The Arizona State University School of Transborder Studies will hold its first-ever Career Development Event for students, alumni and community members from 12:30-2:30 p.m., April 15, providing expert advice and feedback about resumes, networking and preparation for the job market. The free event, to be part of an annual series, will be in ASU’s Interdisciplinary Building B, room 161B, on the Tempe campus.

Students will discover different career paths and gain valuable advice for careers before and after college, according to Sandy Martinez, business operations specialist. The program also will feature a keynote address by Gabriel Escontrias, Jr., an ASU alumnus who minored in Chicana/o Studies. He currently serves as the assistant to the executive vice chancellor and provost of Maricopa Community Colleges. Download Full Image

“This is an amazing and unique opportunity to network with individuals who have careers in a variety of different fields,” says Martinez, who is organizing the event along with Patricia Corona, academic adviser. “We want to prepare students for career paths while they are still in college so they can mold their degrees while at ASU, perhaps taking business or communication classes in addition to their major or signing up for internships.”

While the U.S. unemployment rate was at 6.9 percent during the first quarter of 2014, it was at 8.6 percent for Latinos, according to the United States Department of Labor and Statistics. In addition, 60 percent of students in the School of Transborder Studies are first-generation college students, according to Corona. They have family and friends who are supportive, but may not have the networks to tap into to guarantee their success like other students.

“We want them to feel empowered, to learn how to network and to ask for help in order to be successful in this competitive job market, which are some of the main goals of the series,” says Irma Arboleda, assistant director of the school.

“Even though ASU Career Services provides workshops on writing resumes and networking, we would like our career series to focus on the Latino population. We have found that our students welcome opportunities to receive a more tailored approach.”

Mary Fachman, specialist senior in Career Services, will be working directly with students in the school, and will make a presentation at the career development event.

Students majoring or minoring in transborder studies, many of whom are earning concurrent degrees in other fields, may choose from four concentrations:

• transborder community development and health, leading to medical school and other health careers

• media and expressive culture, creating and developing documentaries and creative films while studying contributions in film, literature, performance and visual art

• U.S. and Mexican regional immigration policy and economy, preparing students for law school, public institutions and public and private service enterprises, as well as other graduate programs, such as education, social sciences and public administration

• a new developing culture, language and learning concentration especially designed for bilingual and dual language learning, geared toward teaching in public education institutions and graduate education

Many transborder studies graduates go into nonprofit community work or graduate school. Currently, alumni are serving as coordinators, case managers and directors for Friendly House, Southwest Key Programs, Si Se Puede Foundation, Touchstone Behavioral Health, Promise Arizona in Action, United Farm Workers Foundation and the ASU Cesar Chavez Leadership Institute.

School of Transborder Studies alumni pursuing graduate degrees have been academically successful in competitive programs in such institutions as Stanford, Harvard, Boston University and the University of California system.

“We hope to prepare our students professionally and empower them, all while focusing on our commitment to student success, retention efforts and community engagement,” says Martinez. “However, the Career Development Series is open to anyone, whether they are connected to ASU or not.”

For registration information, visit sts.asu.edu/events. Participants may come for lunch at 12:30 p.m., or stop in for any of the presentations.

The School of Transborder Studies is an academic unit in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Civil rights attorney and Bennett Boskey Professor of Law Lani Guinier, the first African-American woman appointed to a tenured professorship at Harvard Law School, will deliver the A. Wade Smith Memorial Lecture on Race Relations at Arizona State University.

Guinier will speak about “Rethinking Race and Class” at 7 p.m., April 16, in Old Main’s Carson Ballroom on the ASU Tempe campus. Download Full Image

In addition, prior to her evening talk, there will be a special student-only conversation with Guinier from 3 to 4 p.m., in Armstrong Hall, in the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Student IDs are required to attend.

Guinier’s writings and teachings have focused on voting rights, race, gender and democratic theory, law and social change, and access to education. Prior to her appointment at Harvard, she was a tenured professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Guinier also headed the Voting Rights Project for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in the 1980s and worked in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department in the late 1970s. Guinier is a graduate of Radcliffe College of Harvard University and Yale Law School.

