Twenty-four schoolchildren from around the state have won awards in ASU’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. poster-essay contest. They will receive savings bonds and prize ribbons from ASU President Michael Crow at a celebration breakfast Jan. 20, in the Memorial Union, on the Tempe campus.

Attorney Herb Ely, an activist for civil rights, will receive the 2011 MLK Servant-Leadership Award. Alex Wilson, a senior in kinesiology, will receive the student Servant Leadership Award. Download Full Image

All the winning posters will be displayed at the event, and four children will read their first-place essays to the group. Also invited to the awards ceremony are their parents and teachers. About 1,700 children entered the contest, each describing someone they know who leads through service to others.

The posters will be on display through January in the Tempe campus Memorial Union and the Polytechnic campus Student Union. Winning posters and essays can be viewed online soon at http://www.asu.edu/mlk.

The">http://www.asu.edu/mlk">http://www.asu.edu/mlk.

The contest categories are primary, grades K-2; intermediate, grades 3-5; middle, grades 6-8; and secondary, grades 9-12. Following is a list of winners.

Mesa: The primary poster category, once again, was swept by second-graders from Franklin Northeast Elementary. Miriah Montoya won first place; Nathan Weldon, second; and Jonathon Jones, third. Six other students from Franklin Northeast won in the essay competition; in the primary category, second grader Miriah Montoya won first place; Brooke Shinkle, second grade, won second; and Brady MacLay, second grade, won third. In the intermediate category, Annie Ethington, fourth grade, won first; and Jenah Park and Tanner Payne, both fifth-graders, won second and third, respectively. Another Mesa student, sixth-grader Abigail Felgemaker of Franklin South Elementary, won first-place essay in the middle-school category.

Scottsdale: The secondary category essay competition was dominated by sophomores from Chaparral High School. Rachel Burbidge won first place; Allysan Breece, second; and Ema Shgalsi, third. Scottsdale students also won prizes in the middle school essay category. Sanket Bhagat, seventh-grader at Ingleside Elementary, received second place; and Rachel Jeffries, eighth-grader at Mountainside Middle School, won third place. In the poster competition, Ryann Thomas, third-grader at Sequoyah Elementary, won second in the intermediate category; and Elyse Rangel and Phillip Do, seventh-graders at Ingleside, won first and third place, respectively, for middle school.

Gilbert: Amanda Bivians, senior at Gilbert Early College in the LEAD charter schools, won first place poster in the secondary category.

Paradise Valley: Taylor Elton, third-grader at Sonoran Sky Elementary, won first place poster in the intermediate category.

Deer Valley: Hannah Leber, ninth-grader at Mountain Ridge High School, won second place poster in the secondary category.

Cartwright District: Irving Lamadrid, fourth-grader at Manuel Pena Elementary, won third place poster in the intermediate category.

Washington District: Adriana Andrade, sixth-grader at Royal Palm Middle School, won second place poster in the middle school category.

St. Johns: Amanda Valles, junior at St. Johns High School, won third place poster in the secondary category.

Networking group will provide resources and training to enhance teaching of mathematics and technological subjects

Arizona State University is launching an effort to improve science, mathematics and engineering education for Arizona’s youngsters and teens.

STEMnet – the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network – will kick off Jan. 25 with the first of a series of events to introduce middle school and high school teachers to cutting-edge research in STEM fields and to innovative courses, classroom activities and teaching methods.

STEMnet’s goal is to establish a teacher-driven professional development community through which ASU’s researchers working in STEM fields and STEM education specialists can establish relationships and share knowledge with Arizona’s secondary educators.
 
“There are many middle school and high school teachers who want to become better prepared to teach science, mathematics and engineering. With STEMnet we want to provide them the resources to deepen their knowledge in the STEM disciplines,” says James Middleton, a professor of mathematics education in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
 
The network will connect secondary education teachers with faculty members in many of ASU’s schools, colleges and research centers – including the engineering schools, the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, the School of Life Sciences, the School of Earth and Space Exploration, the Global Institute of Sustainability and the Center for Research on Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology.
 
“We have a lot of STEM research and education talent at ASU. Teacher professional development and educational innovation are among our great strengths,” says Colleen Megowan, an assistant professor of science education in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.

“This initiative is meant to improve the quality of STEM education in Arizona’s K-12 schools by helping university researchers and K-12 teachers connect,” she says. “Our aim is to embed K-12 STEM educators in the ASU community—to improve their access to ASU’s to intellectual resources and opportunities for professional growth.”
 
