Editor's Note: Arizona State will take on the University of Utah, at 7 p.m., Sept. 22, in Sun Devil Stadium. Learn more about ASU's collaborations with Pac-12 schools.

While it has been argued that many young adults go through a period in college in which their interest in religion wanes, it appears the argument does not ring true for a large community here at ASU. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the religious studies program at Arizona State University, and it’s still going strong. Download Full Image

When the program was established in 1972, ASU was ahead of the curve.

“ASU has one of the oldest and most respected undergraduate programs in religious studies at a state university," says Tracy Fessenden, associate professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In the last few years, steps were taken to ensure it stays that way.

In the fall of 2009, the program was combined with the history and philosophy departments to form the school it is today. The merging of these three fields has allowed for a more interdisciplinary approach to the study of religion that cuts across humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

“We are 'religious studies' in the sense that we study religion across traditions, regions and temporal periods – medieval China, contemporary Burma, pre-colonial Mexico, the 19th-century U.S., and post World War II-Japan, to name a few – and its role in politics, culture, law, the arts and other fields of human endeavor,” Fessenden explains.

But don’t let the phrase “religious studies” mislead you. “Our studies themselves are not religious,” she adds.

The religious studies faculty is made up of 20 full-time professors who teach more than 90 classes each semester. The curriculum consists of an undergraduate major program, an MA program with more than 40 students, and a PhD program, introduced in 2004.

Some may question the modern-day benefits of religious studies, but the school is quick to espouse the humanitarian value of such a degree. Their website states: “In our increasingly cosmopolitan world, the need to understand the root beliefs and values of diverse cultures has become a political and moral imperative. The academic study of religion seeks to explore the deep intersections between religions and cultures which have shaped, and continue to shape, personal and collective identity.”

It would appear several other universities agree – including ASU's Pac-12 contemporary, University of Utah, which recently implemented a religious studies major at its institution.

“Such a program was long overdue at the University of Utah," says Muriel Schmid, assistant professor and director of Religious Studies at Utah. "The university as a whole has come to understand the importance of religious literacy and intercultural skills in order to foster dialogue and global citizenship.”

The opportunity for cultural enlightenment aside, there may also be a financial draw to religious studies. An article published in U.S. News and World Report’s special “university directory” ranks religious studies fifth in the category of degrees that result in the most lucrative careers.

Indeed, many of ASU’s religious studies majors have been very successful. 

“Our majors have gone on to be lawyers, filmmakers, international aid workers, writers, teachers, artists, Rhodes Scholars, doctors, and professors at major universities, including Duke, UNC, Indiana and UCLA,” says Fessenden.

With such impressive credentials, it’s understandable why students continue to flock to the major. As our society becomes increasingly global, the signficance of religious studies as an academic focus cannot be understated. At Arizona State University, where possibilities for interdisciplinary research and innovation abound, the religious studies degree program will no doubt continue to thrive.

The 2012 Seeking Justice in Arizona lecture series kicks off this week with a presentation, Sept. 20, by KJZZ's Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez, senior field correspondent with "Fronteras: The Changing America Desk." The Emmy-nominated journalist will discuss her on-air coverage of justice issues of importance to Arizona and the Southwest, including SB1070, the disbarment of Andrew Thomas, and mass deportation.

This intimate lecture will give insight into one journalist's perspective on interviewing, applying scholarship to news stories and allowing alternative voices to penetrate the public discourse. The lecture, titled "Empowerment Through Listening: A Dialogue on Immigration, Politics and Power," will be held at 4 p.m., in West Hall 135 on ASU's Tempe campus. Download Full Image

Rodriguez is a Telly Award winner as well as a New York Times Fellow with the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy. She also serves on the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Board of Directors. A graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a bachelor's in broadcast journalism, Rodriguez earned a master of education from Northern Arizona University, and is pursuing a master of advanced study in American Media and Popular Culture from Arizona State University.

