickly,” Selover says.
“Within a half-hour, a natural
surface will be cool. Anytime you
can move yourself into less dense
materials you will have less heat
storage.”
Another debilitating factor
of extreme heat is a person’s
direct exposure to radiation. Any
Phoenician can attest that the
thermal difference under a shade
tree vs. direct sunlight is immediate
and dramatic.

This is one of the reasons
Phoenix adopted its Tree and
Shade Master Plan, which has the
ambitious goal of achieving 25
percent citywide tree canopy by
2030. Currently, ASU estimates
the city only maintains about 10
percent canopy coverage.
Researchers at ASU set out
to quantify the gap. Increasing a
neighborhood’s tree canopy from
10 percent to 25 percent would
lead to a temperature reduction
of 4.3 degrees Fahrenheit, while
a totally bare neighborhood could
see a drop of 7.9 degrees.
In the future, what we know for
sure is that Phoenix’s population
will continue to grow. Maricopa
County, in fact, is the fastest-growing county in the United
States, which will contribute to the
expansion of the urban footprint
and extreme urban heat.
So trees and shade alone
will not solve the city’s extreme
heat. What will move the needle,
however, is a holistic approach to
urban planning, says Nalini Chhetri,
clinical associate professor and
assistant director at ASU’s School
for the Future of Innovation in
Society, who was a principal
investigator of Phoenix’s tree
canopy study.
“How do we create these new
buildings in the future that create
shade and are able to mitigate heat
in a better way? How do we create
better transportation systems?
How do we create oases in the
cities?” Chhetri says. “A lot of work
is being done in these areas so I’m
quite optimistic, to tell you the truth.
“At the university, we are
creating future policymakers,
and we imbibe and transfer and
communicate to them all of these
interwoven, complex problems
and I am sure that we will come
up with some solutions — and we
already are.”
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

33

DEVELOP

Recordsetting
year for
fundraising

105,492
donors
including individuals
and businesses and
foundation supporters
gave this year

10,000
students

For the fourth year in a row, the ASU
Foundation has announced recordbreaking philanthropic support for
academic programs, research and
initiatives at the university.

receive scholarships
through private
support each year
Sun Devil Giving Day

4,325 gifts

a 38% increase over the previous year

1,400 gifts

from faculty and staff, an all-time high

#SunDevilGiving
trended nationally
around 10 a.m. and resulted in
26 million impressions

“Without our
donors, the ASU
Foundation’s
success would
not be possible.
Each and every gift
helps change the
lives of students in
extraordinary ways.”
– A S U F O U N D AT I O N C E O
GRE TCHEN BUHLIG

Donors gave to many units across ASU for
many different reasons. In these photos, a few
donors share their reasons for giving.
Record year

$253
million
fundraising in
the 2018 fiscal
year, besting
the previous
record of $222
million in 2017

Sustained and new donors
both make a big impact
This past year 28,236 donors
gave for the first time.

Every gift makes
a difference

$335
median size of a
gift this year. 92%
of all gifts were
$100 or less

New donors 27%

Donors who have
given previously 73%

To learn more or contribute to Campaign ASU 2020, please visit giveto.asu.edu.

34

FA L L 2018

v: to make free from
injury or disease;
to make sound or
whole; to restore

Heal

CARING FOR KIDS

To better the
needs of students and
the community, the
College of Nursing and
Health Innovation
launched this fall an
advanced-practice
nursing degree with a
focus on acute care for
children. Learn more at
bit.ly/2nsCUV3.

A new angle
on cancer

Mutated cactuses
inspire researchers
to look for new
ways to control, not
eradicate, the
disease. 36

New strength
in survival

Athletic challenges
empower cancer
survivors. 40

Briefs 46
PHILLIP SPEARS

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

35

A new
angle
on
cancer
Crested cactuses inspire researchers to look for
new ways to control, not eradicate, the disease
Sun Tzu, the general of ancient China, wrote in
his enduring military treatise “The Art of War”
of the importance of knowing one’s enemy.
The idea resonates strongly with Athena
Aktipis, a scholar of many titles at Arizona State
University who studies cooperation among
living things.
While Sun Tzu’s enemies were on the
battlefield, Aktipis’ are in the body.
“As an organism, we’re cooperation
incarnate — the embodiment of cellular
cooperation,” she says. “But it’s not a perfect
system. Sometimes cells do mutate and stop
cooperating. And that can sometimes lead
to cancer.”

36

FA L L 2018

B Y E M M A G R EG U S K A
P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y
JAROD OPPERMAN

Crested cactuses
have a condition
called fasciation,
a mutation of their
growth pattern that
results in some wildlooking desert flora.

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

37

Cancer has been a part of
life on Earth since the beginning
of multicellularity, yet it is a foe
humankind continues to grapple
with — at least in part because we
still do not fully understand it.
Aktipis and her husband,
fellow ASU scholar Carlo Maley,
are making inroads toward a
better understanding of the
disease through more traditional
scientific methods in their labs at
the Biodesign Institute at ASU.
But they’ve also conceived an
unusual way to allow people to
consider it anew.
Haunted by an idea
About a decade ago, Aktipis
was visiting Phoenix when she
discovered crested cactuses, a
phenomenon that results in some
pretty wild-looking desert flora.
Crested cactuses have a condition
called fasciation, a mutation of
their growth pattern that manifests
in saguaros topped with bulbous,
brain-like nodules and prickly pears
that undulate like a flamenco skirt
in motion.
Intrigued, Aktipis shared her
newfound fascination with Maley,
who studies cancer from an
evolutionary standpoint.
“I remember telling Carlo,
‘There’s something here. There’s
something really important and
interesting that these cacti can tell
us, but I don’t know what it is yet,’”
Aktipis says.
The crested cactuses continued
to haunt her until five years ago,
when she and Maley were in Berlin
with colleagues working on a paper
about cancer across the tree of life,
analyzing how the disease affects
multicellular life — from humans to
animals to plants.
Once again, Aktipis found
herself musing on the mutated
cactuses. At last, she felt she had
38

FA L L 2018

“[The garden] is a
wonderful way of
connecting
what we’re doing
inside the building
to what’s going
on outside the
building.”
— C A R LO M A L E Y
ASU RESE ARCHER
begun to figure out what secrets
they might have to divulge.
The plant’s disfigurement,
Aktipis says, “lets you really see
the kind of growth patterns that

can result from these mutations
in a way that you can’t see in an
animal,” because humans’ stem
cells are embedded all over the
body, whereas plants’ stem cells
are located at their growing tips.
What’s more, Maley says,
“Crested cacti are a beautiful
example of how cancer can show
up in plants but also be lived with”
— in essence, making the cactus
a fully embodied argument that
“cancer doesn’t have to be a death
sentence.”
During their time in Berlin, they
met garden designer Caspian
Robertson. The group batted
around the idea of creating a
garden, not only to showcase the

plants’ peculiar charm but to drive
discussion of how our society
thinks about cancer.
Still, the timing just wasn’t
quite right.
Finally, in 2014, Aktipis and
Maley arrived at ASU, drawn to the
university’s embrace of interdisciplinary research with a purpose.
They found the environment — both
intellectual and physical — to be
just right.
‘Beautiful monsters’
Serendipitously, ASU’s
Frankenstein Bicentennial Project,
a celebration of the writing and
publication of Mary Shelley’s
19th-century monster novel, was in
full swing at the time. They jumped
at the chance to submit their
crested-cactus garden concept for
inclusion.
“These cacti are beautiful
monsters,” Aktipis says. “[They are]
amazing, almost sculptural pieces
of art. But at the same time they
are mutated.”
With the help of Biodesign
Scientific Research Curator
Pamela Winfrey, they put together
a proposal. Winfrey was initially
hesitant to get involved because of
traumatic memories of the cancer
that killed her grandmother. But
as the project gained momentum
and more people signed on to
help bring it to fruition, it became
apparent just how many others
had a personal connection to
the disease, including Byron
Sampson, ASU landscape
architect on the project, who had a
massive brain tumor removed just
four years ago.
And then there was Aktipis; her
mother passed away from cancer
when she was just a teenager,
having kept it a secret all the way
up to her death.
Stories like hers, Aktipis says,

Stem cell locations
Human stem cells are located
throughout the body, making
research on them very complex.
The stems cells in plants — called
“meristem cells” — are located in
their growing tips, where it is much
easier to see growth patterns.

In the human body
Blood vessels
Skeletal muscle
Peripheral blood
Bone marrow
Brain
Teeth

Heart
Skin
Liver
Gut

In the cactus
At the growing tips of the cactus.

