Your Online ASU Legislative Connection
Volume 4 Issue 1

Dear ASU Advocate Friend,

Happy 2007 to all of you!

Another legislative session has started and your advocacy team at the ASU Alumni Association would like to share with you some of the key funding initiatives that Arizona State University will be seeking to accomplish this year. They are the following:

1. Enrollment Growth – Nine out of ten students choosing to attend Arizona’s university system select Arizona State University. ASU is seeking an increased investment of $16.7 million in enrollment growth from the legislature for additional faculty and staff positions in order to meet the demands resulting from student enrollment increases and to maintain academic quality.

2. Biomedical Informatics – ASU is seeking an additional $2 million investment in base funding to augment the state’s initial $1 million investment in Biomedical Informatics. The Biomedical campus in downtown Phoenix provides a unique opportunity for the development of a world class Biomedical Informatics Department which will incorporate the studies of computer science, biology and engineering to organize and analyze medical data.

3. Student Success – ASU is seeking a $15 million investment to continue qualitative improvements in undergraduate learning. The investment supports increasing student retention, enhancing the quality of the curriculum, promoting a learner centered agenda and improving graduation rates.

4. Building Renewal - $24.2 million for building renewal investment. These funds will allow the university to address only its most urgent building needs, partially reduce the deferred maintenance backlog and lessen the need to fund interim repairs with long-term debt accompanied by substantial interest.

5. Del E. Webb School of Construction Facility and Investment – This initiative is a partnership between the State of Arizona, ASU and Arizona’s construction industry, to construct a new facility for the Del E. Webb School of Construction. ASU seeks an annual $1.5 million investment to lease purchase finance the new facility.

6. Autism Intervention – ASU is seeking a $2 million investment for the establishment of an Autism Intervention Program (AIP). AIP will develop a comprehensive, university-wide approach to provide early childhood screening, assessment and intervention of Autism Spectrum Disorder and related developmental disabilities.

7. New School of Criminal Justice and Criminology – ASU is seeking an investment of $1 million to enable the School of Criminal Justices and Criminology to respond to the many challenges faced by a criminal justice system in our border state with rapid growth and a changing population. This strategic investment will be used for the purposes of research, teaching, and expanded partnerships.

8. Phoenix Biomedical Campus (PBC) – Accelerated growth of the PBC is necessary to address Arizona’s healthcare provider shortage, foster vigorous development of clinical and research opportunities and establish new models of clinical care to improve health care throughout the state. ASU is seeking $5.25 million to cover the costs of programming, conceptual and schematic design for two buildings.

We also want to remind you that ASU Day at the Capitol will be on Monday, February 19, 2007 from 11:30-1:30 at Wesley Bolin Plaza. As a member of the Sun Devil Advocate Network, we’d love to have you join us and help thank the members of the Arizona Legislature for their support. If you can join us, please RSVP to the Alumni Association at 480-965-5041.

You will also begin receiving email action alerts from us so you can email your legislators on an issue that is important to Arizona State University. Please be on the look out for these important emails and most importantly, please take the 1-2 minutes to send your email to your legislators. It’s very simple, the email is already pre-written--all you have to do is type your name and hit send—and your email will be sent to your state senator and two representatives.

The more emails we can generate on a particular issue, the more likely we are to succeed!

Once again, I want to thank you for volunteering to be a Sun Devil Advocate. We currently have 1,371 members of the Network and with your continued support we can help ASU’s cause immensely at the State Capitol.

Go Devils!

Jeff Grant, Director of Advocacy and Programs
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 email address you would prefer us to use, just email us at advoteam@sundeviladvocates.org with your new email address and we’ll make the change.

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