Key points
- The Arizona Board of Regents met on the ASU Tempe campus Thursday.
- Members of the public criticized ASU President Michael Crow and the University's AI policies, and urged ABOR to pressure Aramark to accept a labor contract that will improve working conditions and pay.
- In his report to the regents, Crow emphasized the University's health programs and innovations.
The Arizona Board of Regents convened on ASU's Tempe campus Feb.19 to allow members of the public to express their opinions on current issues facing the state's higher education system, and to hear reports from ASU President Michael Crow, University staff and others.
From the start of the meeting's public comment section, speakers criticized ABOR policy and urged University leaders and the regents to make a variety of changes.
Public comments on DEI, dining hall workers, AI
The first speaker was Hypatia Meraviglia, a doctoral student studying geological sciences and a member of the United Campus Workers of Arizona union. Directly addressing Crow, Meraviglia said the University president had chosen to preemptively comply with a federal ban on diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
"Michael Crow, you chose again and again to abandon ASU workers and ASU students by pulling resources and programs that might be considered DEI," Meraviglia said. "When the Trump administration announced that they would ban DEI policies, you didn't even wait for that announcement to be tested in court."
Meraviglia questioned the University's protections for minorities and employees, referencing the assault of a queer professor on campus in 2023 and the recent secret recording of two faculty members discussing the University's alleged DEI policies.
In an interview after the public comment section, Crow denied Meraviglia's statement.
"We preemptively complied with nothing," Crow said. "We have been consistent for decades on being an institution which welcomes everyone."
Crow said the people who assaulted the professor were arrested, and the case was adjudicated. He also said the University is looking into the recordings of the faculty members, adding, "That's a terrible thing to do to someone."
Ongoing labor negotiations between University food service workers and campus food services provider Aramark dominated the public comment section. Over 20 members of the UNITE HERE Local 11 union attended the meeting, and several urged ABOR to pressure Aramark into accepting a contract that would improve conditions and pay for workers.
Maxwell Ulin, a staff attorney for the union, said Aramark employees had returned to work after going on strike the day before but were prepared to step off the job again.
"If the University and the Board of Regents hopes to avoid further labor conflict and disruptions on the University's campus, its contractor needs to come to the table and agree to a fair contract that ensures that workers can afford to live in the very community that they serve," Ulin said.
AI was also a subject of concern for members of the public in attendance. Nick Eustrom, an organizer with UCW Arizona, said ASU's new advanced technology fee is being "forced on students" and that the University's funding should support workers rather than AI.
READ MORE: ASU adds a new student fee for 'advanced technology'
"Members from all of our universities have shared stories about being told that AI is inevitable, and it doesn't have to be," Eustrom said. "AI adoption puts jobs at risk, is harming our students' education and making staff and faculty jobs more difficult."
State of the University
Later in the day, Crow delivered a report on the state of the University to the board and the public.
In the presentation, Crow and other administrators focused on the University's health programs and the launch of its medical school, emphasizing new approaches to health systems and the goal to clearly improve health outcomes in Arizona.
READ MORE: ASU to launch new medical school in 2026 with nine-figure gift from alum John Shufeldt
Crow also focused on how the University is implementing a variety of new programs.
New educational models he referenced included the ASU London Centre for Advanced Learning, which aims to blend U.S. and U.K. educations across multiple fields, and the Endless Games and Learning Lab, which focuses on using gaming models to improve learning outcomes.
READ MORE: ASU expands global reach with ASU London, set to open in Fall 2026
As with the public comment section, AI was a topic of discussion in Crow's presentation.
Crow said he shared the concerns raised earlier in the meeting, but he and other speakers also emphasized that AI would be deployed for the benefit of students and tailored to their needs.
"We're helping shape the ways in which OpenAI, ChatGPT, Gemini through Google … how they actually think about the education marketplace, because we are not the consumer marketplace," said Lev Gonick, the chief information officer for ASU Enterprise Technology.
Gonick went on to say that the primary objective for the University was, "fundamentally to prepare our students," with investment in AI technologies.
Edited by Kate Gore, Senna James, Sophia Braccio and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporters at sluba@asu.edu and coyer1@asu.edu and follow @samluba6 and @carstenoyer on X.
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Sam Luba is a Senior Reporter with the State Press, focusing on longer form news stories and breaking news coverage. He is a Sophomore studying political science and justice studies, and is a competitor with Sun Devil Mock Trial. He was the Editor-in-Chief of his high school news magazine. He is in his 3rd Semester with the State Press, working previously as a Part-Time Political Reporter.
Carsten Oyer is the politics desk editor at The State Press. This is his third semester with The State Press, having previously worked as a politics reporter. He is studying journalism and mass communication and political science.