Her broadcasting career includes Eight, Arizona PBS, where she was a producer and correspondent for the public affairs programs "Horizon" and "Horizonte." While in Chicago, Rodriguez hosted on-air bilingual pledge drives for WTTW Channel 11 (PBS), making her the only bilingual pledge host at the time. She was a general assignment reporter for Tribune Company’s ChicagoLand Television News, Univision affiliate WCIU-TV Channel 26 and WYCC-TV. She worked in scoreboard operations for both Comiskey Park (now U.S. Cellular Field) of the Chicago White Sox and United Center (Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks).Rodriguez also co-produced a bilingual television parenting program on both Chicago’s Telemundo and WYCC-TV Channel 20.

The Seeking Justice in Arizona lecture series, now in its 10th year, is sponsored by Justice and Social Inquiry in the School of Social Transformation, an academic unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It seeks to create dialog on issues of national importance but from an Arizona perspective.

The lecture series continues in October and November, with a presentation by Randall Amster, executive director of the Peace and Justice Association and a professor at Prescott College, on Oct. 25. Community organizer and social entrepreneur Randy Parraz closes out the series on Thursday, November 15. All Seeking Justice in Arizona lectures are free and open to the public.

Events that celebrate the diversity of Latin music, visual art and more are in the spotlight as ASU’s West campus celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month.

All events, on the West campus at 4701 W. Thunderbird Road in Phoenix, are free and open to the public. Download Full Image

The schedule is:

Opening Reception: Fiesta Night: 6-9 p.m., Sept. 15, La Sala Ballroom, University Center Building. The festive atmosphere will include a disc jockey, photo booth, games, prizes and food.

Karaoke Night: Friday, Sept. 28, 6 to 9 p.m., La Sala Ballroom, University Center Building. The karaoke contest will take place from 7 to 8 p.m. Prizes and food will be featured, along with a photo booth.

Closing Reception: Fiesta Celebration: Friday, Oct. 5, begins at 6:30 p.m., Sands Classroom Building Courtyard. The Fiesta features folklorico, mariachi, flamenco and salsa performances, along with the completion of a new mural painted with students and designed by the artists of Phoenix’s Calle 16 Mural Project. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

Hispanic Heritage Month sponsors include the Hispanic Heritage Committee on the West campus, the Campus Environment Team, and Educational Outreach and Student Services.

For more information, call (602) 543-5300.

Conceptualized by Andrew Ross, head of Learning Support Services in ASU's School of International Letters and Cultures in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Stephane Charitos, director of the Language Resource Center at Columbia University in the City of New York, as a way to bring Spanish speaking students from various countries of origin and in different cities together in conversation, a humanities learning project, titled “Hispanidades/Hispanicities,” successfully launched in Fall 2011.

According to a recent Pew Hispanic Center study, while most Hispanics in the United States prefer terms such as "Mexican" or "Cuban" or "Dominican" rather than pan-ethnic terms, the one thing they do have in common is "a strong, shared connection to the Spanish language. More than 82 percent of Latino adults say they speak Spanish, and nearly all – 95 percent – say it is important for future generations to continue to do so."  Download Full Image

The collaboration between ASU and Columbia brings together students in a Spanish for bilinguals and heritage learners course from each university. They use an online platform and other tools to create, share and discuss information collected in Hispanic barrios across Arizona and in New York City. The students use combined ethnographic research and digital storytelling techniques to explore their own Hispanic identities and the Hispanic identities of Spanish language speaking students in other parts of the United States. 

The project continues this year as students enrolled in Spanish 316 at ASU and Spanish for Bilinguals at Columbia University are asked to pick an aspect of local or regional Hispanic identity, such as murals, bodegas, neighborhoods or sports, and report on it. 

“The classes overlap like a Venn diagram,” Ross explains, “with students doing their own class work as well as ethnographic field work out in the community in collaboration with their partners at Columbia. The work of each course encourages students to reconnect with local Hispanic heritage and culture, and to explore what it means to be Hispanic in different geographic regions of the United States.” 

“[The work ranges from] simple observations of the communities studied to profound reflections of the shared cultural, linguistic, sociopolitical and historical experiences between distinct regions of the United States,” says Ross. Students collect photographs, videos, stories and interviews throughout the semester, creating a cumulative digital history of their barrios that can be shared with their classmates, their online pen pals, and eventually the general public. 

One ASU student in the first cohort of Hispanidades/Hispanicities produced a digital story exploring mural art in South Tucson from a historical and thematic perspective. The student combined his photographs, narration, and music to deliver a compelling look at how this art form is used in la Tusa (slang for Tucson), and what it means to the community there.

