Your Online ASU Legislative Connection
Volume 2 Issue 5

A Welcome from Christine Wilkinson

Dear ASU Advocate Friend,

This past month, I was pleased to be named president of the ASU Alumni Association. As an alumna who grew up with ASU, I’m excited to lead this great organization and to work with all of you. I truly value the importance of our advocacy efforts and look forward to advancing the university with you.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you personally for your on-going support and unwavering dedication. Whether it was emails to your legislators, volunteering at our annual “ASU Day at the Capitol” or making phone calls on ASU’s behalf-- your hard work definitely made a difference! At this time last year we had 298 advocates. As of this writing, we now have 1166!

We will face new challenges in the upcoming legislative session. But because of the solid foundation laid by your efforts this year, I am confident we can reach our legislative goals again! If I can be of assistance to you, please call on me. You can reach me at c.wilkinson@asu.edu or (480) 965-2086.

Christine Kajikawa Wilkinson ’66, ’76 Ph.D.
President, ASU Alumni Association
Senior Vice President and Secretary of the University

A Message from Scott Smith, Director – State & Local Government Relations

Shortly after the conclusion of the 2005 legislative session, we began focusing our attention on the fast approaching 2006 session. We began by developing a strategic plan to guide our efforts during Campaign ‘07. This strategic plan outlines numerous initiatives geared towards advancing our legislative efforts. The plan is two-pronged and focuses on both reinforcing existing legislative proponents while simultaneously trying to expand the legislative base of support for ASU by cultivating new supporters.

The Campaign ‘07 strategic plan calls for the recognition of lawmakers who continually support ASU’s legislative efforts. The Arizona State University Alumni Association placed an advertisement in The Arizona Capitol Times identifying and thanking the legislators who were instrumental to our success during the 2005 legislative session. In addition, we will present select legislators with an award in honor of their efforts on behalf of ASU during an upcoming football game this fall. The plan also calls for a series of strategic meetings with key stakeholders in the legislative process to communicate targeted messages. I will keep you updated as we implement key provisions of the strategic plan.

I should also note that ASU’s FY2007 budget request is already well under development. I will share the details of the budget request with the Sun Devil Advocate Network after the Arizona Board of Regents formally adopts it. You can rest assured that enrollment growth and an increased investment in ASU’s newly created Biomedical Informatics department will be high priorities.

Thank you for the continued support of our advocacy efforts and assistance in advancing Arizona State University!

ASU Downtown Campus Expansion

With plans for a Downtown Phoenix campus supporting 15,000 students, ASU has announced an exciting partnership with the City of Phoenix. The proposed expansion will combine mixed use, academic, artistic, commercial and residential components in the hopes of revitalizing Phoenix’s downtown district while advancing ASU’s ultimate goal of becoming a prototype for a New American University.

In anticipation of the expansion, the City of Phoenix has announced the formation of a Citizens Bond Committee in anticipation of a proposed bond election March 14, 2006. $233 million of the bond proceeds will be dedicated to the construction of the ASU Downtown Campus. This is extremely important to the future expansion of ASU. To learn more about the Downtown Campus Expansion and/or the Comprehensive Development Plan please visit: http://www.asu.edu/cdp/.

As members of the Sun Devil Advocate Network, you will be asked to participate in the efforts, which will kick off right after the first of next year. If you have any questions, please contact Diane McCarthy at the ASU Foundation at 480-965-7122 or via email at diane.mccarthy@asu.edu.

CapWiz Upgrades

I am pleased to announce that CapWiz, our on-line advocacy service provider has upgraded the services available to us. So what does that mean to you? It means we will be able to provide more opportunities to engage our advocates in the upcoming legislative session. We will be able to utilize new features such as call alerts, smart alerts and detailed information on state votes. We have been assured that these upgraded features are very “user-friendly” with no additional steps for our advocates. We hope you find the added features beneficial and we look forward to increasing our advocates’ usage of this great on-line resource. If you have suggestions or concerns on what features should be added and/or deleted, please send an email to Carlos Pastor at carlos.pastor@asu.edu. He will work with our service representative to determine the feasibility of your recommendations.

Closing Thoughts

I would like to end this month’s newsletter by sharing a comment that was part of the 2005 Legislative Report, which was presented to the President Crow’s Working Group by the Office of Public Affairs.

“Moreover we would like to express our appreciation to the ASU Alumni Association and the Sun Devil Advocacy Network for their advocacy efforts. The number of network members grew nearly 300 percent, from 298 advocates before session to over 1,165 advocates at the end of the session. Furthermore, the network generated nearly 300 emails advocating ASU’s position to legislators during the session. The Sun Devil Advocate Network significantly enhanced ASU’s advocacy efforts during the session and will only become more effective as its continues to grow.”

As you can see, we are beginning to make an impact at the Legislature. We must continue our efforts in preparation for the 2006 legislative session. We will strive to provide you with up to date information on issues relating to ASU. In addition, we are looking to take on a more visible role throughout the state.

If you have any suggestions, comments or observations you would like to share with us, just click on this link advoteam@sundeviladvocates.org and let us know.

Thank you,

Jeff Grant, Director
ASU Alumni Association

P.S. If you want to become an active member of the ASU Alumni Association, one of the best ways you can give back is through membership in the ASU Alumni Association. The annual dues of $45 offer an affordable way to help build ASU’s reputation. Visit www.asu.edu/alumni/membership or call 1-800-ALUMNUS.

P.S.S. If you have a different e-mail address you would prefer us to use, just e-mail us at advoteam@sundeviladvocates.org with your new e-mail address and we’ll make the change.

If you don’t want to receive further issues of this electronic newsletter, send an unsubscribe e-mail to advoteam@sundeviladvocates.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line and the message field.