STEMnet is supported by a portion of the funding from a $1.25 million National Science Foundation grant awarded to ASU in 2009.

The Innovation through Institutional Integration grant has been used to establish the Modeling Institute, which is designed to give K-12 teachers access to STEM education and research programs.

The institute has launched a master of natural science degree program in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for elementary and middle school teachers.
 
The institute also is seeking to expand the Summer College-for-Kids program it began in 2010. The program brings middle school students together with ASU scientists and engineers to learn the basics in areas such as computer game design, physical computing and sustainability science.  The institute’s leaders hope to have at least 250 students participate each summer.
 
For more information on the upcoming STEMnet meeting or to register to attend the workshops or banquet, visit http://modelit.asu.edu or e-mail megowan@asu.edu

A second meeting is scheduled for May 17. By the fall, STEMnet leaders expect to begin organizing three networking meetings each year.
# # #

SOURCES:
Colleen Megowan, megowan@asu.edu
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College
Division of Teacher Preparation
(480) 727-7074

James Middleton, james.middleton@asu.edu
Professor of mathematics education
School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy
(480) 965-9644; (480) 965-3291

MEDIA CONTACT:
Joe Kullman, joe.kullman@asu.edu
(480) 965-8122 direct line
(480) 773-1364 mobile

Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona  USA
Download Full Image ">http://engineering.asu.edu/

The 2011 Cross Talk Series at Arizona State University’s West campus begins on Jan. 20 and features Kamala Green, senior director of the university’s http://asunews.asu.edu/20100923_kamalagreen" target="_blank">Office of Equity & Inclusion (OEI).

The series, sponsored by the http://www.west.asu.edu/cet/" target="_blank">West campus Campus Environment Team (CET), is designed to create an opportunity for faculty, staff, administration and students to hear about different organizations, departments, programs and key individuals affiliated with ASU. Download Full Image

 “We have so many people and programs working diligently to promote and implement ASU’s focus on inclusion,” said Margot Monroe, a senior human resources consultant for six years at the West campus, and current CET chair. “The Cross Talk Series allows us the unique chance to bring people together and to introduce to them the many opportunities and services provided by the university.”

The Jan. 20 kickoff will focus on the “new look and philosophy” of OEI (formerly ASU’s Office of Diversity), the ASU work environment, current hiring practices and equity and inclusion on all four ASU campuses (Tempe, West, Polytechnic and Downtown Phoenix). Green will answer questions that can be submitted at the door or from the floor or, prior to the event, via email to mailto:Jenny.Davis@asu.edu" target="_blank">Jenny.Davis@asu.edu. Attendees are encouraged to bring their lunches and enjoy refreshments on hand in the University Center Building’s (UCB) La Sala A. The Cross Talk is from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Green, who joined OEI in September, boasts 15 years of management experience, including 11 years on the human resources leadership team at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. She will lead ASU’s diversity initiatives while working with university units to address and resolve issues and promote a positive work environment.

“From my perspective, this series is extremely important for faculty, staff and students to feel engaged,” said Green. “It will help them better understand concerns and issues which may arise on campus and how they are addressed, as well as the opportunity to exchange ideas on how to improve communication and processes.

“This series will open the door for networking and sharing best practices; it also presents the possibility of developing new working relationships.”

Upon her joining ASU, Kevin Salcido, ASU associate vice president and chief human resources officer, noted of Green, “Kamala brings great experience working in a challenging, dynamic research enterprise and has a strong passion for diversity. She will be invaluable in facilitating the university’s hiring, promotion, development and pay practices to ensure they are as free of bias as possible, and will lead in the creation and delivery of training in building inclusive, discrimination-free work environments at ASU.”

“The development of this office is exciting, given all the possibilities as we move into the expansion of equity and inclusion at ASU,” said Green. “Diversity is viewed or defined by most as ‘race and gender’ focused, but it’s much bigger than these two very important areas. Once you have diversified your workforce, it is imperative that the institution is inclusive of resources, professional development, employment practices and more in order to retain great talent. We need to continue to find new and meaningful ways to increase morale and maintain a safe and comfortable work environment.

“The philosophy is clear – we are here to serve our clients.”

Green said she hopes a better understanding of her office’s role at the university and in the lives of its campus communities will be the result of her visit to the West campus.

“We want the ASU community to be familiar with the various functionalities that OEI maintains,” she noted. “The audience will be able to ask questions regarding hiring practices, employment practices and how the OEI is different from the former Office of Diversity.

