RESPECT, PLEASE
(In response to Athena Salman’s March 8 column, “New American Dream.”)
Athena Salman suggests that Michael Crow is trying to exploit ASU for personal gain. I must have missed something.
According to TIME Magazine, under Michael Crow, “the university has more than doubled its yearly research spending, boosted its roster of National Merit Scholars 61% and claimed a spot on three separate rankings of America's best colleges.
Meanwhile, the number of low-income Arizona freshmen enrolling each year has grown nearly nine-fold, and the population of minority students has jumped 62%.” Beyond this, 156 award recipients, fellows or academy members have been hired as faculty since 2003.
In 2002, the Columbia University website reported that under Crow’s leadership, “Science and Technology Ventures … has consistently ranked first, second or third among all universities nationally in the amount of income it receives in patent and license revenue.”
How Ms. Salman found this to be “overzealous expansionist” policy, I do not know.
In looking over President Crow’s curriculum vitae and speaking with him in person, I see a scholar-administrator committed to making Arizona State University a top-tier research institution which can positively contribute to the state’s economy while providing accessible, high-quality education to the local populace.
Unlike Ms. Salman, when I have turned to the administration for answers or advice, I have met with competent professionals who are well-versed in the challenges of running an organization as complex as the largest single-campus university in the United States. And, through my own research concerning higher education reform, my respect for Michael Crow has only grown.
Peter Charnell
Undergraduate