In addition to numerous scholarly articles, Guinier has authored several books, most recently “The Tyranny of the Meritocracy: Democratizing Higher Education in America” (2014). Her other titles include: “The Miner’s Canary: Enlisting Race, Resisting Power, Transforming Democracy" (coauthored with Gerald Torres), “Who’s Qualified: A New Democracy Forum on the Future of Affirmative Action” (with Susan Sturm), “Becoming Gentlemen: Women, Law School, and Institutional Change” (with Michelle Fine and Jane Balin), “Lift Every Voice: Turning a Civil Rights Setback into a New Vision of Social Justice,” and “The Tyranny of the Majority: Fundamental Fairness in Representative Democracy.”

Guinier also co-founded the Racetalks Initiative in 1990, a research and public education project that seeks to develop new interdisciplinary paradigms for linking racial and gender justice to the project of building more inclusive institutions.

The recipient of 11 honorary degrees and numerous awards, Guinier holds the 1995 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award from the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession; the Champion of Democracy Award from the National Women's Political Caucus; the Rosa Parks Award from the American Association for Affirmative Action; the Harvey Levin Teaching Award; and the 2002 Sacks-Freund Teaching Award from Harvard Law School.

The A. Wade Smith Memorial Lecture on Race Relations was created in 1995 to perpetuate the work of a man who had devoted his life to the idea of racial parity. As professor and chair of sociology at Arizona State University, A. Wade Smith worked tirelessly to improve race relations on the ASU campus and within the greater community. When he died from cancer at the age of 43, his wife, ASU professor Elsie Moore, family members and friends made memorial gifts to establish and fund this lecture series.

This 19th lecture is supported by ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Social Transformation, Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, Sun Devil Athletics, Educational Outreach and Student Services, ASU Alumni Association, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, the Committee for Campus Inclusion and culture@asu.

The history, cultures and contributions of American Indian communities are being celebrated across the ASU community during American Indian Culture Week. The university-wide celebration includes various events that highlight American Indian student organizations and raise awareness about American Indian culture and heritage.

The event is organized entirely by ASU student leaders, who are working to cultivate a rich learning environment highlighting the progression and success of American Indian people. Download Full Image

“The American Indian Culture Week celebration is a great opportunity to raise awareness to the larger population of our current status,” said Justin Hongeva, facilitator of the student-run American Indian Council at ASU. “This is an opportunity to demonstrate resilience as a strong community and use education to empower our communities.”

American Indian Culture April 2014

Shots for Health: 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament
Sunday, April 6, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sun Devil Fitness Complex, Gold Gym, Tempe campus

Lecture “Moving Beyond the Asterisk: The University’s Role in Enabling Native Student Success”
Thursday, April 10, 6 p.m.
Memorial Union, Pima room, Tempe campus
RSVP online: https://aisss.asu.edu/rsvp

Ms./Mr. Indian Arizona State University Pageant
Saturday, April 12, 4-7 p.m.
Memorial Union, Pima, Tempe campus

Mentor U @ ASU Networking Mixer
Tuesday, April 15, 6-8 p.m.
Four Points by Sheraton, 1333 S. Rural Rd., Tempe

NATIONS Indigenous Resilience III Art Show
Thursday, April 17, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Student Services Lawn, Tempe campus

AIGSA Fashion Showcase
Thursday, April 17, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Old Main Lawn, Tempe campus

28th Annual Pow Wow at ASU
Friday, April 18, 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 20, 5 p.m.
ASU Band Practice Field, Tempe campus
More information: powwow.asu.edu

NAAC Annual Spring Breakfast & Social
Saturday, April 19, 8:30-11:30 a.m.
ASU Karsten Golf Course, Tempe

Alpha Pi Omega 5th Annual Art and Film Festival 
Thursday, April 24, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
>Memorial Union, Cochise and Pima Rooms, Tempe campus

Cal Seciwa Leadership Banquet
Sunday, May 2, 6-8:30 p.m.
Old Main Ballroom, Tempe campus

For more information, contact Gloria Noronha-Peschau at 480-727-0840.

“Eufronisa’s Revolution” tells the story of a woman, denied the mayor’s position in a small Mexican town because of her gender, who became a grassroots activist for the rights of women and indigenous communities.

The documentary film, described by Variety as stirring and well-crafted, will be screened Monday, April 14, at ASU’s West campus, with the screening preceded by a reception and a discussion with its director. Download Full Image

Events begin from 5-6 p.m. with a reception featuring filmmaker Luciana Kaplan, the director of “Eufronisa’s Revolution.” The reception will take place in the Barrett Honors Suite, room 201 of the University Center Building on the West campus, 4701 W. Thunderbird Road in Phoenix.

