ASU President Michael Crow discussed the University's record-breaking academic year, its approach to artificial intelligence and the challenges facing international students during an April 29 forum on the Tempe campus.
At the forum, moderated by Undergraduate Student Government Tempe Student Body President Rishik Chaudhary, Crow provided updates on University projects and answered student-submitted questions.
University updates and challenges
Crow opened with notes on the state of the University at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.
He said this is a "great moment for ASU," citing record numbers of graduates, research achievements and Pell-eligible degree recipients.
Crow acknowledged that ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East have caused uncertainty for international students and families at the University.
He also invited ASU assistant vice president of international relations and initiatives Holly Singh to address the topic of student visas.
Singh said he recently traveled to India to meet with admitted students who had faced visa denials.
"The students have to have this constant idea that things are changing, things are dynamic," Singh said.
With regard to domestic challenges to higher education, Crow said the United States is in "a period of intense argumentation" about how to move forward. He said he is relatively confident the country will find solutions this time, just as it has in the past.
Despite the turbulence, Crow said ASU is "weathering it as good or better than most," pointing to a strong incoming fall class and new academic pathways.
Crow also highlighted recent athletic successes, including multiple Big 12 championships and Keith Abney II becoming the first Barrett, The Honors College student drafted into the NFL.
AI
On the continued integration of AI into the University's operations, Crow said ASU's singular goal with AI is enhancing student learning outcomes and supporting faculty.
"We do not see AI as a way to reduce the number of faculty, change the efficiency ratios of the institution (or) change the way that we do things," Crow said. "What we're interested in is how can AI-based tools be available to those students that want to use them to enhance their learning outcomes?"
He said approximately 4,000 faculty members have been trained in beneficial AI use and that many ASU students already use AI tools regularly.
Crow also highlighted a course co-led by musician will.i.am in which roughly 75 students are building personalized AI tools, called "agentic selves," to manage schedules, support learning and protect their own intellectual creativity.
New medical school
Crow also addressed the launch of the John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering.
The inaugural class of 36 students, who are all attending on scholarship, begins this summer, Crow said. Each graduate will earn both an M.D. and a master's degree in medical engineering.
READ MORE: ASU medical school builds curriculum from 'ground up' to address health disparities
Crow said the school is not simply aimed at producing more doctors, but a different kind of doctor capable of designing systems that allow a single physician to perform at the level of many.
Two additional academic tracks are planned: a Barrett, The Honors College pathway that would admit students directly from high school and an online track targeting nurses, nurse practitioners and medical technicians already working in the field.
ASU London
ASU London offers three-year engineering and business degrees, aligning with the standard time for a degree in England rather than the traditional American four-year model.
Crow said Arizona residents and out-of-state students will receive tuition benefits for attending, and the center will also serve British and international students. He envisioned students completing a degree in the U.K. and then returning to Arizona for a one-year master's program, earning two degrees in four years at a lower total cost.
READ MORE: University suggests ASU London for Indian international students amid visa uncertainty
"Tell them to scoot over to ASU London Center," Crow said of students eager to finish engineering degrees quickly. "Get your degree in three years there, live in London, work on projects there, then come back here, get your master's degree in the fourth year."
Executive Vice President and University Provost Nancy Gonzales said ASU plans to expand its offerings in London.
"We, right now, are starting with engineering degrees and business degrees, and then in the future we'll expand into other disciplines," Gonzales said.
Campus life
Crow flagged student anxiety as a pressing concern, encouraging students to redirect energy spent on stressful news and social media toward their own goals.
Near the end of the forum, Crow said his long-term vision is for ASU to continue evolving as the New American University, a model built on inclusion, public-value research and broad community access.
"This anti-university thing, I understand it — it's a lot of people that are frustrated or hurt at the cost, all kinds of other things," he said. "But I think that we're essential to the future."
Edited by Carsten Oyer, Henry Smardo, Sophia Braccio and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at swang496@asu.edu.
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Quinn is currently a first-year Barrett student studying Business Data Analytics & Supply Chain Management with a minor in fashion. She is the Professional Development Intern for ASU's DECA Chapter and a part of Phi Alpha Delta in addition to being a politics reporter at the State Press.
