On Sept. 9, Provost Chuck Backus at ASU East announced at a faculty breakfast that he is retiring at the end of June after 30 years of dedication to ASU.
"I wanted to leave last year, but President [Michael] Crow thought I should stay one more year for continuity's sake," Backus said.
He said he felt comfortable leaving now that the momentum of his vision at East is stable. He said he could not leave "until the course [at East] is far enough along that it can't be changed."
Backus was also the chair on the recently revealed design committee created last year.
Backus was involved in the development at ASU East since 1991, when it was an Air Force base. He had already served 26 years in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at ASU's main campus.
Backus said he was most proud that ASU East was "designed to be a part of the greater university, but a unique part . . . uniqueness is what we have strived for."
His vision of making East campus an applied science focus with research facilities and professional programs was realized with 12 years of dedication under former ASU President Lattie Coor. The identity created under Backus' leadership was upheld when President Crow called ASU East a "polytechnic" school.
He lived on the East campus site for five years when it had armed soldiers guarding the entrance. "It was the first gated community out here," he said jokingly.
"He will be sorely missed," said Toni Ann Aguirre, executive assistant to the office of the provost.
Backus said the worst thing that could happen after he leaves ASU is "if ABOR, legislatures or someone comes in and says that ASU East should be a separate university."
"He's got such a personality; he's a cool character. I'm going to miss him," said Chris Burt, a sophomore in the computer science program.
David Hough, ASU East technical support analyst, said Backus was "easy to get along with. I fixed his computer twice . . . we'll miss him."
Sarah Hall, office specialist at the Administration Building, said, "I always saw him [Backus] at student events, and I've been here since 1997. He's very down-to-earth."
This year, Backus is teaching an engineering class at East campus on top of being an active member of the East Valley community and being committed to land preservation efforts around the Superstition Mountains area.
In regards to his retirement, he said he did not have too much time to think about it, but thought it was important for him to disappear to facilitate the transition for his replacement.
Reach the reporter at camardella@asu.edu.