From 6-7 p.m., Kaplan will talk about documentary filmmaking in Mexico and the political trajectory of the film’s protagonist, Eufronisa Cruz Mendoza, who became one of the first indigenous women in the Mexican House of Representatives. The discussion is set to take place in the Kiva Lecture Hall, in the University Center Building.

The screening of “Eufronisa’s Revolution” is also scheduled in the Kiva Lecture Hall, from 7-9 p.m.

All events are free and open to the public. Visitor parking on the West campus costs $2 per hour.

“The story of Eufronisa Cruz Mendoza is remarkable and inspirational,” said Ilana Luna, assistant professor of Latin American studies in ASU’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, the core college on the West campus. “She responded to her 2007 mayoral defeat in her village in Oaxaca, based solely upon her gender, by becoming a tireless crusader for gender and social equity. We are pleased to bring Luciana Kaplan to the Valley to share this story and discuss filmmaking in modern Mexico.”

New College is sponsoring the April 14 events along with its master’s degree program in social justice and human rights, and Center for Critical Inquiry and Cultural Studies. Barrett, the Honors College at the West campus is also a sponsor. Additional support is provided by ASU’s School of Social Transformation.

The event is produced by the cross-campus feminist collective Entre NosOtr@s, whose members include students Yessica del Rincón, Ana Terminel Iberri and recent graduate Vanessa Nielsen de Molina, as well as faculty, including Luna, Michelle Tellez and Marivel Danielson. It is part of a larger collection of events produced by Entre NosOtr@s this academic year, including a “translocal” women’s Son Jarocho concert, workshop and discussion of musical performance and gender with musical collective “Entre Mujeres” in the fall, and a one-woman play and workshop by Chicana playwright Monica Palacios in the spring.

The April 14 film screening follows ASU’s fourth annual Human Rights Film Festival, to be held April 11-13 in Armstrong Hall on ASU’s Tempe campus. Luna will facilitate a discussion with Kaplan after a screening of the film on April 12.

ASU Foundation Professor of English Neal Lester, also the director of Project Humanities, discusses the N-word as a guest on the Eight, Arizona PBS show "Horizonte."

Lester describes the N-word as "easily the most inflammatory, shocking and historic word in the English language" and its use through the complex discourse of American race relations.

The undergraduate course Lester teaches on the N-word delves into language, its meanings and its performative nature.

Access the full interview below.

For U.S. citizens familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it may be hard to believe that residents and visitors with disabilities outside of U.S. borders are not always guaranteed protection from discrimination or the right to accessibility accommodations. But the protections afforded by the ADA are not recognized in other countries, and many nations don’t have equivalent laws in place.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a document known as the “Disabilities Treaty” and adopted by the international community, was developed in collaboration with the disability community to address this disparity. The Disabilities Treaty is a call to action for all participating countries to protect the rights of people with disabilities on an equal basis with others. To date, over 140 countries have joined the Disabilities Treaty, and the Obama administration is pursuing congressional ratification of the treaty. Download Full Image

Judith Heumann, U.S. Department of State Special Advisor for International Disability Rights and recognized leader in the disability community, visited Arizona State University last week and spoke about the value of the treaty during a panel discussion on Monday evening. The panel, titled "The Global Landscape of Disability Rights," was held at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and was co-sponsored by the Center for Law and Global Affairs and ASU Global. Charles Herf, faculty associate at the College of Law and lawyer representative to the U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit, moderated the discussion.

“We are honored to have Judy visit Arizona to talk about the importance of the international Disabilities Treaty, which the U.S. has not ratified, and for her to learn more about ASU’s innovative disability rights initiatives and global programs,” said Daniel Rothberg, Lincoln Fellow in the School of Politics and Global Studies and representative of ASU Global.

Heumann was joined on the panel by Amina Donna Kruck, vice president of advocacy programs, Arizona Bridge to Independent Living; Joanne Philips, owner of Arizona Education Cadre and former deputy associate superintendent at the Arizona Department of Education; and Ed Myers, deputy executive director, Arizona Center for Disability Law. Each panelist emphasized the importance of U.S. ratification of the Disabilities Treaty.

The panel discussed the potential for the treaty to protect citizens and benefit American businesses. For example, it would ensure protection of U.S. veterans with disabilities who work overseas for the government or U.S. companies.

No new legislation or commitments would result from U.S. ratification of the treaty. However, Heumann noted that by not ratifying, the U.S. risks being left out of conversations about global protection of people living with disabilities.