SOURCE: PLANT
STEM CELLS/
SCIENCE DIRECT
ILLUSTRATION BY:
ALEX ESTRELLA

are indicative of the need for a
cultural shift in the way our society
views cancer: as an insidious foe
that must be blasted with powerful
drugs, often at the expense of the
patient’s overall health.
Instead of complete eradication, she and Maley are exploring
ways of controlling the disease.
They recently received a grant
from the Arizona Biomedical
Research Centre to begin clinical
trials in breast cancer patients
of a new type of treatment called
adaptive therapy.
Adaptive therapy is a unique
approach in which patients receive
treatment only when tumors
are growing. It is still a nascent
practice but so far has shown
promise in animal models and
in a clinical trial of patients with
prostate cancer.
Aktipis, whose namesake is the
goddess of war, concedes that
the technique seems to go against
people’s intuitions about how to
win a fight.
“But the rules of war don’t work
the same in the body,” she says.
(Interestingly, another nugget of
wisdom Sun Tzu bestowed in his
treatise was the advice to use
force sparingly.) “Cancer cells can
still grow back really rapidly in a
way an army couldn’t ever do.”
The garden is located to the
east of Biodesign buildings A and
B on the Tempe campus, where
Aktipis and Maley conduct their
research. It was on display during
the Sept. 17 public unveiling of
the new Biodesign C building,
which will feature the world’s
first compact X-ray free-electron
laser, an innovative device that
will allow researchers to peer
deep into molecular structure to
better understand — among other
things — the cellular mechanics of
diseases such as cancer. n
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

39

HEAL

New

strengt
in survival
40

FALL

2018

gth
The Phoenix Desert
Dragons, a team made up
of breast cancer survivors,
paddle along Tempe Town
Lake. Above right: Debbie
Germundson (left) and
Michelle Vega share a laugh.

In the past, people were told to take
it easy after cancer treatment; now,
survivors are finding empowerment
through athletic challenges.
B Y A L L I S O N TO R R E S B U R T K A ; P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y J A R O D O P P E R M A N

Cancer draws a line across a life: before
diagnosis, and after. Who you were then,
and who you are now. For many, who they
are now might be a surprise. They are people
who navigate river rapids, jump off cliffs
and paddle dragon boats in foreign waters
— even if they didn’t consider themselves
athletes before.
ASU alumna and breast cancer survivor
Kathy Sullivan has been paddling with the
Phoenix Desert Dragons for two years. The
group, established in 2010, is one of 213
dragon boat teams across five continents
that make up the International Breast Cancer
Paddlers’ Commission. The activity gives her
more than exercise and camaraderie with her
teammates.

“It’s shown me that I can do something
that I’ve set my mind to do,” says Sullivan, who
earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology
at ASU in 1994. “I’m growing and becoming
more confident and a better person — I’m
becoming me.”
The Dragons include about 35 active
members, ranging in age from 30 to 79,
who practice twice a week. In July, the team
paddled at the IBCPC Participatory Dragon
Boat Festival in Florence, Italy, along with
more than 120 other teams. Melissa Adams
is the team’s coach and a breast cancer
survivor herself.
“I find my solace on the water,” she says.
“Many of us come from a completely different
life prior to our breast cancer experience, and
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

41

we sometimes struggle with trying to figure out: Where
do we go, what do we do, what is our new normal?”
Adams says many of the paddlers were not athletes
beforehand but that after finding dragon boating they
realized, “I’m totally capable of being an athlete, and a
good one.”

A lot of times, women don’t feel
like they can trust their bodies,
that their bodies have betrayed
them.” But in ROW, they are
“using their bodies to move
forward with their lives.”
— J E N N J U N K , E X EC U T I V E D I R EC TO R O F R O W

Activity that empowers
The American Cancer Society encourages physical
activity during and after cancer treatment, noting that
exercise can offer physical and mental benefits — but
that wasn’t always considered the case.
“In the past, people treated for cancer were told by
their doctor to rest and reduce their physical activity,”
says Dr. Anikar Chhabra, the director of sports
medicine at Mayo Clinic Arizona. “What we’ve learned
is that too much rest leads to loss of body function,
muscular weakness, loss of motion in your joints,
and stiffness leads to pain,” and research has shown
that exercise is beneficial, he says. Now, doctors are
urging patients to “go and try to do things.”
A number of programs help survivors do that — in
ways that both challenge and empower them. First
Descents offers free, life-changing adventures for
young people (ages 18–39) affected by cancer. This
includes adventure trips in the U.S. and around the
world, as well as shorter weekend events in several
communities.
ASU alumna Andrea Lopez went on a weeklong
First Descents kayaking trip on the Rogue River
in Oregon.
“It was an awakening,” she says. “When you’re
going through cancer treatment, it’s scary. You have
to be so cautious with everything, and First Descents
kind of wiped that clean” by immersing participants
in adventures. “Going through rapids in a river, your
42

FALL

2018

adrenaline and your survival skills — they’re all being
tested. And it’s not like your survival skills being
tested while you’re in the doctor’s office,” she says.
Activities include kayaking, climbing, windsurfing,
hiking, bikepacking and ski mountaineering — which
most participants don’t have experience doing.
“Adventure sports are innately empowering,” says
Ray Shedd, First Descents’ director of development
and marketing. “The secret sauce of our programming
is the brutal, cold indifference of nature. We don’t
dumb anything down because our participants are
sick. We make everything fully accessible and fully
adaptive, but those Class III rapids aren’t going to calm
down because there are boaters who have cancer.”
And participants face these challenges “with the
tremendous support of their peers, fellow survivors.”

Lopez recalled falling out of her kayak and going
through a bunch of rocks while holding onto someone
else’s kayak.
“That was scary, and I got through it,” she says.
“When I left, I just felt so empowered. I never knew I
needed something like that.”
Lopez was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia
when she was 19. When you go through cancer,
“your body kind of wears away a little,” she says. “I
remember once attempting to run while on prednisone, and I fell flat on my face. I kind of avoided going
back to the gym because I didn’t think I was capable
of it.” But First Descents was different. On the water,
she realized, “I’m good at this. I can do this.”
On the final day of Lopez’s trip, the kayakers
completed their own run solo.

“It was so empowering because you got to do it by
yourself. I did it without needing anyone,” she says,
adding that she realized, “I am capable of a lot of
things. I know what my body has gone through. I had
a 40 percent chance of surviving, and I’m surviving. I
did this — I’m here.”
After her trip, Lopez says she was motivated to be
more active, and she took up running. “I go back to
what I was able to do on the Rogue. I was able to go
through all these rapids, I jumped off a cliff — I did all
these things.”

ASU alumna
Kathy Sullivan
receives
high-fives
after a Phoenix
Desert Dragons
practice at
Tempe Town
Lake, a team
ritual as
members exit
the boat.

Using the body to move forward
First Descents conducted research to evaluate the
psychosocial benefits of its programming and found
that participants’ self-esteem, body image and ability
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

43

Angela Lopez, an ASU and First Descents alumna,
whitewater kayaks the Rogue River in Oregon. Lopez
and 14 other young adults impacted by cancer spent
a week learning how to whitewater kayak with First
Descents, a nonprofit that provides free, life-changing
outdoor adventures for young adults living with and
surviving cancer.

Adventure sports are innately
empowering. The secret
sauce of our programming is
the brutal, cold indifference
of nature. We don’t dumb
anything down because our
participants are sick.”
— RAY SHEDD, FIRST DESCENTS
to cope with cancer and its ongoing effects increased
while depression decreased.
The organization is working with health care
providers to get its programs introduced to cancer
survivors earlier, to “mitigate some of that psychosocial distress, depression, alienation and isolation so
common in young adult survivors,” Shedd says.
“Most cancer centers realize the value of a multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment,” Chhabra says.
“Here at Mayo, we have a robust team of oncologists,
radiation therapists, surgeons, social workers and
psychologists” who work together to “optimize not only
their physical health but also their mental health.” The
patient’s well-being is important, he says. “As surgeons,
we’re taught to fix what’s broken or take out what
shouldn’t be there. But it is much bigger than that.”
Different types of cancer affect the body in
different ways, and exercise should to be tailored to
the individual, taking into account his or her treatment,
pre-existing fitness level and other considerations.
44

FALL

2018

“Your physician should be there to tell you what’s safe
and what’s not,” Chhabra says — but what’s safe and
possible is much more than previously thought.
It’s part of a shifting mindset toward recovering from
cancer. Standard advice used to be to warn breast
cancer survivors against upper-body exercise to avoid
lymphedema. Don McKenzie — a sports medicine
physician and exercise physiologist at the University
of British Columbia — challenged that, conducting a
study in 1996 with survivors paddling dragon boats:
They did not develop lymphedema and were happier
and healthier. It sparked the creation of myriad dragon
boat teams.
Recovery on Water (ROW) gets breast cancer
survivors on the water in different boats — rowing shells.
It runs a year-round team in Chicago and a four-day
camp in northern Michigan. “A lot of times, women don’t
feel like they can trust their bodies, that their bodies
have betrayed them,” says Executive Director Jenn Junk.
But in ROW, survivors are “using their bodies to move
forward with their lives.”
Both Lopez and Sullivan say they became more open
about their cancer after participating in these programs.
Lopez says she realized “I should be proud of this. I got
through two and a half years of treatment, and I’m still
here.” She survived kayaking, and “I’m capable of doing
so much more,” she says.
“When I was diagnosed with cancer, I would never
talk about it,” Sullivan says. “I put it in the back of my
mind. Sixteen years later, I came across this dragon boat
team. Then I just started owning that I had cancer, and I
wasn’t afraid to talk about it. Now I tell people that I’m on
a dragon boat team for breast cancer survivors. And I feel
that if I can come this far in my life, others can as well.” n
A version of this story was originally published on
GlobalSport Matters, a joint initiative between ASU’s
Global Sport Institute and the Walter Cronkite School
of Journalism and Mass Communication. Read more
stories about sport at globalsportmatters.com.