“This office is a neutral party for addressing, investigating and resolving workplace issues. Neutrality is an important element we want everyone to understand. Additionally, I want to share with those in the audience how much we will collaborate with all ASU colleges, departments, units, including all levels of staff. In order for this office to succeed, my team must develop and maintain excellent working relationships with the university clients we serve.”

For more information on Cross Talk, contact Jenny Davis at 602-543-8400 or via email at mailto:Jenny.Davis@asu.edu" target="_blank">Jenny.Davis@asu.edu.

After the Jan. 20 Cross Talk at the West campus, the Series will return to the Tempe campus on Feb. 23, 12-1:30 p.m., in Memorial Union, Room 240.  The topic, "Popular Culture and the Construction of Reality," will feature David Altheide, ASU Regents Professor and faculty member in the http://sst.clas.asu.edu/" target="_blank">School of Social Transformation, and Matt Newman, assistant professor in the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences in ASU’s http://newcollege.asu.edu" target="_blank">New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.

Mastering engineering requires learning to engage in rigorous and precise thinking. Zachary Pirtle’s studies in the field took him even further – beyond a focus on the technological into deeper inquiry in a more fundamental realm.

“Engineering led me to philosophy,” says Pirtle, who earned bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and philosophy at Arizona State University in 2007. He followed that with a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering in 2009.

He’s considering pursuit of a Ph.D. in philosophy of science or public policy in the future.

While still an undergraduate, Pirtle pursued interests in technology and philosophical questions both in and outside the classroom, and he’s continuing endeavors in both areas as he begins his career.

As an undergrad, he worked with the Center for Nanotechnology and Society at ASU, which explores the societal ramifications of the emergence of nanotechnology.

In his undergraduate honors thesis he examined issues involved in aligning public policy to guide nanotechnology research in accord with the goals and principles of a democratic system of government.

While in graduate school he earned a prestigious Fulbright scholarship that enables top students to study and do research abroad. He used it to spend much of the 2008-2009 academic year in Mexico, where he contributed to public discourse on the social and cultural impacts that the rise of nanotechnology could potentially have on that country.

Diverse set of skills

Pirtle later earned a graduate fellowship to work with the National Academy of Engineering in Washington, D.C. There he supported the academy’s Center for Engineering, Ethics and Society. He researched and wrote about the potential societal implications of converting the nation’s power systems to “green” renewable-energy technologies.

He then worked as a consultant in the Washington, D.C. office of ASU’s Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes, where he authored a report that detailed the consensus among experts on the direction the country should take in developing innovative energy policies.

In July of 2010, he began working as a Presidential Management Fellow at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). As part of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, he’s applying his engineering and policy training to support new technology development projects NASA is undertaking to expand humanity’s reach into space.

“The only reason I’m able to bounce around among these various fields is because of the interdisciplinary education I got at ASU,” Pirtle says. “Being able to combine engineering and philosophy was very enriching. It’s given me a broader perspective, and people value that diverse set of skills. It’s going to greatly affect what I can contribute to society during my career.”

Looking at the bigger picture

His job at NASA “is more on the technical side for now, but I hope to find a way to keep contributing to science policy and philosophy,” he says.

Already he’s written an">http://books.google.com/books?id=6SI-1CdEAHcC&printsec=frontcover#v=... article published in a new book, Philosophy and Engineering: An Emerging Agenda,
and co-authored an">http://www.ryanmeyer.org/home/Pirtleetal2010.pdf">an article in the journal Environmental Science & Policy on climate modeling.

His training in the environmental area stems from research he conducted in the Center for Earth Systems Engineering and Management at ASU, directed by engineering professor Braden Allenby.

Pirtle says Allenby “is one those engineers who can think far outside of the box.”  He credits Allenby – along with mentors at the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes and the Center for Nanotechnology and Society – for training him to look at the bigger picture, beyond the merely technical challenges of engineering and science.

Prospective and current ASU students “should know the university offers opportunities to combine education in things like engineering and social sciences or the humanities,” he says. In his case, “philosophy helped me understand engineering better,” he says.

“Zach is one of those challenging students who make you glad that you’re a professor,” Allenby says. “He was a joy to teach, because his intellectual curiosity always drove him further than he had to go.” 

Bridging two worlds

Pirtle is “among the rare people who are able to succeed in varied disciplines, and pursue those interests in both academic work and outside the classroom,” says Jameson Wetmore, an assistant professor in ASU’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change.