“The Conventions (included in the Disabilities Treaty) are great restatements of American principles,” noted Myers.

In a recent State Department video message, Heumann spoke of the impact of the treaty on university students.

“More students with disabilities are attending universities than in years past, and have the same career aspirations as students without disabilities. You want to study, work, travel and serve your country abroad. But many countries don’t have the same accessibility standards or protections against discrimination as we do in the United States,” she said.

On Monday, Heumann emphasized the significance of bringing the conversation to universities and to ASU in particular. She said that she has learned valuable lessons during her visit to ASU about the ways universities can build successful global partnerships and serve as models of accessibility to the international community. In particular, she noted ASU’s Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program in Vietnam as an avenue for showcasing the disability resources that are part of the university.

“We are excited to be part of this important discussion,” said Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, senior vice president of ASU’s Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development. “ASU is an exemplar of inclusivity in higher education, being named one of America’s ‘most disability-friendly colleges.’ In addition, our faculty and students advance research and innovate new technologies that empower people with disabilities.”

Written by Kelsey Wharton, Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development

Media contact:

Amelia Huggins, amelia.huggins@asu.edu
Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development

(480) 965-1754

Arizona State University Regents' Professor Rebecca Tsosie has been awarded the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education 2014 Individual Leadership Award.

The award recognizes leaders who have made outstanding contributions to research, administration, practice, advocacy and/or policy, and whose work informs and advances understanding of diversity and inclusive excellence in higher education. Download Full Image

“I am incredibly honored to be a recipient of this award, and very grateful to the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education for the exceptional leadership that they provide to faculty, staff and students from diverse communities. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with many outstanding faculty, staff and students across the ASU campus on issues that are of importance to tribal governments and Native communities throughout the state and the nation,” Tsosie said.

Among the reasons that Tsosie was chosen to receive the award include her pioneering work in Indian law, particularly through Native Nations and the federal system, as well as her leadership at the institutional, state and national levels.

“I take the commitment to serve our students and communities very seriously, and I am inspired by the leadership of people who hold a similar set of values and commitments. So, to me, this award symbolizes our collective commitment to those ideals,” she added.

Tsosie served as executive director of the Indian Legal Program in the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at ASU from 1996 to 2011. She has written widely about tribal sovereignty, environmental policy and cultural rights, and is the author of many prominent articles dealing with cultural resources and cultural pluralism. This work has served as a foundation for her latest research that deals with Native rights to genetic resources. Tsosie, who is of Yaqui descent, has worked extensively with tribal governments, and she serves as a Supreme Court justice for the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.

Tsosie is a well-known speaker who addresses topics related to tribal sovereignty, self-determination and environmental and cultural resources. A teacher of classes in Indian law, property, bioethics and critical race theory, Tsosie was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, and received the American Bar Association's "2002 Spirit of Excellence Award." She is the 2006 recipient of the "Judge Learned Hand Award" for Public Service.

The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education is a professional organization of senior and chief diversity officers in higher education, and a leading voice for strengthening diversity and inclusion efforts in academia.

American Indian students who come into a university environment may struggle with culture shock and feeling homesick, especially if they move from a small reservation community to an unfamiliar major metropolitan area.

Leading American Indian scholar Heather Shotton will explain how universities can help American Indian students succeed during “Moving Beyond the Asterisk: The University’s Role in Enabling Native Student Success,” at 6 p.m., April 10, in the Memorial Union Pima Auditorium on ASU's Tempe campus. Download Full Image

“Heather is one of the emerging voices that examine and explore the experiences of American Indian students in institutions of higher education. She does so with an eye toward addressing the everyday challenges these students – and their institutions – face in helping them successfully navigate college and life,” said Bryan Brayboy, professor in the ASU School of Social Transformation and director of the Center for Indian Education. “She is, in many ways, setting the table for the next generation of scholars in this area of inquiry.”

In her talk, Shotton will discuss how campuses can move beyond an “asterisk mentality” and successfully support Native students. The “asterisk mentality” phenomenon describes the concept of American Indian students being excluded from scholarship and data, and represented by an asterisk, noting that the population is not statistically significant.

Shotton is an editor of the book, “Beyond the Asterisk: Understanding Native Students in Higher Education,” and a Native American Studies assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma. The book addresses strategies for supporting American Indian college students, and explains the “asterisk mentality” concept that is based on a lack of knowledge and understanding of Native college students, coupled with issues of invisibility that has generated a movement among American Indian higher education practitioners and scholars to challenge the mentality and share strategies for serving these students.