CLIENT: Shamrock Farm
TRIM: 5.5 x 8.5
LIVE: 5.5 x 8.5
BLEED: .125 all sides
COLORS: CMYK
INSERTS: 2018
PUB: ASU Football Fan Guide
FOR QUESTIONS CALL: Todd Gutmann 214- 891- 3519

Nothing is impossible.
Not even a
delicious protein drink.
Rockin’ Refuel is now Rockin’ Protein.
Because it starts with pure, fresh Shamrock
Farms milk, Rockin’ Protein is the perfect
combination of high-quality protein and
delicious taste. It has what athletes of all levels
need to feel and perform their best.
Go Devils!

Official Protein Beverage
of Sun Devil Athletics
®

HEAL

Research

National Cancer Institute
selects ASU to lead
revolutionary research
in cancer
ASU has been awarded more than $8.5 million over five
years from the National Cancer Institute to establish
the Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center. The grant will
establish ASU as the hub of an international network of
research scientists who are dedicated to understanding
cancer in an entirely new way.
As a designated Cancer Systems Biology Center, the
Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center will be embedded
in a large-scale initiative by the National Cancer
Institute, helping to support its Cancer Systems Biology
Consortium (CSBC). ASU is one of only 13 research
institutions nationwide to be selected as a research
center in the consortium.
The National Cancer Institute’s ambitious network
of CSBC centers brings together clinical and basic
cancer researchers with physical scientists, engineers,
mathematicians and computer scientists to tackle key
questions in cancer biology from a novel point of view.

“The convergence of leading-edge theory
in evolution and ecology and experimental
research and verification paves the way
for rapid advances in the fight against a
tenacious disease.”
— S
 E T H U R A M A N PA N C H A N AT H A N ,
E X EC U T I V E V I C E P R E S I D E N T O F K N O W L E D G E
E N T E R P R I S E D E V E LO P M E N T A N D C H I E F
R E S E A R C H A N D I N N O VAT I O N O F F I C E R AT A S U

46

FA L L 2018

JASON DREES/ASU

Research

Fresh insights
into diagnosis
Genes and proteins play
essential roles in health. Less
well-known are the peptides,
though they can shed new
light on a variety of diseases,
particularly cancer.
The new book “The
Enzymes: Peptidomics of
Cancer-Derived Enzyme
Products,” which ASU
researcher Tony Hu co-edited,
looks at how peptides can
provide vital clues about
cancer prognosis currently
unavailable through conventional diagnostic methods.

The Beaudoin family (from left: Katie, Jeff, Barb, Scott and Kristie) at their home in the Moon
Valley area of north Phoenix. Jeff wears a T-shirt with Nikki’s favorite phrase: “Be a nice human.”

Tony Hu

Peptides are often
produced through the
breakdown of larger proteins.
This process is a common
feature in cancer progression,
invasion and metastasis.
Peptide byproducts circulate
in the bloodstream, providing
a potentially rich source of
biomarkers for disease.
Although there are myriad
cancer-specific proteins
secreted by tumors — which
could potentially serve as
biomarkers — monitoring them
is challenging due to fluctuations in location and abundance. Hu believes peptides
can provide a window into
underlying activity, providing
more fine-grained diagnoses
than can be gleaned from
genes or proteins alone.
DEANNA DENT/ASU

Family of late ASU student turns tragedy
to triumph with memorial scholarship
Everybody’s got a sensitive side, but Nikki
Beaudoin wasn’t afraid to show hers. She was the
kind of kid who noticed when a classmate was
feeling left out and went out of her way to include
them. After she ran to embrace her emotional
grandfather at a funeral, her father called her a
tear-seeking missile.
That nurturing disposition made nursing a
natural fit for Nikki, and she was excited to be
accepted to ASU’s
College of Nursing
and Health Innovation.
Tragically, before she
could enter the program,
Nikki passed away
from an extremely rare
and aggressive form of
cancer in June 2017,
three and a half months
after her diagnosis.
Her family created the
Nicole Brittany Beaudoin
Nikki Beaudoin
Nursing Scholarship

to honor her memory and extend her legacy of
kindness and compassion.
At Nikki’s service, in lieu of flowers, her family
requested those who were able to do so make a
donation to the scholarship fund or an organization called Stupid Cancer. While Nikki was undergoing treatment, she had expressed frustration
about not having a support group for people her
age, young adults diagnosed with cancer. Stupid
Cancer attempts to
address that issue.
From there, her family
says, it just kind of blew
up. Thousands of dollars
flowed in to the scholarship fund and Stupid
Cancer. Recently, the
Beaudoins chose the first
recipient of Nikki’s scholarship, Peyton Hickman,
who will enter her second
semester in the nursing
program this fall.
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

47

HEAL

Outreach

Nature

Fighting HPV
with education
The Centers for Disease Control estimates roughly
50 percent of sexually active individuals under the
age of 25 are infected with human papillomavirus, or
HPV, for which there is no cure. The consequences
of infection can be as benign as genital warts or as
serious as cancer.
There is a vaccine, but it’s not seeing widespread use. Although the government-funded
initiative Healthy People 2020 has targeted an 80
percent HPV vaccination rate for youth by age 15,
the national rate for 13- to 17-year-olds stands at
roughly 40 percent for females and 22 percent for
males. In Arizona, the rates are even lower: roughly
36 percent for females and 17 percent for males.
Because the state requires parental consent for
children under 18 to receive the HPV vaccination,
ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation
Associate Professor Angela Chen and colleagues
designed a computer-based intervention program
to educate parents about the virus, all while they sit
in a waiting room.
In pilot studies at the Maricopa County Public
Health Clinic in Phoenix, researchers saw a nearly
100 percent success rate.
“The goal is to increase parents’ knowledge
about HPV, because they don’t have motivation to
get their kids vaccinated if they don’t understand
what it is,” Chen says.

Health and wellness series
ASU’s Continuing and Professional Education
program offers more than 450 courses in topics
ranging from business to sustainability — and now,
resiliency and mindfulness.
Mayo Clinic and ASU
Alliance for Health Care
have launched “Health and
Wellness Series: Mind and
Body I,” the first in a series
of courses to be offered
through the partnership.
It is designed for anyone
interested in learning how
to better manage stress,
build individual resilience and live a more fulfilling
life. The science-backed tools focus on increasing
mindfulness, enhancing compassion and finding
meaning in everyday life.
To learn more, go to courses.cpe.asu.edu and
search for “Health and Wellness Series.”
48

FA L L 2018

Are humans causing
cancer in wild animals?

“We’ve come
from the
age of the
microscope
to the age of
the molecule.
If you want to
understand
cancer, you
have to know
about the
proteins that
cause it.”
— A
 SU BIODESIGN
INSTITUTE EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR JOSH
LABAER, EXPLAINING
WHY HE’S OPTIMISTIC
ABOUT RESEARCHERS’
CAPACITY TO FIND
NEW CANCER
TREATMENTS

As humans, we know some of the factors that can
cause cancer to develop in our bodies: Smoking,
poor diets, pollution and even too much sun
contribute to an increased risk of cancer.
But are we oncogenic — a species that causes
cancer in other species?
Some researchers think so and are urgently
calling for research into this topic. Mathieu
Giraudeau and Tuul Sepp, both postdoctoral
researchers in the lab of ASU life sciences
Professor Kevin McGraw, say that humans are
changing the environment in a way that causes
cancer in wild animal populations.