Wetmore, who studied both engineering and philosophy on his way to earning a Ph.D. in science and technology studies, often counseled Pirtle.

“Because of the example Zach set, many engineering students brought themes from the social sciences into their honors theses projects,” Wetmore says, “and he is continuing to bridge those two worlds in his career in Washington, D.C., a place where that bridge is crucially needed.”

Pirtle’s interest in the dual course of study was sparked while fulfilling a humanities requirement he had as a student in ASU’s Barrett, The Honors College.

In a philosophy of science course taught by Richard Creath, a professor in the School of Life Sciences in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Pirtle found it “really eye-opening to think about these deeper questions” about what constitutes knowledge and how we put it to use in science and engineering.

Intellectual road map

His interest in engineering has roots in the family lineage. His grandfather, Albert Pirtle, studied math at the Arizona State Teacher’s College – the precursor to ASU – before becoming an architectural detailer. His father, Randall Pirtle, an ASU grad, has been working in engineering at Honeywell Aerospace for more than 25 years. His brother, Trevor Pirtle, earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from ASU and now works for Orbital Sciences in Chandler, Ariz.

Pirtle says the engineering profession would benefit from a more philosophical bent. “More engineers should think about the far-reaching impacts of what they do, and its real value to society,” he says.

He believes such an intellectual approach could provide a reliable road map for the evolution of the engineering profession, and help to establish a more sustainable and democratic foundation for successfully navigating our way in an increasingly complex and highly technological society.

“I’d like to have a role in developing a really solid philosophy of engineering,” he says. Download Full Image

ASU reaching out to young students in smaller Arizona communities to open doors to careers in engineering

Victor Robles recently graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering – and with hopes of going to graduate school and pursuing research in communications technology for radar systems. In addition to his academic achievements, Robles has been vice president of the ASU chapter of the Society of Mexican-American Engineers and Scientists, an officer in the ASU chapter of the Society of Hispanic and Professional Engineers and a mentor to younger university students. He’d like to earn a doctorate and go on to a career engineering “the most innovative top-of-the-line high technology.” Download Full Image

Robles says that only a few years ago he never would have imagined that today he would be anywhere near this point on a professional career path. He’s been returning to his hometown in Douglas, Ariz., to speak to local high school and community college students about how they might follow in his footsteps.

Offering opportunities

Robles is one of hundreds of students benefitting each year from the Motivated Engineering Transfer Students (METS) program that provides opportunities for careers in engineering and computer science for Arizona students starting out in community colleges. The program has “completely changed my life,” Robles says. “Had it not been for the knowledge I got [through METS] and the encouragement to pursue graduate school, I would have been just another undergraduate student at the library with very little to show for it.”

For many years, hundreds of students have been transferring into ASU’s engineering programs each year. Until 2002, however, there was only a single orientation event to support transfer students. Today, through the growth of the METS program, there are opportunities for scholarships, a campus meeting place, seminars, mentoring and networking opportunities designed specifically for transfer students.

Recruitment and retention results are demonstrating the program’s effectiveness. In the 2009 fall semester, almost 230 students from community colleges and other schools had transferred to ASU engineering programs. In 2010, another 350 students transferred. More impressively, more than 95 percent of junior-year and senior-year students who earn METS program scholarships are graduating. This is a higher retention and graduation rate than those for students entering ASU engineering programs as freshmen.

Overall, junior-year and senior-year engineering transfer students’ graduation rates are 70 percent for men and 60 percent for women. More than 50 percent of the METS transfer students who earned scholarships are now going on to graduate school full time for master’s or doctorate degrees – compared to just 20 percent of engineering transfer students nationwide.

The success of these ASU engineering transfer students is all the more impressive because the scholarship recipients have a lack of financial resources, so many of them also work jobs while attending school full time.

Targeting a talent pool

Success with upper-division transfer students predominantly from the local Maricopa County Community College District helped earn a grant of $2.5 million over five years from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2009 to expand the METS program efforts coordinated at ASU by engineering faculty members Mary Anderson-Rowland and Armando Rodriguez.

Anderson-Rowland, associate professor in the School for Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering, is the leader of the METS expansion project funded by the NSF grant. Rodriguez, professor in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, is the co-leader.

The funding is through the NSF’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Talent Expansion Program (STEP), which aims to increase the ranks of young engineers and computer scientists to meet the nation’s growing needs for technological advancement and economic expansion. It’s enabling Anderson-Rowland and Rodriquez to reach beyond the community colleges in the greater Phoenix area and team with five community colleges in rural areas – Central Arizona, Western Arizona, Eastern Arizona, Cochise and Mohave colleges – to intensify recruitment of transfer students.