“Heather’s visit represents one of the many ways ASU is addressing the needs of American Indian students,” said Diane Humetewa, special adviser to the president on American Indian affairs. ASU has one of the highest American Indian student populations in the nation and offers indigenous students opportunities to connect with American Indian Student Support Services that provides academic and personal support while promoting traditional culture. Other initiatives, such as the Tribal Nations Tour, bring the university to young Native people throughout the state’s American Indian communities. Students who take American Indian Studies classes learn from faculty members who are all members of tribal nations, and five new Native American faculty members joined the university last year.

During a three-day visit to ASU, Shotton will discuss challenges and opportunities for the university to "move beyond the asterisk" through meetings with student focus groups, faculty roundtables, the Provost/President's Native American Advisory Committee and members of the administration. She is scheduled to appear with professor Brayboy on KAET-TV’s (Channel 8) Horizon program on April 16.

Shotton, a member of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, and also of Kiowa and Cheyenne descent, was recently awarded the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development “Native American 40 Under 40” Award. She serves American Indian students and communities locally and nationally, and is past president of the National Indian Education Association.

This event is made possible by the Academic Excellence through Diversity Grant sponsored by the Office of the University Provost, and is the result of a collaboration of faculty and staff from the School of Letters and Sciences, School of Social Transformation, University Academic Success Programs American Indian Student Support Services, Center for Indian Education and the Special Council on American Indian Affairs, American Indian Initiatives.

The School of Social Transformation and the Center for Indian Education are research units in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. 

Those who know Alissa Ruth are not surprised by her choice of dissertation topic. The plight of DREAMers is a magnet for the woman who studied, then taught, in Mexico; married a Mexican immigrant; and holds a master’s degree in justice studies (strongly emphasizing social justice).

Ruth, who will graduate from Arizona State University in May with a doctorate in anthropology, has spent the last seven years studying undocumented youth and local DREAMers. Her most recent research focuses on their ability to create a strong, supportive network to advocate for themselves and others as they negotiate their unique political and social landscape. Download Full Image

DREAMers are defined as individuals who came to the U.S. as infants or children, without legal documentation, and have grown up here identifying with U.S. culture and studying in K-12 classrooms but without certain rights, such as access to citizenship.

Their “name” is derived from the acronym for the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would grant conditional permanent residency and a pathway to citizenship. There are an estimated 40,000 in Arizona.

One of the major difficulties DREAMers face is what happens to them after they graduate from high school.

Without legal status, advancing to college seems improbable, if not impossible.

Seeing a problem

Before coming to ASU, Ruth worked in admissions at an institution of higher learning. Part of her job entailed visiting high schools for recruitment events and handing out admission paperwork to interested students. One day, a teen looked at one of the forms and asked, “What do I do if I don’t have a social security number?”

That made Ruth start thinking about undocumented youth who wanted to continue their education in college and had the potential to excel, yet weren’t able to get in. These students became the focus of Ruth’s master’s thesis.

At that time, Proposition 300 had just passed, denying in-state tuition and state-funded scholarships to undocumented students. As a result, Ruth was able to locate only seven students to interview. Most didn’t talk to friends about their situation and lived in the shadows, making connections difficult.

When Ruth began her doctoral studies at ASU a few years later, she noticed that, unlike the high school youth she had struggled to find, the university’s undocumented students were publicly assembling to create a force of DREAMers.

Ruth was intrigued and decided to make her dissertation about these tightly bonded students and their movement toward advocacy and activism.

As a white, mid-30s doctoral student, she wondered if she’d be trusted. Surprisingly, Ruth found the group very open. She was invited to events and granted access to their email archive, as well as copious interviews. Ruth even helped with various advocacy activities, such as canvassing a neighborhood to collect signatures for a recall campaign.

Researching a grass-roots movement

Many of these DREAMers met at an orientation for a privately funded scholarship they received after Prop. 300 was implemented. After that meeting, they started gathering socially and forged stronger ties during community service projects for their scholarship. As they shared time and ideas, they began to organize themselves via in-person meetings and eventually through social media.

Soon, things got even more interesting, with the possibility of the DREAM Act passing Congress in December 2010. The DREAMers went into action, rallying to have their voices and concerns heard, and creating opportunities to engage with policymakers.

Though the act did not pass, the DREAMers had galvanized and were committed to continuing their fight.