Scientific research has shown that loss of genetic
diversity can increase cancer prevalence in wild
animals. The Tasmanian devil is one example —
a species affected by facial tumor disease.

In a paper recently published in the journal
Nature Ecology & Evolution, Giraudeau, Sepp
and a team of international researchers point out
previous studies that show where human activities
are already taking a toll on animals. These include
chemical and physical pollution in our oceans and
waterways, accidental release of radiation into the
atmosphere from nuclear plants and the accumulation of microplastics in both land- and water-based
environments. In addition, exposure to pesticides
and herbicides on farmlands, artificial light pollution,
loss of genetic diversity and animals eating human
food are known to cause health problems.
The researchers say the situation is not
entirely bleak.
“I see hope in education,” Sepp says. “Our kids
are learning a lot more about conservation issues
than our parents did. So, there is hope that the
decision-makers of the future will be more mindful
of the anthropogenic effects on the environment.”
PIXABA

v: to engage
in sport or
recreation; to
perform an action

Play

TRACK AND FIELD

“Throw big or go home”
could easily be Maggie Ewen’s motto.
The track and field rock star made it look
easy as she racked up titles and records
(turn the page for a glimpse at her
impressive stats) throughout her Sun
Devil career. She took her passion for an
active life into the classroom, too,
graduating this summer with a bachelor’s degree in exercise and wellness
with a minor in nutrition and healthy living.

Sun Devil
Stadium
by the
numbers
Renovation
update. 50

Throwing
the distance
Maggie Ewen’s
incredible
career. 51

Briefs
52
PETER VANDER STOEP

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

49

PLAY

Sun Devil Stadium
by the numbers

New ways
in and
around

NE
grand
entrance
All new lower
bowl, concourse
with new wider
area, upper
concourse and
club

50

FA L L 2018

Phase IV, 2017–18

Wifi
connectivity

new wifi
access
points
Improving
connectivity
for your
communication
and sharing needs

Shorter wait
times for
restrooms

New food
and beverage
options

21

8,300

new
restrooms

square feet
of new space

On all
levels of the
stadium

Includes new bars
and concessions
on concourse, 300
and 400 levels

Throwing the
distance
Maggie Ewen’s incredible college career
NCAA

Nominated for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award

4 NCAA
Champion titles

Ewen is the only
woman in NCAA
history with a
title in three
throwing events:
hammer throw,
shot put and
discus.

2018 Discus throw, 2018 Outdoor shot put,
2018 Indoor shot put and 2017 Hammer throw
Hammer throw NCAA record

74.53m/244-6.25
Outdoor shot put NCAA record

19.46m/63-10.25

Ewen picked up the discus
for the first time in third
grade and the shot put
shortly after. Her first
hammer throw was in her
freshman year at ASU.

Pac-12

2018 Pac-12 Women’s Field
Athlete of the Year
11 conference titles
ASU

PETER VANDER STOEP

Indoor shot put record – 19.20m/63-0.00
Weight throw record – 22.26m/72-0.50
Hammer throw record – 74.56m/244-7
Outdoor shot put record – 19.46m/63-10.25

She comes from a family of athletes:
Her mother and sister played
collegiate volleyball, and her father
was an All-American hammer thrower
and a throws coach.
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

51

PLAY

7 to join
Sun Devil
Hall of Fame
Sun Devil Athletics will
welcome seven new members
to the Sun Devil Athletics Hall
of Fame during ASU’s football
game Sept. 29 against
Oregon State.
Seven former studentathletes from six different
sports will be honored at
halftime of the Sun DevilsBeavers game at Sun
Devil Stadium.
The Hall of Fame Luncheon
on Sept. 28 at the Pera Club
in Tempe will include a formal
ceremony into the SDA Hall
of Fame by the ASU Athletic
Heritage Committee.
The Hall of Fame was
established in 1975 to
honor the school’s most
distinguished studentathletes. Student-athletes
become eligible for induction
into the Hall of Fame 10 years
after their senior class has
graduated.

Publication Title: ASU Thrive magazine
Publication Number: 1940-2929
Filing Date: 10-01-2018
Issue Frequency: Quarterly
Number of Issues Published
Annually: 4
Annual Subscription Price: $0.00
Complete Mailing Address of
Publication: ASU Thrive,
c/o Enterprise Marketing Hub,
P.O. Box 875011, Tempe, AZ 85287
Contact Person: Joel Lobaugh
Complete Mailing Address of
Headquarters: ASU Thrive,
c/o Enterprise Marketing Hub,
P.O. Box 875011, Tempe, AZ 85287

Women’s basketball

Showdown
on the Rez
Derrick Rodgers, football

Katie Burkhart, softball

Ashley Kelly, gymnastics

Jackie Johnson, track

Desiree Davila-Linden, track and
field/cross country

Cain Velasquez, wrestling

Tickets for the luncheon
are available: Individual
seats are $50 and tables
of 10 are $500. Register
online at sundevilclub.com

Francisco Sanchez, swimming

Publisher: Jill Andrews,
c/o Enterprise Marketing Hub,
P.O. Box 875011, Tempe, AZ 85287

Extent and Nature of Circulation: Total
Number of Copies: Average per issue

Percent Paid and/or Requested
Circulation: 98 / 97

Printed: 349,899/ 394,945

Editor: Lindsay Kinkade,
c/o Enterprise Marketing Hub,
P.O. Box 875011, Tempe, AZ 85287

Mailed outside-county paid
subscriptions: 332,942 / 370,225

Requested and Paid Electronic
Copies: 0 / 0

Managing Editor: Lindsay Kinkade,
c/o Enterprise Marketing Hub,
P.O. Box 875011, Tempe, AZ 85287
Owner: Arizona State University
Enterprise Marketing Hub,
P.O. Box 875011, Tempe, AZ 85287
Known bondholders, Mortgages,
Security Holders Owning: None
Tax Status: Has not changed during the
preceding 12 months
Issue Date for Circulation Data Below:
September 2018

Mailed in-county paid
subscriptions: 0 / 0
Sales Through Dealers and Carriers,
Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and
Other Paid or Requested: 11,701
/ 11,720
Paid Distribution By Other Classes Of
Mail: 0 / 0
Non Requested Copies Distributed
Outside The Mail: 5250 / 13,000
Total Non Requested Distribution: 5250
/ 13,000
Total Distribution: 349,899 / 394,945
Copies Not Distributed: 0 / 0
Total: 349,899 / 394,945

52

FA L L 2018

The ASU women’s
basketball program is
bringing NCAA women’s
college basketball to
the Native American
community this season,
hosting perennial national
powerhouse Baylor at the
Bee Holdzil Fighting Scouts
Event Center on the Navajo
Reservation in Fort Defiance,
Arizona. The matchup
between two of the nation’s
top programs takes place
Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, and
will be televised on ESPN2.
Working in conjunction
with ASU’s Office of
American Indian Initiatives,
“Showdown on the Rez”
will take place on Veterans
Day weekend and serve
as a celebration of Native
American Heritage Month
and also honor Native
Americans who served in the
armed forces.

Total Requested and Paid Print Copies
+ Requested / Paid Electronic Copies:
344,649 / 381,945
Total Requested Copy Distributed +
Requested / Paid Electronic Copies:
349,899 / 394,945
Percent Paid and/or Requested
Circulation: 98 / 97
This Statement of Ownership will be
printed in the September 2018 issue of
this publication.
I certify that the statements by me above
are correct and complete:
s/Jill Andrews, Publisher, 10/01/2018

v: to come together;
to build a rapport;
to establish
relationships

Connect

PLUG IN

ASU alumni have a variety
of ways to stay connected,
from Sun Devil Send-Offs
(chapter-hosted events
across the nation that
welcome new students) to
networking and volunteer
opportunities. Learn more
at alumni.asu.edu/engage.

Carisse Panganiban, an incoming nursing freshman from Santa Clarita, California,
and her dad Arnold connect with the ASU family at a Sun Devil Send-Off this summer.

JAROD OPPERMAN

Ways to
engage

New
ASU Alumni
website.

54

Class notes
55
Devils
dominate
Biz Journal
‘40 Under 40’
55
ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

53

CONNECT

New ASU site for alumni
designed to meet your
changing needs
3 ways:
Get involved
in chapters
in the US and
worldwide

Find alumni
events near you –
wherever you are
It’s now easier than ever to
connect with your fellow
Sun Devils — wherever
you live, work or play. Even
if you’re a Devil always on
the go, this brand-new site
designed for ASU alumni
makes it possible for you
to see only alumni events,
chapters and groups
nearest you — whether

you’re in the airport for a
business trip, vacationing
on the beach or visiting
out-of-state relatives.