They’re targeting “a significant pool of untapped engineering talent” among community college students, Anderson-Rowland says.

Support network

The METS-STEP project goal is to develop a supply chain of high-quality engineering students through aiding the community colleges in their outreach to local high school students and by providing classroom materials, tutoring, speakers and tuition scholarships to cover costs of community college engineering courses.

In addition, the project includes “Be an Engineer” events on community college campuses for students and their parents, providing a contingent of experienced student mentors, and hosting ASU orientation programs specifically for transfer students.

Once at ASU, transfer students are supported by the METS Center, where they can study together and get mentoring and training in academic and career planning.

“Our mentors are faculty members and METS Center staff members who are supportive and empathetic,” Anderson-Rowland says. “And new transfer students will find other students to network with who understand the challenges that new students are facing.”

National impact

The NSF and ASU recruitment and retention efforts are important to help stem the drop in the number of United States citizens earning engineering degrees, she says.

METS-STEP also is expected to have a national impact by developing effective ways for other universities and community colleges to form partnerships to encourage students to pursue engineering careers and help them make the transition into university programs. The NSF grant also provides for several types of scholarships to help dozens of transfer students each year cover some of the costs of attending ASU.

With the METS-STEP program's emphasis on encouaging students to pursue opportunities for research experience and to consider graduate school, “We expect to help produce a significant and diverse pool of engineering talent to serve the nation’s needs,” Anderson-Rowland says.

Overcoming struggles

The NSF’s support for ASU’s program has been spurred by a solid track record of recruiting and retention success, she says. Students can attest to her claim. Diana Sarmiento struggled when she first enrolled in community college several years ago. Her grades were so low that she dropped out.

She later started over at Estrella Mountain Community College, earned an associate’s degree in science and came to ASU with help from the METS program. Through METS she learned about time management that helped her cope with the challenges of university engineering studies – even while working jobs in addition to attending school full-time. METS workshops taught her how to effectively compose a resume and develop a portfolio displaying her skills.

“I got some really good advice that helped me get through,” she says.

Sarmiento went on to earn four internship positions – including experience as a research assistant – and work as a teaching assistant. She served as president of the ASU chapter of the Society of Hispanic and Professional Engineers and secretary of the ASU chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers. Sarmiento expects to graduate in 2011 with a degree in mechanical engineering. She’ll look for a job in industry after graduation but plans to eventually earn a master’s of business administration degree.

Steps to success

Mara Ramos has a similar story. She went to ASU right after high school but found she wasn’t ready for the university environment. She dropped out.

After becoming a single mother and a few false starts at other schools, Ramos began earning good grades at Mesa Community College that would make her eligible for support to return to ASU through the METS program.

Through the program she learned study techniques, was put under the wing of a supportive faculty mentor and participated in an undergraduate research program and research projects led by a faculty member. She learned “you don’t have to be genius to go to graduate school, just a hard worker.”

Today, Ramos is pursuing a doctorate in environmental engineering and hopes to help solve the world’s sanitation and water-quality problems.

Steve Blodgett went back to college in his mid-30s after a career as a photographer. He earned an associate’s degree in general studies at Mesa Community College, then came to ASU through the METS program after deciding to study chemical engineering.

He had earning only a bachelor’s degree in mind, but with Anderson-Rowland’s prodding he set his sights higher.

“I used the METS Center a lot. I learned study skills. I got advice and encouragement to seek support to go to grad school,” he says. “It had a big impact.”

Through internships and research experiences during his time at ASU, he says, “I realized that graduate school is really where I need to be” to have a career that will make an impact. Blodgett is now in a graduate program at the University of Michigan where he will do research in sustainable hydrogen production and other renewable energy resources.

Turning lives around

“It’s gratifying to be reaching young students who don’t have a lot of resources in their small communities to learn about science and engineering career opportunities,” says professor Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has been working for a decade to get support for outreach efforts, scholarships and grants to help students transfer to the university.

“When you show them you care, when you show them how to navigate their way in a big university, and give them tutoring and mentoring,” he says, “it’s amazing to see them turn into dedicated students who are taking their career goals seriously.”

The METS-STEP project also is helping get students connected to industry, which often leads to internship opportunities.

 “Industry leaders want to cultivate a larger pool of engineers to hire, so companies have supported us,” Anderson-Rowland says.

She’s committed to keep the flow of transfer students running high.

