Welcome to the Office of University Initiatives Blog, an online journal that allows our office to share and reflect on our work at ASU.
Looking for a particular post? Type "blog" and any keywords into the search bar in the upper right hand corner
‘Tis the season for lists! It is the time of year when we log what we have done, what we need to do, what we have, and what we want. We at ASU are proud to top the 2015 U.S. News list of Most Innovative Schools. The joy of our achievements further inspires us to continue our mission: advancing quality, accessibility, and impact in higher education.
Recently, the Office of University Initiatives had the opportunity to meet with Director Ray Anderson, Athletic Director and Vice President for University Athletics at ASU. Prior to joining ASU, Director Anderson served as the executive vice president of football operations for the National Football League. His outstanding leadership and dedication to community engagement has been recognized on multiple occasions. In 2015, Director Anderson received both the Paul J. Tagliabue Award and the John Wooten Lifetime Achievement Award for his leadership and contributions to the NFL.
I just finished reading Paul Krugman’s book review of Thomas Piketty’s book “Capital in the 21st Century.” The review got me thinking about some of the fundamental questions of our time: how can free market capitalism work better? and how can higher education help? Notice I did not ask if free market capitalism works?
A couple of years ago I was at a conference on distance education. In one session Daphne Koller, one of the founders of Coursera, was discussing the rise of MOOCs. While many people in the room rolled their eyes at the idea of MOOCs being the future of higher education, I had a different reaction.
We welcomed Maj. Gen. Jon Miller, Executive Director of ASU’s Decision Theater Network as our Fellows’ Forum guest for October. The conversation started off with Maj. Gen. Miller describing his career path as ‘unusual’, explaining the broad spectrum of leadership positions he has held. Indeed, Maj. Gen. Miller’s national and international experience extends across sectors and fields. Prior to joining DTN, Maj. Gen.
Imagine a rubber band. It is not particularly remarkable, yet even as you shrink or stretch it to hold what you need it will retain its original strength and shape. Unless, of course, you snap it.
Recently, the Office of University Initiatives had the opportunity to have Dr. Allen J. Morrison, CEO of the Thunderbird School of Global Management, speak with us for the September 2015 Fellows’ Forum. Dr. Morrison came to ASU in 2014 as a Senior Advisor for Global Education and Executive Education Initiatives. Previously, he was a Professor of Global Management at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, where he was also the Director of the IMD Global CEO Center.
As part of my Fellowship, I had the opportunity to read and give a summary presentation on Clayton Christensen and Henry J. Eyring’s book titled “The Innovative University.” Nearly half of the book is a history lesson on the changing trends of traditional Universities through the examination of two distinct institutions-Harvard and BYU-Idaho. The other half of the book provides an extraordinary vision for higher education that requires breaking away from tradition. I wanted to highlight some of the key takeaways.
Last weekend we welcomed the incoming cohort of the Next Generation Service Corps at a 26 hour retreat in Payson, AZ. On day 1 I shared an overview of our agile design-build process.
Welcoming Remarks to the Incoming Cohort of the Next Generation Service Corps
Delivered on August 29, 2015
On Thursday, August 6th, 2015, the UI team had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Gary Grossman as part of the monthly Fellows’ Forum series. Dr. Grossman holds myriad positions at ASU including serving as the Faculty Chair of the Global Technology and Development program, as former President of the Arizona State University Senate and Chair of the University Academic Council. He is also a Professor in both the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes and School of Letters and Sciences.
Hats off to another very successful Frank Rhodes Lecture!
On Monday July 20th, 2015 Dean Elizabeth Wentz spoke to the UI team as part of the monthly Fellows’ Forum series. Dr. Wentz is the newly appointed Dean of Social Sciences in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU. Wentz is a Geographer by training and spent the morning discussing a wide range of topics including her interest in promoting women in the sciences.
She is a highly active, working mother with a black belt in Taekwondo, but these are just some of the many very interesting facts that we learned about our Associate VP for Planning and Budget, Lisa Frace.