In addition to Columbia University and the University of Washington who are participating this semester, the University of New Mexico and the University of Texas El Paso have shown interest in joining the collaboration. Ross hopes to expand the “Hispanidades/Hispanicities” project to more universities, and help to pilot its use in K-12 environments.

Story by Alaina Hasenmiller, Roxane Barwick, Andrew Ross

Overall enrollment hits record 73,373

Preliminary 21st-day Fall 2012 semester enrollment figures indicate Arizona State University has reached a record 73,373 total of undergraduate and graduate students. Download Full Image

This figure tops last year's 72,254 21st-day fall enrollment figure by 1,119 students, and represents an increase of more than 5,300 students over the Fall 2009 semester.

Enrollment highlights include:

• New freshman and transfer student enrollment climbs to 16,450.

• Transfer partnerships expand with onsite offerings at Eastern Arizona College.

• Freshman class is academically stronger than ever.

• Graduate enrollment nears 14,000.

• International enrollment reaches new high.

• Lake Havasu City location enrolls inaugural class.

ASU’s new undergraduate student enrollment – nearly 9,300 first-time freshman and 7,150 transfer students from an all-time record of more than 51,000 applications for admission – topped 16,450 students for the first time in university history.

The academic preparation of the 2012 full-time freshman class is at an all-time high, with a mean high school grade point average of 3.47, ACT composite of 24.5 and SAT composite (for math and critical reading) of 1129.

Sun Devils also are more multicultural with 39 percent of the freshman class coming from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds – up from 24 percent eight years ago. While the majority of ASU’s students are resident Arizonans, 37 percent of the freshman class has been attracted to ASU from another state or country – up 2 percent from last year.

“We welcome our freshman class, new and returning students, and take pride that they have chosen our fine university as the place in which to further their education and build a foundation for their future,” said ASU President Michael Crow. “The academic strength of our freshman class is stronger than ever, exemplifying a talented and motivated group of students ready to take on the rigor of their academic programs, and discover new and exciting things about themselves, their communities and the world.”

Transfer enrollment at ASU also continues to increase, in part, due to the strong partnerships the university has formed with the community college systems throughout Arizona, and increases from students from other states and countries. The university’s innovative programs are helping academically qualified students at the community colleges transition more easily to ASU.

The university, for example, created an enrollment partnership with Eastern Arizona College (EAC) where 25 transfer and returning ASU degree-seeking students are completing degrees in nursing and organizational studies on the EAC Thatcher campus this fall semester.

International student enrollment at ASU also hit record levels – more than 5,160 total – up from 3,856 just two years ago, a 34 percent increase.

“Students from more than 120 countries are enrolling on ASU’s four campuses,” said Elizabeth D. Phillips, executive vice president and provost. “ASU is a world-class and world-recognized university, and students from abroad see us as a place that offers excellent academics, top-notch research opportunities, a supportive learning environment and a wonderful place to live.”

ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City became the university’s newest location this fall and 70 new Sun Devils now call it their educational home. ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City is part of an innovative effort to give students more affordable alternatives to getting a college degree.

“After more than a decade of planning on the part of the Havasu Foundation for Higher Education and the Lake Havasu community, it is exciting to see our site open and the arrival of students, faculty and staff bring it to life,” said David Young, director of the ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City. “It is such an important achievement for Lake Havasu City leaders, the community and the university, all of which worked tirelessly to make this a reality for the betterment of the city and the state of Arizona.”

Approximately 14,000 graduate students are part of the ASU academic community for this fall semester. The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, the W. P. Carey School of Business, the College of Public Programs, the Herberger Institute for the Design and the Arts, the School of Letters and Sciences, and the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College all experienced new graduate student enrollment increases.

A stellar, record-breaking class of freshman has entered Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering for the fall 2012 semester. It’s not only the largest in number but one of the most academically impressive.

More than 1,500 freshmen were enrolled on the first day of classes – the most ever for ASU’s engineering programs, breaking the previous record of 1,276 a year ago. Download Full Image

One of out every five of the new freshmen has been accepted into ASU’s Barrett, The Honors College.  The 317 freshman engineering honors students are an increase of more than 30 percent from last year. That helps give ASU’s engineering schools one of the highest overall percentages of honors students in any program at ASU.