Homepage at alumni.asu.edu

The homepage keeps you connected to ASU with links
to events, access to your transcripts, links to career
services and information about alumni chapters.

2. Connect
your company
with ASU by
reaching out about
internships or
capstone projects
that represent a
good fit for your
work or research.

Here are other new features
and information you’ll love:
●●
●●

●●

ASU news you can use.
Faster and simpler
navigation with
quick links.
A new-andimproved design.

Don’t take our word for
it! Check out the site’s
updated design and
content, where you may find
hidden Sun Devil Rewards
secret words that you can
enter in the app for 100
Pitchforks each!
Fork ‘em, Devil!
Visit alumni.asu.edu today

54

F all 2 0 1 8

1. Join a local
chapter in your
area, or one
based on your
interest, and attend
meetups to stay
current on what
fellow alumni are
doing. See alumni.
asu.edu/chapters
for links to regional
and specialinterest chapters.

Chapters

Locate your
nearest
alumni chapter

Events near you

The site’s new geolocation feature
gives you customized information,
such as events near you.

3. Attend
Innovation
Showcase,
Career
Exploration
Night or similar
events to meet
students and share
your expertise.

Looking for
a chapter?
Here’s your at-a-glance guide
to ASU Alumni chapters across
the country and by special
interests. You also can find
links to these chapters at
alumni.asu.edu/chapters.
 Facebook  Instagram
 LinkedIn  Email

Special-interest
chapters

Aguila 
ASU Black Alumni 
ASU Chinese Alumni Club
 Xiaojie.Li@asu.edu
Catholic Newman Center 
 matkins@asucatholic.org
Devil’s Horns 
Devils’ Advocates 
Doran Community
Scholars Alumni 
 businesscordova@gmail.com
Hispanic Business Alumni  
Iranian American Club 
LDS ASU Alumni Chapter 
Leadership Scholarship Program 
LGBT Devils’ Pride   
Los Diablos 
Medallion Scholars Alumni Club 
Native American Alumni  
SDFA Scholar Alumni
 keelyn.smith@asu.edu
State Press Club
 writejodie@yahoo.com
Stickmens Club
 jminder@asu.edu
Veterans 

Don�t see a chapter you�re
looking for? Send an email
to Trish Thiele-Keating, director
of chapter relations, at
trish.thiele-keating@asu.edu

Connect locally
in your city

Austin, Texas 
Chicago, Illinois    
Colorado (Denver)  
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas  
Flagstaff, Arizona 
Florida (Miami) 
Georgia (Atlanta)  
Hawaii (Honolulu) 
Houston, Texas  
Idaho (Boise) 
Indianapolis, Indiana 
Inland Northwest (Spokane) 
Las Vegas, Nevada 
Los Angeles, California 
Michigan (Detroit) 
National Capital
(Washington, D.C.) 
Nebraska (Omaha) 
New England (Boston) 
New York (New York City)  
North Carolina (Charlotte) 
Northern California
(San Francisco) 
Northern Colorado (Ft. Collins) 
Ohio (Columbus) 
Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)  
Old Pueblo (Tucson)  
Orange County, California  
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
Western Pennsylvania
(Pittsburgh) 
Portland, Oregon   
Prescott, Arizona
 marlenecurtis@hotmail.com
San Antonio, Texas 
San Diego, California 
Seattle, Washington  
South Carolina (Charleston) 
Southern Colorado
(Colorado Springs) 
St. Louis, Missouri  
Twin Cities (Minneapolis) 
Utah (Salt Lake City) 
Western Arizona (Lake Havasu)
 kim.krueger@asu.edu
Western Pennsylvania
(Pittsburgh) 
White Mountains
(Pinetop, Arizona) 
Wisconsin (Madison) 
Yuma, Arizona 

Connect with
your chapter at
alumni.asu.edu/
chapters

C O N T R I B U T I N G M E M B E R O F T H E A S U A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N

Class notes
2010s

Maria Isabel Alvarez ’17
MFA creative writing has
co-edited with Dante Di Stefano
“Misrepresented People: Poetic
Responses to Trump’s America.”
One review notes, “This anthology
contains work from a variety of
aesthetic stances, from poets
whose personal backgrounds
reflect the vibrant multiplicity of
our democratic vistas at their most
resplendent.”
Dustin Pearson ’17 MFA
creative writing, recipient of the
2015 Katherine C. Turner Prize
from the Academy of American
Poets for his poem “The Black
Body Auditions for a Play,” has
authored his first work, “Millennial
Roost.” The collection of poems
has been hailed as a “beautifully
necessary book” by award-winning
poet Jericho Brown.
Bre (Perrone) Brush ’16 MPA
public administration has
joined the Boise (Idaho) Metro
Chamber as government affairs
manager. Previously, she has
served in local government as a
public policy coordinator for the
Salt Lake (Utah) Chamber and as
a management analyst in the Provo
City (Utah) mayor’s office.
Kelly deVos ’16 BA English
(creative writing) has debuted
with “Fat Girl on a Plane,” a novel
told in dual fat and skinny perspectives about smart fashion, pursuing
your dreams and loving yourself.
Says New York Times best-selling
author Kathleen Glasgow (“Girl in
Pieces”): “A savvy, smart and funny
book about taking control of your
body and your destiny.”

Jerry Jasmin ’15 BA
psychology has been selected
for the NBCC Minority Fellowship
Program–Youth and will receive
funding and training to support his
continued education and facilitate
his service to underserved minority
populations, with a specific focus
on transition-age youth.
Diana Sleep ’15 BS marketing
recently received her 2017 World
Series ring, courtesy of the
champion Houston Astros. Diana
is manager of business development for the Astros’ AA affiliate,
the Corpus Christi (Texas) Hooks.
Craig Thomas
’15 PhD
sustainability
has authored
“Sustainability
and the
American
Naturalist Tradition: Revisiting
Henry David Thoreau, Aldo
Leopold, Rachel Carson and
Edward O. Wilson.” Craig served
as a faculty associate, course
designer and research fellow at
ASU’s School of Sustainability.
Nisarg Patel ’14 BA political
science, ’14 BS molecular
sciences and biotechnology,
a Barrett, The Honors College
student while at ASU, is now
the chief product officer for
Memora Health in Silicon Valley,
a company he co-founded
in 2016. Memora provides
enterprise productivity software
that automates patient follow-up,
instructions, health coaching and
a collection of patient-reported
outcomes via text message.

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

55

CONNECT

Ramon Laguarta ’86
MIM international
management has been
named chief executive
officer of PepsiCo after
leading the company’s
fast-growing emerging
markets business. He
will navigate a changing
marketplace where
consumer tastes are
moving away from
sugary drinks.
The 22-year PepsiCo veteran has
served as the company’s president, CEO
of its Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa
division, president of the Eastern Europe
region and worked in a variety of other roles
in Europe, including sales, marketing and
communications.

Derek Hagan
’13 BIS
interdisciplinary
studies, a
three-time
All-American
wide receiver at ASU, is one of
the newest Sun Devil football
offensive analysts hired by head
coach Herm Edwards. A veteran
of nine seasons in the NFL, he
most recently spent two Sun
Devil seasons behind the mic as
a sideline reporter with play-byplay ace Tim Healey and color
commentator Jeff Van
Raaphorst ’87 BS real
estate, ’97 MBA.
Vedran Husic ’13 MFA
creative writing has authored

56

F all 2 0 1 8

Cowen & Co. analysts
say of Ramon: “With a
deep understanding of
PepsiCo’s international
operations, and a broader
understanding of the
total company portfolio in
his role as president, we
believe that Laguarta is
well-placed to continue
executing on PepsiCo’s
current strategy.”
As a graduate of the
Thunderbird School of Global Management,
Ramon learned skills ecessary to manage
multinational companies. Originally from
Barcelona, he has one skill essential for
international business: the ability to speak
a variety of languages, including English,
Spanish, German, French and Greek.

a fictional work, “Basements
and Other Museums.” Says
award-winning writer Melissa
Pritchard, “With the precision of a
surgeon and a poet’s reverberant
intelligence, (Vedran) gives us
stories of children growing up in
war-ravaged Bosnia, a world of
vanishing fathers, games invented
around an alley sniper’s bullets
and the bittersweet aspirations of
adolescent Bosnian immigrants
and refugees in America.”
Glenn Weiss ’13 MBA has been
named director of phase I clinical
research for the division of hematology and oncology at the Cancer
Center at Beth Israel Deaconess
Medical Center, a patient care,
teaching and research affiliate of
Harvard Medical School. He will

lead and expand the center’s early
drug development program across
cancer types, working with clinical
and scientific leadership.
Adrienne Celt ’12 MFA
creative writing has penned
her third book, “Invitation to a
Bonfire.” Author of previous works
“The Daughters” and “Apocalypse
How,” Adrienne’s read follows
a young Russian émigré as she
becomes embroiled in a sinister
love triangle with a brilliant novelist
and his exceptional wife.
Rembrandt Quiballo ’12 MFA
photography recently curated
art expert Jerre Lynn Vanier’s
salon dedicated to Arizona talent
and featuring works ranging
from ceramics to painting and