“It’s very impressive how highly educated and engaged they are, knowing intricate aspects of our laws and government, and training one another on their rights,” Ruth explains. “But I’m also really inspired by how dedicated and motivated they are about not stopping their advocacy at themselves. They are impelled to reach out and help other immigrants.”

The DREAMers movement garnered a great deal of press, and several of Ruth’s research participants were front and center. A few landed on the cover of TIME magazine or gave national news interviews.

Growing pains

As data collection neared an end, Ruth gave birth to her first child, which added a whole new dimension of challenge to her life. She faced the task of juggling family and academics with her full-time role as director of student and academic services in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Though she had to cut back on attending DREAMer events, she continued to monitor her interviewees’ personal and professional achievements through Facebook. She watched some graduate from college, go on to start their own business and families, and move into the workforce.

“I feel like I’ve had the chance to see them grow up on social media,” Ruth jokes.

Her interview group included those studying law, engineering, and speech and hearing sciences, as well as a photographer who owns his own business and an artist who uses her work to promote the DREAMer movement.

Ruth says she doesn’t know how typical her study group is as a whole. After all, these are high achievers, motivated people, many of whom graduated high school at the top of their class. Ruth wonders what happens to those who aren’t as scholastically or civically engaged, yet still have much to offer the world.

“Do they spend their lives in low-paying jobs living under the radar and below their potential because they are afraid and really have no alternative?” she asks.

Ruth sees some ground being gained. The passage of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has helped by granting two years’ conditional residency for those who qualify, which means the possibility of finding legal work. But many hurdles still exist.

For instance, DACA recipients cannot receive driver’s licenses from the state of Arizona, and they still must pay out-of-state tuition at state universities.

However, Ruth believes that the discussion on immigration reform is not being allowed to fade thanks to people like the DREAMers.

“We see it time and time again in the civil rights arena: a group of people who don’t want a handout, just the opportunity to be treated fairly,” she says. “The DREAMers want to get educated, they want to join the military, they want access to health care and to work, but they also want to pay taxes and give back to the country they have been raised to call their own.”

The right place and time

Ruth notes that the research she conducted is a snapshot of a particular time and place. Because the political climate has changed since 2012, when she finished data collection, she has produced work that cannot be duplicated. She is grateful for that uniqueness.

Ruth also credits the university and its locale for providing the perfect field site for her brand of urban anthropology.

As she prepares to defend her dissertation, she is feeling both empowered and humbled – and very inspired by the people she has met along the way.

That includes not only the DREAMers she worked with, but also those she calls “amazing” mentors. Her committee chair, Takeyuki “Gaku” Tsuda, Amber Wutich and Alexandra Brewis Slade, all of the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, and Doris Marie Provine of the School of Social Transformation have had an indelible effect on her life.

Ruth plans to continue her line of research and publish her findings. She is also determined to be there for the community that has allowed her an in-depth look into its ranks and helped her achieve her dream of a doctorate.

On the personal front, she’s looking forward to enjoying free time with her family and getting back to cooking.

Arizona State University has been awarded the Greater Phoenix Urban League’s Whitney M. Young, Jr. Corporate Award, which recognizes organizations that exhibit genuine concern for the community in promoting and celebrating diversity, racial harmony, and social and economic equality.

“ASU is proud to be recognized by the Greater Phoenix Urban League with the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Corporate Award,” said ASU President Michael M. Crow. “We’re committed to the success of all students and employees at the university through an environment that fosters inclusion and empowerment. Our use-inspired research benefits the community, and we work to bring about real and lasting change for the public good.” Download Full Image

The design of the New American University at ASU includes the commitment to measure success not by who we exclude, but by who we include and how they succeed.

The university has grown considerably since 2002 by:

• dramatically increasing the number of minority students it graduates. For bachelor’s degrees, the university saw an increase of 1,641 to 3,720 graduates in the past decade, a 127-percent increase. For graduate degrees, the increase was from 400 to 1,025 graduates, a 156-percent increase. Additionally, ASU was named by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education to its list of “Top 100 Producers of Minority Degrees 2012."

• increasing the total number of minority faculty members by 63.3 percent, from 436 to 712. The overall number of minority employees has grown by 25 percent from 2,781 to 3,476.

• increasing faculty numbers among individual minorities: 82.9 percent for Asians; 41.7 percent for Hispanics/Latinos; 33.3 percent for American Indians/Alaska Natives; and 22 percent for African-Americans/Blacks.

• launching the President Barack Obama Scholars Program to expand university access to match Arizona’s diversification and growth.