“An engineering career was not even on the radar screen for a lot of these students when they were in high school,” she says, “and even when they’re in community college they don’t think they’re smart enough to get scholarships or go to a university. So it’s fulfilling to know you’re providing young people with options in their lives.”

For more information about the METS program, visit http://mets.engineering.asu.edu">http://mets.engineering.asu.edu">http://mets.engineering.asu.edu

Arizona State University partners with Sichuan University in new enterprise

Mutual understanding between the United States and China, along with an exchange of ideas, language and literature, are at the core of a new educational partnership between Arizona State University (ASU) and Sichuan University (SCU). The SCU-ASU Center for American Culture, officially launched Dec. 13 at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, is designed to be a model for Sino-American cultural engagement through university-to-university collaboration.  Download Full Image

“I congratulate Arizona State University and Sichuan University on the opening of the Center for American Culture,” said U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman. “I believe that the center will help build bridges of understanding between the people of the United State and China, which will ultimately allow us to work together more effectively to tackle the global issues that we face.” 

“The U.S.-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world,” said Thomas Skipper, minister counselor for public affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Skipper spoke at the opening ceremony for the center, noting that it “is already generating a lot of interest and excitement in academic communities in both our countries.” 

The United States has about 2,000 people working in China, at the embassy in Beijing and in five consulates, including one in Chengdu, Skipper said. 

“We work with our counterparts in the Chinese Government, on the national, provincial and municipal levels on a complete range of issues, from economic and trade issues, to political, the environment, agriculture, education, regional security, science and health,” he said. “But our ability to work together on all these issues is dependent on our ability to understand each other – not just our languages, but our histories, our cultures, our traditions and values. 

“We hope that the Center for American Culture will quickly become a place that students will want to visit, to learn, to grow, and take part in programs that will increase understanding about the United States,” Skipper said. 

“I believe it will become a model for other university partnerships in China,” Skipper said. “But it’s no surprise that Arizona State University and Sichuan University are leading the way in this effort. Both schools have reputations for academic excellence and long records of promoting international exchange. My hope is that this new center will become a bridge to help create bonds of trust between our two countries.” 

Sichuan University President Xie Heping attended the ceremony and provided remarks about the newest partnership between the two institutions. Arizona State University President Michael Crow sent a video message that was played at the ceremony. 

“Sichuan University is one of our closest university allies in China,” said Crow in the  video message. “Universities are now working together on what we think are some of the greatest intellectual challenges of our time. There’s so much to learn from each other, there are so many experiences that our two countries have had that we don’t really deeply understand.” 

The new SCU-ASU Center for American Culture, the first of a kind, will take the complexities of American culture and the history of American culture and make it a part of the teaching and learning discourse at Sichuan University, he said. 

“It’s only through that deeper understanding that relationships can be advanced, that mutual understanding can be improved, that a deep appreciation can be developed,” Crow said. 

The SCU-ASU Center for American Culture will be the newest component within the larger sister university agreement between the two universities, which includes a Confucius Institute and nearly 20 joint projects on topics ranging from creative writing to sustainability and earthquake relief. 

“Chinese students will study the underpinnings of American culture and history at the Center for American Culture just as American students acquire competence in Chinese language and culture through their intensive study at the Confucius Institute,” said Crow. 

Neal Lester, a professor of English and dean of humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences represented ASU at the center’s opening ceremony. “We are very excited to participate in this moment of global collaboration,” he told a gathering of more than 200 students, faculty, deans and staff from Sichuan University, along with members of the public and business community. 

Initiatives of the new SCU-ASU Center for American Culture will include:

• Public, socially embedded English language and culture programs.

• Symposia and lectures related to U.S. history, culture and the arts.

• Professional training programs for English teachers in writing and English as a second language programs.

• Increased attention to intensive English language, American culture and history programs in China and at ASU.

• Collaborative study of works of literature, language, media, arts and history.

The dialogue between the two universities began earlier this fall when ASU scholars visited Sichuan University for an academic exchange. Among the lecture topics during that visit, dubbed “2010 ASU Week: Place and Identity,” were:

• Advertisements, cars and 20th century American women’s fiction, presented by ASU English professor Deborah Clarke.

• Reflections on ancestry, history, land and imagery of the Navajo, presented by Diné author Laura Tohe, an English professor who teaches Indigenous literature, poetry and film.

• Race, Hurricane Katrina, and hip hop and the American culture, presented by Matthew C. Whitaker, an associate professor of history.