Myrlin Hepworth ’11 BA
English has released “Remember
Why,” his first studio album.
Winner of the Arizona Humanities
“Rising Star” award in 2013 and
a youth advocate, educator and
artist, Myrlin wrote and produced
the majority of the disc. The album
comes on the heels of a pair of
hip-hop mix tapes and serves as
an addition to his 2011 poetry
collection “From the Rooftops.”
Joshua Hill
’11 BA music
theory and
composition
is rockin’ it,
Canada-style!
The ASU
School of Music alumnus is the
recipient of the 2018 Canadian
Screen Award for best original
song for his work on the 2017
animated feature film “The
Breadwinner.” Joshua wrote the
lyrics for “The Crown Sleeps,” a
score featured in the Academy
Award-nominated film, which was
produced by actress and
humanitarian Angelina Jolie.
Jamelle
McMillan ’11
BS communication has
joined the
NBA’s Phoenix
Suns as an
assistant coach to head wrangler
Igor Kokoskov. Jamelle, who played
four seasons as a guard for the
Sun Devil men’s basketball team, is
one of the youngest coaches in the
league and returns to the Valley
after a pair of seasons with the
New Orleans Pelicans. Jamelle’s
dad Nate McMillan is head coach
of the Indiana Pacers.

C O N T R I B U T I N G M E M B E R O F T H E A S U A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N

RAMON LAGUARTA (PRNEWSFOTO/PEPSICO, INC.)

Thunderbird alum finds
success as PepsiCo CEO

photography. Rembrandt’s work
explores mass media and its
effects on social and political
history. His work has been
shown internationally, including
in New York City, Chicago, Berlin
and Cairo.

Michael Sanders ’11 MEd
higher and postsecondary
education is the new dean of
admissions at Missouri Southern
State University after serving as
the director of recruitment at the
University of Idaho. He has more
than 12 years’ experience in higher
education, including a position
as assistant director of academic
recruitment services at ASU’s
College of Nursing and Health
Innovation.
Ryan Skinnell ’11 PhD English
explores what we can learn about
President Trump from political
language in a book he edited,
“Faking the News: What Rhetoric
Can Teach Us About Donald
Trump,” featuring 11 prominent
rhetoric experts. Says Daily Beast
columnist Rick Wilson, “(The)
essays are full of revelatory ‘So
that’s why he does that!’ moments.”
Kathleen Winter ’11 MFA
creative writing has written
her first award-winning book
of poems, “I Will Not Kick My
Friends.” Earning an Elixir Press
Poetry Award, the work, says
multiple award-winning poet and
Elixir judge Jane Satterfield, is
“sparkling, satirical and highly
referential.” The book is her
second, following her 2013 debut,
“Nostalgia for the Criminal Past.”
Manjyot
(Bhan)
Ahluwalia
’10 MS
sustainability
has joined the
World Wildlife
Fund’s U.S. and International
Climate Cooperation in
Washington, D.C., as senior
program officer. Manjyot
previously was a policy and
business fellow at the Center for
Climate and Energy Solutions,
working in the areas of energy,
climate policy and business
strategy.

Fernando Pérez ’10 MFA
creative writing, a widely
published poet, has authored
his first collection, “A Song of
Dismantling: Poems.” The book
explores how migration affects
relationships between people of
different generations.
2000s

Gustavo
(Gus)
Schneider
’09 JD has
joined the
Phoenix office
of the national
law firm Polsinelli as a senior
associate. Gus came to Polsinelli
in 2010 as an associate after
nearly eight years as an associate
at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
A real estate finance attorney, he
was a busy Sun Devil while at
ASU, with activities and societies
including Jurimetrics: The Journal
of Law, Science and Technology;
Federalist Society for Law and
Public Policy Studies, College of
Law Pro Bono Board; and the
Arizona Justice Project.
Daniel Blake
Seiden ’08 JD
has joined the
global law firm
Greenberg
Traurig as chair
of its Arizona
government law and policy
practice. Daniel has served as
deputy chief of staff to Arizona
Governor Doug Ducey ’86 BS
finance/business, special
assistant county attorney for the
Maricopa County Attorney’s Office
and in other public sector roles.
Justin
Sullivan ’07
BA interdisciplinary arts
and performance is a
featured
animator in Steven Spielberg’s

C O N T R I B U T I N G M E M B E R O F T H E A S U A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N

Devils dominate Biz
Journal ‘40 Under 40’
For the 16th year in succession, dating to the inaugural
Phoenix Business Journal “40 Under 40” in 2003, Sun
Devil alumni dominated the elite class of young professionals who are paving the way for the Greater Phoenix
business community in 2018.
Annually, a new class of 40 talented honorees is
carefully selected from nearly 400 applications by a panel
of judges, including the publication’s news team, sponsors,
community partners and program alumni. Dynamic leaders
who have helped shape the Valley in ways that make it a
better place to work and live, the 2018 class was honored
for each recipient’s demonstration of business success;
community involvement; leadership ability; and impact on
the region, public policy and quality of life.
Congratulations to these 16 outstanding Sun Devils
honored in the journal’s 2018 “40 Under 40.”
Becky Bell Ballard
’04 BA music, CEO, Rosie’s
House: A Music Academy
for Children
Jennifer Carusetta
’07 MPA public
administration, Executive
director, Health System
Alliance of Arizona
Danny Estavillo ’06
BS economics, ’12 MBA,
Phoenix branch director,
The Nerdery
Diego Gettler ’09 BS
business administration,
’15 MBA, Director, MomDoc
Sara Gullickson ’06 BA
communication, CEO,
Dispensary Permits
John Hamby ’05 BS
business administration,
Regional manager, Uber
Justin Hodge
’06 BA journalism and
mass communication,
Owner, Muscular
Moving Men

Luke Larson ’10 MBA
global management,
President, Axon
Danielle Leoni ’04 BA
political science, Owner
and chef, The Breadfruit
& Rum Bar
Tanner (Evert) Milne
’07 MBA, President
and designated broker,
Menlo Group Commercial
Real Estate
Stephanie Vasquez
’04 BAE elementary
education, Owner, Fair
Trade Cafe
Stephen Viramontes
’14 BIS interdisciplinary
studies, Founder and CEO,
AssureVote
Oye (Christopher)
Waddell ’11 MED special
education, Director,
Hustle PHX
Corey Woods ’18 MA
educational policy, Deputy
COO, ASU Prep Academy

Anne Landers ’08 BA
journalism and
mass communication,
Marketing and development
senior director, Junior
Achievement of Arizona

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

57

CONNECT

recent sci-fi adventure “Ready
Player One.” A computer
animation professor at Tyler
(Texas) Junior College, Justin
was encouraged by an ASU
professor who helped nurture his
talent for artwork, which led him
to his BA with concentrations in
digital sound, video editing,
computer graphics and
interactive design/performances
and put him on the road to
computer animation. He
graduated from ASU summa
cum laude.
Lorron James
’05 BS
marketing has
been appointed
CEO of James
Group
International, a
family of companies that has
grown from trucking to global
supply chain management
services and automotive parts
assembly. An active community
leader, Lorron sits on the
philanthropic boards of multiple
Michigan-based nonprofits that
support the future of both the city
of Detroit and its children.
Sari Custer
’04 BS biology
celebrates her
ninth year with
the Arizona
Science Center,
now serving as
chief curiosity officer. The position
was invented by the center in
recognition of visitors’ interest in
seeing and learning more
about science.
Rebecca Fish Ewan ’04
MFA creative writing, an
associate professor of landscape
architecture in ASU’s Herberger
Institute for Design and the Arts,
has authored “By the Forces of
Gravity: A Memoir.” The comingof-age memoir is set in 1970s
Berkeley, California, and follows
Rebecca, best friend Luna and
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their hippie cohorts as they
search for love, acceptance and
cosmic truths.
Charles Jensen ’04 MFA
creative writing has captured
a Palooka Press Chapbook
award for “Story Problems.” The
chapbook is Charles’ fifth and
comes before the anticipated
2018 release of his “Nanopedia.”
Reviewed as “clever, thoughtful
and deep,” “Story Problems” is
written in the form of a reading
comprehension exam, the poems
examining spirituality, religion,
science, whiteness, gender,
mortality and childhood, each
ending with four questions posed
to the reader.