More than 40 percent – 644 freshmen – have earned Arizona merit scholarships. Forty of them have earned National Merit Scholarships and 20 are National Hispanic Scholars.

Among the new ASU engineering students are six of this year’s 22 recipients of the Flinn Scholarship, bestowed by the most highly competitive merit-based college scholarship program for Arizona students. There’s also a winner of the equally highly competitive National Achievement Scholarship.

The number of females in an ASU freshman engineering class has exceeded 20 percent, with an increase to 317 this fall from last year’s count of 236 female freshmen students (18.5 percent of the 2011 freshman class).

In addition, compared to a year ago there has been a 36 percent increase in the number of Hispanic freshman and nearly a 30 percent overall jump in the number of freshmen from groups that are underrepresented in engineering professions.

Desire to contribute

Of course, numbers don’t tell the whole story. The hopes, aspirations and experiences of individual freshmen students help paint a fuller picture.

Susan Sajadi’s experiences early in life have led her to choose engineering as a major.

“I decided to focus on biomedical engineering, because as a child I had pneumonia several times and spent a lot of time in the hospital,” Sajadi explains.

“To give back to who those who helped me, I started volunteering at a hospital three years ago. I've loved it. I got the opportunity to play with one of the surgical robots, and since then I knew that I wanted to be a part of creating new technologies in the medical field.”

She’s considering medical school as a next step after earning a biomedical engineering degree.

“I think there are so many health issues today that need engineering solutions,” Sajadi says. “I would love to make contributions to the medical field and make medical procedures easer to help those who will face the same illness that I did, or the illnesses faced by the people next to me in those hospital beds.”

Making valuable connections

James Boulton says his longtime fascination with technology combined with his affinity for math and science led him to choose an aerospace engineering major.

Beyond gaining the skills that will open up job opportunities, among Boulton’s important goals for his time at ASU include making “lifelong friends and connections” that will be valuable to him in and beyond his career.

Civil engineering major Wesley Scatena from Surprise, Ariz., is already to looking ahead to 10 years after earning his degree. By then, he says, he hopes to be opening his own civil engineering business.

To lay the ground work for reaching that goal, Scatena is planning to participate in a number of student engineering and technology competitions throughout his undergraduate years, and to obtain internship positions that will enable him to learn about the business side of the engineering profession.

Scatena already has a jump-start. This fall semester he will continue an internship he began during the summer with the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Exploring possibilities

Dalton Osmanski, an aerospace engineering major, says he wants to follow in the footsteps of his father, who is an airplane mechanic.

“I’ve had an interest in airplanes since I was young,” says Osmanski, who comes to ASU from Chicago. He would like to help make improvements in fighter- jet technology and gain expertise in aerodynamics so that one day he can broaden the possibilities for the human experience of flight.

At ASU he hopes to “explore new careers and to find out what it takes to get involved in something bigger than myself.” 

His decision about where to go to college was based in part of the size of the institution and its variety of academic programs.

“I feel ASU will be a great place to get my education because there are so many other subjects to study if my Plan A has to change,” he says.

Kathleen Farrell, from Spokane, Wash., has chosen a biomedical engineering major with thoughts of a career in medicine, but she’s also interested in helping develop renewable energy sources and in water conservation efforts.

“I don’t have it all completely figured out. My interests are all across the board,” Farrell says. She expects that eventually “something will catch my eye and then I will know exactly what I want to do. So until then I will continue school with an open mind.”

She does know she wants to join a sorority and become active in ASU’s chapter of the Society of Women Engineers – and that she chose ASU because of the “incredible engineering program.”

Military and medical aspirations

Alex Tower, from Reno, Nev., recalls becoming interested in engineering when he was middle school. Now he plans on using a college degree in aerospace engineering to attain his goals of becoming an officer in the Marine Corps and working in the aviation industry.

So far, Tower says he feels confident he’s found a school that will help take him there. “ASU has a great engineering program and the support from within the engineering community has really impressed me,” he says.

Deanna Weathers-Perez also has military service on her agenda. She’s in the Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps and plans to complete the program at ASU while she earns a biomedical engineering degree.