Scheduled this week are a series of lectures and educational exchanges led by another group of ASU scholars, including Joe Cutter, a professor of Chinese and director of the School of International Letters and Cultures; Joe Lockard, an associate professor of English; Kathryn Mohrman, director of the University Design Consortium at ASU and a professor of practice at the School of Public Affairs in the College of Public Programs; and Lester. 

Among the lectures to be presented, Lester will talk about African Americans and the politics of hair, and the lives and experiences of African American women writers. Lockard will present a lecture on the history and literature of slavery in the U.S. and another lecture on literature and prisons in the U.S. Southwest. 

“As Americans teach Chinese about America, Americans learn about ourselves as Americans,” Lester said. “We hope that Chinese teaching Americans about Chinese culture will also teach Chinese peoples about themselves. Through this very interrogation of difference, we will inevitably come closer to understanding and appreciating that, as poet Maya Angelou has said, ‘we are more alike than we are unalike.’ We fully embrace this new opportunity in the spirit of global unity, cultural discovery and excellence.”

Carol Hughes, carol.hughes">mailto:carol.hughes@asu.edu">carol.hughes@asu.edu

480-965-6375

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

<p>The town of Clarkdale, Ariz., is benefitting from the work of students participating in the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.<br /><br />The program enables students to use the basic engineering skills they’re learning in the classroom to help bring community improvement endeavors to fruition.<br /><br />EPICS teams are working with town officials to develop Clarkdale Sustainability Park. Among initial plans for the park are a wetlands recharge project and a project to convert waste to energy.</p>

Jeff Begay, a member of the Navajo Nation who has worked for decades to improve business and living conditions in Native American communities, is the 2010 Del E. Webb School of Construction Outstanding Alumni of the Year.

The construction school is part of the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, one of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Download Full Image

Begay graduated with a degree in construction management in 1974 and now is manager of business development for Kitchell Contractors Native American Division. Through his division’s work, Begay has helped lead efforts to bring quality construction services to Indian lands.

Lack of quality building has long plagued Indian reservations, he says. Many reservations “are like Third World countries. They are struggling to develop a strong economy, struggling to build good infrastructure,” Begay says.

He sees his job as “a mission and a passion. We are helping to build nations, to make them prosperous and healthy. It’s fabulous that Kitchell hires people, like me, who understand this culturally unique segment of America and also strives to provide quality service, with integrity and respect.”

Begay’s work goes beyond providing construction services.

“There’s a perception that a construction management graduate with an engineering background works only with concrete, steel and wood, and isn’t really involved with much of anything else,” he says.

Among his efforts beyond construction business, Begay has been instrumental in organizing Kitchell’s Cultural Sensitivity Seminars, inviting guest speakers from a various tribal communities to make presentations about their history, culture and community.

Begay also has worked as a general contractor and been a consultant to the Gila River Indian community, assisting in the development of governmental facilities, infrastructure and community housing programs.

He is also a gourd dancer, as part of a Native American Warrior Society ceremony that honors and helps their warriors – men and women currently serving in U.S. military, as well as all military veterans.

Earlier this year, Begay helped lead an effort to rebuild and refurnish the home of a Navajo tribal member and fellow Vietnam veteran whose home had been nearly destroyed by vandals.

Begay was born and raised in Teesto, Ariz., on the Navajo Indian Reservation. He served in the U.S. Army, including a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968.

He later went to ASU on the GI Bill and earned a scholarship from Kitchell Corp. which helped him earn his degree at ASU.

He is a former president of American Indian Council of Architects and Engineers and former president of the American Indian Veteran’s Memorial Organization.

He’s also a founding member of the executive committee of Del E. Webb School’s Construction in Indian Country organization and the founder of the school’s Native American Construction Management Endowment.

The impact he’s had on Native American communities prompted his nomination for the alumni award by colleagues in the industry and the Native American community.

“It’s a tremendous honor because people in the construction industry voted for me,” he says. “I feel good about it personally, and for the company I work with.”

Written by Amy Lukau

Winter graduation deadlines have spurred a flurry of doctoral thesis defenses in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). However, for many women and students from underrepresented minorities, the academic pathway from thesis defense to postdoctoral fellowship to faculty appointment in STEM is one of attrition, regardless of scientific aptitude.