REACHING YOUR
GOALS IS STRONG.
REACHING BEYOND
YOUR GOALS IS
ARMY STRONG.

Steve Mindel ’04 BS information technology, ’06 MS
technology is embedded in his
Greater Chicago community. The
double-degree Sun Devil was
recently awarded the 2018 Bank
of America Shamrock Shuffle
Volunteer of the Year award
for outstanding service to the
city’s annual 8k run. Steve has
provided more than 100 hours
of planning and implementation
work in support of the Shuffle
and the Chicago Marathon
in 2018.
Brian
Goedken
’03 MBA has
authored “The
Naked Truth
about God: The
Quest to Find
Evidence for Whether God Exists
Reveals an Epic Discovery that has
Eluded Religion and Science.” One
description of the book’s pages
notes, “(It) tracks a spectrum of
discoveries in astronomy,
cosmological physics, human
cognition and consciousness,
origins-of-life research, scriptural
interpretation, archaeological
artifacts, and the philosophies of
mind, religion, and science.”

There’s strong. Then there’s Army Strong.
As a Soldier in the U.S. Army, you’ll learn
to be a leader. And how to succeed in one
of more than 150 career fields. Visit your
local recruiter, goarmy.com or call
1-800-USA-ARMY for more.
To hear about the Army’s $60,000 student
loan repayment option and to receive a free
Army T-shirt, contact the Tempe Army
Recruiting Station at (480) 967-1611.

©2015. Paid for by the United States Army. All rights reserved.

C O N T R I B U T I N G M E M B E R O F T H E A S U A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N

A carbon-neutral
road trip
One might say
John Martinson is
revved up about
sustainability.
The former co-owner of China
Mist Tea Company and recent
graduate of the ASU School
of Sustainability’s Executive
Master of Sustainability
Leadership program took to
the highways this summer with
his 17-year-old son and
a Tesla Model 3 to
make a point. They
drove from Arizona
to Canada and back
to prove that it could
be done with an
electric car — one
they affectionately
call Watts Her Name.
“One of the goals
for me on this trip was
to prove to people who are
on the fence about buying an
electric vehicle that you can
do a fairly aggressive route
and find places to charge
your car,” he says.
He wrote a blog
during the monthlong
trip (teslaroadtrip.blog),
chronicling how sustainability
affects each of their
destinations differently —
from forests’ pest infestations
made worse by unseasonably
hot weather to ways that ferry
companies are innovating.
John also kept a tally of the
trip’s carbon footprint and will
offset the carbon costs with

The Tesla Model 3 advertises a range of up to 310 miles.
John Martinson and his son Neo averaged 350 on their trip —
information he hopes will assuage others’ “range anxiety”
with electric vehicles.

a donation to Purus Project,
a tropical-forest conservation
project chosen by voters.
It’s a mindset he hopes to
inspire in more people:
not just purchasing
carbon offsets for a
family vacation to the
beach, but looking at
everyday life through a
new lens of reducing
carbon usage.
“It’s not simply
to write it off, but
to work to make your
footprint as small as
possible,” he says.
“Then, whatever you
cannot affect, write that
off. It’s not simply writing a
check to Carbon Fund [an
organization that supports
projects that help reduce
carbon emissions], but doing
the hard work of making your
life carbon neutral.”
His recommendations?
Get a solar system at home

and buy an electric car.
Realizing that’s not possible
for everyone, he urges people
to make it a family value to
reduce carbon.
“Sustainability is really
about saving resources,”
he says. “For me a lot of it
is about preserving natural
capital — unplug computers
at night; all the things you
can do to reduce the energy
load in your house are doable.
But it takes a mindset — you
have to have it in your mind
that you’re doing this to save
money but you’re also doing it
to mitigate climate change.”
He sees reason for hope.
“I’m a believer, an optimist.
I think that we can do it, the
heavy lifting — governments
are doing it, companies are
doing it — but the biggest
group is regular folks. I believe
I can make a difference,
and that others can make a
difference.”

“I’m a believer, an optimist. I think that we
can do it, the heavy lifting — governments
are doing it, companies are doing it — but
the biggest group is regular folks.”

Colleen Brown ’02 BA Italian,
’02 BS biology has recently
completed advanced training
in the mixed animal veterinary
acupuncture program offered
by the Chi Institute of Traditional
Chinese Veterinary Medicine.
Founder and owner of Greater
Phoenix-based Brown Veterinary
Housecalls, Colleen now offers
integrative veterinary services,
including conventional Western
veterinary medicine, TCVM for
dogs and cats, and TCVM-only
services for horses.
Nick Cartell
’02 BFA
theater is a
star! Nick, who
grew up in
Phoenix,
recently
returned to the Valley to play the
role of Jean Valjean in the
Broadway touring production of
“Les Miserables” at ASU
Gammage. Nick is the recipient of
the ASU Gammage “Rising Star”
award in 2014 when he first came
to perform at the theater in the
Broadway touring cast of
“Phantom of the Opera.” He also
has performed on Broadway as
Jonah in “Jesus Christ Superstar”
and can be heard on the original
Broadway cast recording of
“Scandalous.”
Tonya Drake
’00 MEd
higher and
postsecondary
education, ’06
PhD education leadership and policy
studies has been appointed
chancellor of Western Governors
University Washington, joining
the online nonprofit university
from Edmonds (Washington)
Community College where she
served as vice president for
college relations and
advancement.

— JOHN MARTINSON, FOUNDER, CHINA MIST TEA

C O N T R I B U T I N G M E M B E R O F T H E A S U A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N

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CONNECT

Robin Warnberg ’00 MSW
social work has published a
series of children’s books, “A Boy
Named Jack,” under the pen name
Quay Roads. With eight books
currently in print, reviewers have
praised the collection’s early-elementary school-level prose, one
calling it “a feel-good children’s
book based on growing up on a
ranch in New Mexico.”

Sun Devil is 1st US woman to
win Boston race in 33 years
Desiree (Davila) Linden ’06
BA religious studies, ’06 BS
psychology, a cross country
and track two-time All-American
at ASU (2001–05), is the first
American woman to win the
Boston Marathon in 33 years.
Desiree clocked the 26.2-mile
race in a time of 2:39:54. She
represented the U.S. in the
2012 (London) and 2016 (Rio
de Janeiro) Olympics, was the
fastest American finisher in the
2015 Boston race and finished
second in the 2011 event.

1990s

Melissa
Swader
’99 MFA
photography,
director of
marketing and
administration at
SVN Desert Commercial Advisors
in Phoenix and owner of Ruby Red
Media, has been recognized by the
Phoenix Business Journal with an
“Outstanding Women in Business”
honor in 2018. Additionally,
thebrokerlist.com has included
Melissa on its annual list of top-10
national commercial real estate
bloggers in 2016 and 2017.
Mark Kokanovich ’98 BA
history has joined the Phoenix
and Los Angeles offices
of national law firm Ballard
Spahr. Mark is a former federal
prosecutor. As an assistant U.S.
attorney in Arizona for more than
seven years he investigated and
prosecuted financial crimes,
including securities fraud,
government contracts, aggravated identity theft, bank fraud,
bankruptcy fraud, mail fraud, wire
fraud, and international money
laundering.
Michael T.
Liburdi ’98
BS justice
studies, ’02
JD has joined
the global law
firm Greenberg
Traurig’s government law and
policy practice as well as its
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FAY FOTO — BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

litigation practice, where he will
serve as chair of the Phoenix
litigation group. Michael joins
Greenberg Traurig after serving
as general counsel to Arizona
Governor Doug Ducey ’86 BS
finance/business. He served
as litigation staff attorney for the
Federal Election Commission in
2008 and is currently an adjunct
professor at ASU’s Sandra Day
O’Connor College of Law.
Steven Hyman
II ’97 BS
accounting,
’04 MBA has
been selected
a “Top Lawyer”
in 2018 by
Sacramento (California)
Magazine. The two-degree Devil,
who also serves as a judge
advocate with the California Army
National Guard (cyber defense
counsel), is a partner at the law
firm of Downey Brand, where he
specializes in business and
technology transactions.

Richard Armstrong ’96 JD
has completed 30 years of
honorable military service as a
major in the United States Marine
Corps. A veteran of multiple tours
of duty as judge advocate with
the Marines, Richard was most
recently regional judge advocate
assigned to the 23rd Marine
Regiment in San Bruno, California.
His primary areas of practice
have been gaming related, and
his extensive experience includes
working with the National Indian
Gaming Commission.
Ember Conley ’94 BS
agribusiness is proving you
can go home again. Ember has
been selected by the Mesa Public
Schools board of directors to
lead the state’s largest school
district as superintendent. Ember
will return to the Valley of the Sun
after serving at the helm of the
Park City School District in Utah,
which has 5,000 students from
preschool to 12th grade and is
recognized by Business Insider
and U.S. News & World Report as
a top Utah school district.