Her father is in the Army, so the family has lived in many places, including Italy, Washington, North Carolina and Georgia. “I’m used to moving around,” she says. So she decided to head west and found ASU offers what she is looking for in a college education.

“I am in love with math and science, so it was not hard deciding on engineering for my major,” Weathers-Perez says. She sees herself contributing to advances in medical technologies, specifically X-ray imaging.

Biomedical engineering major Aimen Vanood has her eye on a career as a physician. She hopes to get opportunities to volunteer at local hospitals during her undergraduate years at ASU.

An engineering degree and volunteer experience “will help me become a more well-rounded person with a broad scope of skills,” and thus a better candidate for medical school, Vanood says.

She plans to explore branches of the medical field that focus on helping people living with disabilities to overcome their physical challenges.

Engineering at an early age

Logan Haman, an industrial engineering major from Chandler, Ariz., says his “childhood passions made choosing an engineering major easy for me. Growing up I always loved taking things apart and putting them back together, as well as solving all kinds of problems.”

At ASU, he wants to apply his education by contributing to community projects and taking advantage of opportunities for undergraduates to conduct research.

Mechanical engineering major Esteban Morales, from Prescott Valley, Ariz., also says he set himself on a path toward engineering at a young age.

“Ever since I was a little boy I would take apart my broken radio-controlled toys and figure out how to fix them.” Morales says. “I would do this with any toy that involved movement, so it was a natural decision for me” to major in engineering.

At ASU he “would love to be a part of some kind of great engineering project” with fellow students. In his future career, he’d like to use his engineering skills to help the country develop more sustainable energy resources.

He’s also looking to overcome a challenge common to many university freshman.

“I would like to be able to become more outgoing,” he says, “since I’m a relatively shy person.”

Emmy-winning ASU professor Paul Espinosa is the recipient of The Victoria Foundation's Professor Alberto Rios: Outstanding Literary/Arts Award.

“I am honored to receive this recognition from the Victoria Foundation for my work as a filmmaker and storyteller,” Espinosa said. “I thank the Foundation for acknowledging the critical role that arts and culture play in inspiring students to pursue higher education and improve our community.” Download Full Image

Espinosa received this esteemed acknowledgment during the third annual Arizona Higher Education Awards ceremony that took place Sept. 5 at the Ritz-Carlton Phoenix. The award is named after ASU’s own professor and Arizona Poet Laureate Alberto “Tito” Rios, and was established to recognize Latino/as who have contributed significantly to the understanding of the Hispanic community and/or culture through literary works, publications, films, books and other print venues.

The Victoria Foundation was established in 2008 with the support of a Community Development Corporation. It is their mission to be regarded as a means for change in the Latino community through engaging Latino/as and others in increasing the resources that will bring significant, positive differences to neighborhoods and families in Arizona.

Richard L. Boals, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona – a sponsor of the Victoria Foundation – said, “Through the work of the Victoria Foundation and the dedication of these honorees, vital support is being provided to Arizona’s youth in the Latino community. … With education comes empowerment and opportunity.”

Before joining ASU, Espinosa worked as a producer of films and documentaries for PBS for more than 30 years. He oversees his own production company, Espinosa Productions, which is a film and video company that specializes in documentary and dramatic films focused on the U.S.-Mexico border region.

Espinosa’s programs have garnered several awards, including eight Emmys; five CINE Golden Eagle awards; a Golden Mike Award; and two Blue Ribbons and one Red Ribbon from the American Film Festival. He has been honored with retrospective Paul Espinosa Festivals in Phoenix; Albuquerque, N.M., El Paso, Texas; and San Diego.

Espinosa received his doctorate in anthropology from Stanford University, where he specialized in the cultural analysis of television communication, and his bachelor’s degree from Brown University, also in anthropology. Espinosa has been with ASU since 2004 and currently serves as a professor in the School of Transborder Studies.

More information on the Victoria Foundation.

Souad T. Ali, associate professor of Arabic literature and Middle East/Islamic studies in the School of International Letters and Cultures, was awarded a U.S. Speaker and Specialists Grant by the U.S. Department of State to participate in a program in Senegal this summer titled “Ramadan: Sufism and Democracy,” which focused on the role of tolerance in both Islam and democracy and the importance of religious freedom and tolerance in America. 

