Women have played a crucial role at ASU for much of its history. They have continued to drive positive change at the University, creating the inclusive atmosphere students know and love today.
From supporting the creation of new colleges to driving forward advanced initiatives, women at ASU have made a lasting impact on the University.
Stanlie James
Stanlie James is a retired director of African and African American studies and vice provost of inclusion and community engagement at the University.
James' higher education began at Spelman College, where she studied sociology and history. During her time there, James was given an opportunity to study at the University of Ghana. This awakened her interest in African American studies, James said.
"Ghana is the gateway to Africa and particularly for African Americans," James said.
Later in her career in 2006, she was brought on as the director of African and African American studies at ASU. During her time as director, James worked on initiatives to start what is now known as the School of Social Transformation.
James said her concerns grew around the future of ethnic studies after the Tucson Unified School District's decision to suspend Mexican-American studies classes in 2012.
"I also knew that we needed to think of other kinds of ways that we could protect ourselves, which is how we got to working on what would become the School of Social Transformation," James said.
Various programs came together to create the school, including the African and African American; Women, Gender and Sexuality; and Asian Pacific American studies, she said.
"So what has started out as a way of protecting ourselves, as small kinds of units that could be easy pickings, by coming together and then bringing in the education, we became a powerful force," James said.
Retha Hill
Retha Hill is a retired faculty member at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
During her time in high school she focused on computer science and was a part of the school newspaper. She later went on to study journalism at Wayne State University.
"The more I got into journalism, I really loved it and it came very naturally to me," Hill said.
Hill went on to work for newsrooms including The Detroit Free Press, The Charlotte Observer, The Washington Post and Black Entertainment Television.
During her time at BET, Hill worked to create BET.com and increase African Americans' online engagement with the site.
"So that was my charge, create a destination for African Americans," Hill said. "And there were other people trying to do it, but we went in, we launched, we killed the competition and we emerged as the online destination for African Americans."
In 2007, Hill joined ASU, where she served as the executive director of the New Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab.
The lab allowed journalism students to work with computer engineering, design and business students to create digital media products.
"So any students in Cronkite or in the University that had an idea for a media related company, they could take the entrepreneurship lab portion and they would develop their idea, and several of them won Venture Devils funding," Hill said.
Under Hill, students were given the opportunity to gain real-world experience by developing apps for companies.
Hill retired from ASU in 2025 and is now working as the founder of AncestoriesXR. The platform uses video game technology that helps families understand genealogy.
Nancy Gonzales
Nancy Gonzales is the current executive vice president and University provost.
Gonzales is an ASU alumna where she got her bachelor's degree in psychology. She later went on to get her master's and Ph.D. at the University of Washington in hopes of pursuing a career in academic and clinical science.
"I then came back to ASU as an assistant professor, worked my way up through the ranks, held various roles at ASU, at the same time, watching ASU change and grow and become an even more excellent university over the years," Gonzales said.
As a student at ASU, Gonzales said she was inspired by the young faculty who were pushing the boundaries of psychology programs.
As University provost, Gonzales oversees the school's academic mission across all its interdisciplinary colleges and schools.
Gonzales has helped launch three new colleges including the School of Technology for Public Health, the John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering and the Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures.
Gonzales said being a woman of color and a first generation student has influenced the changes she has made at the University.
"That gives me a perspective on wanting to make sure that all students, regardless of where they come from, have an understanding that they can belong at the University and also that they can be leaders in the future," Gonzales said.
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Senna James, Katrina Michalak and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at dbell39@asu.edu and follow @dhemibell on X.
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Dhemi Bell is a reporter on the community and culture desk and is in her second semester at The State Press.