Brig. Gen. Todd Canterbury
’92 BS aeronautical
engineering technology has
been named commander of the
56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air
Force Base in Litchfield Park,
Arizona. An ROTC student while
at ASU, Todd has served with the
Air Force since 1993. His military
career has included assignments
in Operation Northern Watch
in Iraq and Operation Enduring
Freedom, also known as the
Global War on Terrorism.
Stephen Epstein ’91
BSD design, ’93 MArch
architecture, ’95 MBA has
been appointed chief financial
officer at CO Architects in Los
Angeles. Since earning three
degrees at ASU, Stephen has
enjoyed a career in leadership,
strategic planning and
organizational and behavioral
management. Prior to joining CO
Architects, he was a principal
at Strogoff Consulting, leading
finance, operations and human
resources.

C O N T R I B U T I N G M E M B E R O F T H E A S U A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N

1980s

Richard
Wanninger ’84
BS journalism
has been
honored by the
College Sports
Information
Directors of America with the
CoSIDA 25-Year Award. Richard,
who worked in the Sun Devil
Athletics sports information office
from 1985 through 1991 and as a
student from 1981 through 1984,
is now senior associate commissioner for the Patriot League,
responsible for the conference’s
men’s basketball championship,
television and digital packages,
marketing and sponsorship
initiatives, and more.
Debra Levin
’88 BSD
interior
architecture,
president and
CEO of the
Center for
Health Design in Concord,
California, has been elected to
the American Society of Interior
Designers College of Fellows.
Fellowship is the highest
distinction an ASID member can
receive, bestowed on less than
1 percent of the membership.
1970s

Roxanne
Song Ong
’75 BAE
elementary
education,
the first Asian
female lawyer
and judge in Arizona, has been
inducted into the 2018 Arizona
Asian American Bar Association’s
Hall of Fame. She has been
recognized for lifetime
achievement and her nearly 40
years of service to the criminal
justice system.

Sun Devil
births

Rubena Dutta was born in
San Jose, California, on Jan.
30 to Ranojoy Dutta ’13 MS
built environment (energy
performance and climateresponsive architecture)
and Pritha Mallik. Rubena’s dad
is a modeling and simulation
manager at View Inc. in the
San Francisco Bay area. He
works with designers and
engineers to advance simulation
tools to aid in the design of
high-performance buildings that
also promote sustainability and
occupant well-being.

William James Johnson
was born on Sept. 17, 2017,
to parents Shelly (Spencer)
Johnson ’04 BSD graphic
design and Tyler Johnson
in Charlotte, North Carolina.
William James’ mom graduated
as a summa cum laude Sun
Devil, is the marketing manager
at MPV Properties in Charlotte
and has served the North
Carolina ASU Alumni chapter as
vice president. She is currently
the chapter’s marketing and
communications officer!

C O N T R I B U T I N G M E M B E R O F T H E A S U A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N

Sun Devil
weddings
Charlotte Marie Lindsay was
born to Christine (Emmons)
Lindsay ’00 BS marketing and
John Lindsay Jr. on Oct. 23, 2017,
in Scottsdale, Arizona. Charlotte
will be a fourth-generation Sun
Devil in the Emmons family!

Aubrey Marie Lowis was
born to Jon Lowis ’15 BS
technical entrepreneurship
and management and Julie
Lowis on July 11, 2017, in
Phoenix. Aubrey’s dad is a
systems administrator at OneAZ
Credit Union.

Nathan Jude Velasquez was
born into a “house divided” on Oct.
2, 2017, to Nicholas Velasquez
’08 BIS urban planning/public
administration and Mary Ann
Velasquez. While Nathan’s dad is
a Sun Devil alum, mom Mary Ann’s
alma mater is located about 120
miles south of ASU!

Hayley (Ingram) Good ’09 BS
geography and Curtis Good ’08
BS business administration,
’12 MBA were married on Nov. 18,
2017, in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun
Devil couple met while attending
ASU for their undergraduate
degrees. Hayley is a supply chain
management buyer in procurement
at ASU, while Curtis is a realtor
and vice president of Top Priority
Messenger Service in the Greater
Phoenix area.

Samantha Sears ’08 BSD
architectural studies, ’12
MUD urban design, ’12 MArch
architecture and Jason Rogers
were married on March 22 at the
Tempe Center for the Arts. Sparky
served as the guest of honor!

Darin Shebesta ’06 BS
finance and Tiffany House were
married on March 10 in Scottsdale.
Darin is a Barrett, The Honors
College Sun Devil graduate and a
recipient of Investment News’ “40
Under 40” recognition.

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

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CONNECT

Let the exploration begin,
Sun Devil-style!

Join Christine
Wilkinson on a special
adventure in Spain!

ASU Travel & Tours creates more
than destinations. It creates special
journeys, full of amenities and
services.

Barcelona:
art, culture
and people

As a benefit of being a
graduated Sun Devil, you and
your family and friends are
invited to travel with us. Our
unique travel and tour program
fosters lifelong learning
and offers Sun Devils an
opportunity to explore exotic
locations, meet new people
and see the world in a startto-finish, high-end experience.
ASU Travel & Tours works
directly with several different
tour operators to bring a
wide variety of adventures
to our Sun Devils. Whether
you prefer river cruises or
land journeys, there are many
options and destinations
planned for 2019. Contact us
at 480-965-4034 to request
brochures and for help with
reservations.

May 25–June 2
9 days From $2,995

Traveling alone?
No problem.
For those travelers who prefer
to room alone, most tours offer
a limited number of single
rooms. Those requesting a

single room may be charged
a supplemental fee. Those
trips that waive the single
supplement fee are noted
online at asu.edu/alumnitravel.
Travelers with
special needs
Any traveler with physical
and/or medical restrictions
must communicate
special needs at the time
the reservation is made.
Participants requiring
assistance must be
accompanied by a helper
capable of and completely
responsible for providing
the required attention and
assistance. Most trips involve
walking. Please check with
us or the tour company
to determine if a trip is
right for you.
Ready to book your trip
or find out more?
Visit asu.edu/alumnitravel
Email asutravel@asu.edu
Call 480-965-4034

2019 tour
highlights
February
Wonders of Vietnam
and Cambodia

Feb. 12–March 1: Vietnam,
Cambodia

May
European coastal
civilizations: from Lisbon
to London
May 5–14: Portugal, Spain,
France, England

October
Timeless Cuba
Oct. 4–12: Cuba

November
Patagonian frontiers:
Argentina and Chile
by land and sea

Nov. 8–24: Argentina, Chile

Join Christine Wilkinson
’66, ’76, president of the
ASU Alumni Association,
on a thrilling exploration
of Barcelona. This tour
highlights the best of this
cosmopolitan city and the
surrounding Catalonian
region. On this nine-day
adventure, immerse yourself
in Barcelona’s history, art,
architecture and cuisine,
and witness its truly original
flair. Visit Barcelona’s
landmarks and venture
from the city to fascinating
nearby destinations for
deeper insights into
Catalonia’s heritage. Travel
in the grand company of
fellow Sun Devils on a tour
that offers thoughtfully
planned itineraries,
stirring presentations and
perspectives, and historical
details that enrich your daily
sightseeing.

ASU THRIVE MAGAZINE

61

Family
Made possible by you
In 1952, Phyllis and Frank Saylor fell in love while carpooling to their ASU
student-teaching jobs. “ASU is a part of us and our family,” Phyllis says.
When they took care of their estate planning, they created a gift that will
provide scholarships for ASU education students.
For Phyllis and Frank, giving to ASU is giving to family.
When you plan for your family, please remember the ASU family.

Together, our potential is limitless
GiveTo.ASU.edu

ROCK

Jimi Hendrix in the gym
Tucked between the Memorial Union and Computing
Commons is a hidden piece of the Tempe campus’
history. Fifty years ago, Physical Education Building
West was known as the Sun Devil Gym and was
the main basketball and gymnastics facility. But for
one evening in February, it hosted the Jimi Hendrix
Experience in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,000 fans.

PHOTO CREDIT

Jimi Hendrix warmed
up his white and rose
Fender Stratocaster in
the ASU locker room
with actor Pat McMahon
on Feb. 5, 1968. “To see
Hendrix in this small
gym, in such close quarters, must have been incredible!” ASU Archivist
Rob Spindler says.

64

FA L L 2018

TJFRANKLIN PHOTOGRAPHY

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