Seeking to combat the loss of diversity in STEM fields, a team from Arizona State University led by Page Baluch, the manager of the W.M. Keck Bioimaging Facility in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has developed a ">http://sols.asu.edu/rti/f2p.php">“Forward to Professorship” workshop, to be held at ASU’s Memorial Union on the Tempe campus, January 21-22, 2011. Download Full Image

The two-day workshop is intended to provide a range of individuals, most especially women and minorities, access to training, resources and network support to bolster success in obtaining and reaching tenure in STEM academic faculty positions. The deadline for applications">http://sols.asu.edu/rti/pdf/application_form_f2p.pdf">applications is Jan. 1.

“Even in fields such as biomedicine, where enrollment in graduate schools approaches 55 percent, you’ll find the number of women reaching full professorship is commonly less than 20 percent,” says Baluch. “This says nothing about those fields where enrollment of women and minorities in advanced degree programs starts out substantially lower. We want to help reverse this trend.”  

Baluch, who is also a board member of the Central Arizona Chapter of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS), says that those who could benefit most from this workshop are postdoctoral fellows searching for positions, individuals in academic contract positions, individuals in industry interested in entering academia and doctoral students nearing completion of their Ph.D. or searching for positions. Seats are limited, so she encourages applicants to apply soon.

The workshop’s speakers include an array of educational leaders and researchers, including ASU’s President Michael Crow, Duane Roen, assistant vice provost for University Academic Success Programs; Tamara Deuser, assistant vice president, Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development; Robert Page, dean of the School of Life Sciences; Bianca Bernstein, a professor with the School of Letters and Sciences and creator of the CareerWISE and ASU Regents’ Professor Jane Maienschein, director of the Center for Biology and Society and CASE and Carnegie Institute’s Arizona Professor of the Year for 2010.

Guest speakers featured are Elizabeth Gould, professor of psychology, Princeton University; Joan Herbers, president of the national AWIS and professor, University of Ohio; Stephen Lee, program director, U.S. Army Research Office; and Elizabeth Pennisi, reporter and editor with Science magazine. These experts, along with other accomplished ASU scientists and educators, will focus on topics such as funding, teaching, laboratory management, negotiation, writing and effective communication. (Download a PDF of the tentative program: http://sols.asu.edu/rti/pdf/f2p_agenda.pdf">http://sols.asu.edu/rti/pdf/f2p_agenda.pdf">http://sols.asu.edu/rti/pdf/...)

The Forward to Professorship program is sponsored by the Central Arizona Chapter of AWIS, Arizona State University and the Forward to Professorship team at George Washington, Gallaudet and Ottawa Universities, funded by a National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant. More information: page.baluch">mailto:page.baluch@asu.edu">page.baluch@asu.edu,480-727-0725

Herb Ely, longtime Phoenix attorney who is known as a tenacious fighter for the underdog, will receive the 2011 Martin Luther King Servant-Leadership Award from ASU on Jan. 20. The honor will be presented at the university’s annual MLK celebration breakfast in Tempe by President Michael Crow and the ASU MLK committee.

In more than 50 years as a practicing trial lawyer in Arizona, he has stood up for the rights of individuals who lack money or power to pursue issues of social and human justice. His deep sense of fairness is legendary.

Ely, who is with the firm of Ely, Bettini, Ulman and Rosenblatt, continues to represent citizens in all walks of life, both within his law firm and on a pro bono basis. His passion for advancing equality spans race, age, religion and life circumstance.

When Ely arrived in Phoenix in 1958 he immediately joined the Phoenix Council for Civic Unity, which worked to eliminate discrimination, and he became legal counsel and vice president for the local NAACP.  Soon he was providing counsel to black youths who participated in sit-in demonstrations, and he often joined them on picket lines.

Ely drafted Arizona’s civil rights bill that was signed into law on April 1, 1965, prohibiting discrimination in voting, employment, labor union membership and places of public accommodation.

He was active in the Phoenix Anti-Defamation League, launching a successful fight to eradicate restrictions against Jews at Arizona resorts. He participated in boycotts, pickets and strikes with Cesar Chavez and others in the struggle to improve working conditions and pay for farm workers in Arizona.  

Ely also won the case that established that Native Americans could use peyote in religious ceremonies. He has successfully fought for the rights of nursing home patients, veterans and the mentally ill. The list goes on and on.

His legacy in Arizona was cemented in 1974, when he co-founded the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, the most successful non-profit public interest firm in the United States. For this and for his other service to the public, he received the American Bar Foundation’s first Pro Bono Award.

Most recently he received the American Jewish Committee’s 2009 Judge Learned Hand Community Service Award, for his sustained contributions to the advancement of equality and democratic principles. Download Full Image