The program featured several lectures delivered by Ali including, “Sufism and Democracy in the Senegalese Context,” “Women and Democracy in Sufism,” “Interfaith Dialogue: Comparative Viewpoints on ‘How’ and ‘Why’ in Senegalese and U.S. Contexts,” “Sufism and Democracy: Deep Roots for Modern Practice in Senegal,” “Interfaith Dialogue in Sufism and in a Democracy: Origins and Practical uses in Arabic Pedagogical Contexts,” and a keynote lecture on “Sufism and Democracy: A Religious Studies Viewpoint.” Download Full Image

In addition, Ali participated in several panel discussions with local Senegalese Sufi religious leaders and Islamic scholars hosted by the U.S. Embassy, the University of Chiekh Anta Dioup, the West African Research Center (WARC) in Dakar, as well as the four Senegalese Sufi Orders. She also met with Senegalese students in a session at the embassy library.

“The students were very interested in education in the U.S., and about the similarities and differences between the U.S. and Senegal on the issues of Islam, women, secularism and democracy,” says Ali who also shared with them specific information about educational programs at Arizona State University. 

On the heels of her visit to Senegal, Ali has recently been invited to attend a reception hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sept. 13, in celebration of Eid Al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday commemorating the conclusion of the month of Ramadan, at the Department of State in Washington, D.C.

Ali is head of classics and Middle East studies at ASU, a Fulbright Scholar, the president of the American Academy of Religion/Western Region, an executive committee member of the International Association of Intercultural Studies, Cairo Egypt and Bremen Germany, a board member of the Sudan Studies Associate of North America, and author of "A Religion, Not A State: Ali’Abd al-Raziq’s Islamic Justification of Political Secularism," which topped Amazon’s list for “Bestselling New and Future Releases in Turkey” in 2010.

ASU’s School of Social Transformation announced today it is launching a Pueblo Indian doctoral training project as part of its graduate programs in Justice and Social Inquiry.

Conducted in partnership with The Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School, the program will build local capacity within the 19 New Mexico Pueblos by facilitating the training of practitioner-researcher-scholars committed to developing Pueblo peoples and communities in the U.S. Southwest and beyond. Download Full Image

Two cohorts of Pueblo doctoral students will participate in the intensive three-year degree program, with one group of 10 beginning in 2012 and another in 2015.

The Pueblo Indian doctoral training project will be led by School of Social Transformation faculty members Elizabeth Sumida Huaman, assistant professor of Indigenous education and a senior researcher with The Leadership Institute, and Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, Borderlands Associate Professor of Indigenous Education and co-director of the Center for Indian Education. 

In close collaboration with Mary Margaret Fonow, director of the School of Social Transformation, and Mary Romero, professor and faculty head of Justice and Social Inquiry, professors Sumida Huaman and Brayboy have co-designed a doctoral training program within the Justice and Social Inquiry curriculum that highlights The Leadership Institute’s work on the issues of Pueblo governance, the environment, land and cultural resource protection, health, language, education, art, economic and community development, family, and Indigenous law and jurisprudence.

The program will be delivered through a mixture of video-conferencing, online and in-person courses. Also included are community visits, training in critical Indigenous research methodology and fieldwork, and training in writing for publication. Upon completion of studies, the cohort as a collective will produce a formidable alliance around the most critical issues facing Pueblo peoples, with both local and global application for other Indigenous communities.

“This project gives the School of Social Transformation an opportunity to rethink the way we construct and carry out doctoral education with Indigenous peoples,” observed Bryan Brayboy. “At its core, we’ve developed a program that is rooted in assisting Pueblo communities in building their local capacity to address the pressing problems in front of them.

"Dr. Sumida Huaman and I agree that projects like this are firmly embedded in ASU’s mission and our responsibility to serving others. We feel both honored and humbled by the opportunity to work with these communities and with The Leadership Institute.”

"The training of Pueblo doctoral students is a critical part of the strategic planning at The Leadership Institute, the Santa Fe Indian School, and in Pueblo communities,” said Carnell Chosa, co-director of the institute, whose award-winning multi-layered vision of community development includes doctoral education for Pueblos.

“That Drs. Sumida Huaman and Brayboy were also considering doctoral education with Indigenous peoples made for a beautiful fit at the right time,” Chosa said. “We highly regard their personal experiences, academic expertise, and most importantly the respect and humility they have shown in supporting the Institute in building a program aligned with our vision of capacity-building. As The Leadership Institute is engaged in program development and research to serve Pueblo children and communities, we are tremendously excited about this partnership with the School of Social Transformation, where there are outstanding faculty working under a vital mission to engage in social change. These are the reasons we are very pleased to partner with ASU."

Regis Pecos, former governor of the Pueblo of Cochiti and co-director of The Leadership Institute, added: "We are looking forward to have ASU collaborate with the Institute in our efforts to have more Pueblo peoples earning PhDs. It is a natural and mutually beneficial partnership."

The project, said Professor Sumida Hauman, is special for its intense emphasis on respecting and building on Indigenous knowledge. “There is very strong Indigenous knowledge still present in each Pueblo,” she noted, “that is on par with and even supersedes Western knowledge. I think that's why our project is so unique – this project values the knowledge in the Pueblos while offering additional opportunities and access in formal education.”

In addition to support from ASU’s School of Social Transformation in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the doctoral program will be carried out with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Santa Fe Community Foundation, Chamiza Foundation, and the McCune Foundation.

To learn more about The Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School, visit lisfis.org.  For more information about ASU’s School of Social Transformation, visit sst.asu.edu.

The focus will be on all things Chinese when Arizona State University’s Confucius Institute and the Arizona Chinese United Association host their annual symposium and Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day Celebration Sunday, Sept. 23, in the ASU Memorial Union, Tempe campus.

The day will begin with a forum from 3 to 5 p.m., in the MU Turquoise Room (220), titled “Working With China in the Global Market.” Download Full Image

Following the forum will be a reception from 5 to 7 p.m., in the MU Arizona Ballroom. The Mid-Autumn and National Day celebration will take place from 7 to 9 p.m., and include a performance by students from the East Art Academy, and dancing.

Winners of the Confucius Institute Photo Contest and Poster Design Contest also will be announced, and the work of all entrants will be displayed in the Arizona Ballroom.

The Deputy Consul General SUN Weide of Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Los Angeles will give the welcome keynote at the forum. Featured speakers and their topics will be Jun Li, chief governance and compliance officer for Phoenix-based Avnet Inc., “Avnet, The X Factor in the Global IT Supply Chain”; Hank Marshall, senior vice president, Arizona Commerce Authority, “Arizona the Next 100 Years”; and Jeremy Schoenfelder, vice president, AZ Sourcing, LLC, “EB-5 Investment: Benefits and Challenges.”

Li, who frequently travels to China for Avnet, will discuss Avnet’s strategies in the China market. He said, “Avnet believes China will continue to be a tremendous growth market as part of the global IT supply chain. We continue to invest in profitable growth strategies that will allow us to make the most of the opportunities China has to offer.”

Schoenfelder said, “The EB-5 (employment-based visa) program is an ideal tool in Arizona’s quest for both foreign direct investment and job creation. By answering the need for job creation and investment while providing a path to citizenship, it (the EB-5 program) is truly a win-win benefitting both the local area and the investor.”

“Today's parents and educators are eager to equip students throughout Arizona with the language skills and cultural insights about China needed for success in the 21st century. This is just like the ways that students in China are engaged in learning English in order to gain a better understanding of American society and culture," said Madeline K. Spring, director of the ASU Confucius Institute.  

“Forty-six schools in Arizona now offer Chinese-language classes. The photo and poster contests tap into students’ growing interest in China,” said Fannie Tam, assistant director of the Confucius Institute. The photo contest, “The China in Your Eyes,” is open to middle-school through college students.

“Here at the Confucius Institute, we truly believe that images tell a story – your story and interpretation of China or the Chinese culture,” said Tam. “We invite you to share your personal visual depiction of China as it appears in your eyes.”

The poster design contest is open to children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Students may design posters using the themes of people, landscapes or holiday celebrations.

Entry deadline for both contests is Sept. 3. For more information, contact Tam at fannie.tam@asu.edu.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Moon Festival and is a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated in China and Vietnam.

The National Day Celebration marks the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

For more information, go to http://confuciusinstitute.asu.edu/portal/.