Biodesign. Business. Biotech. Research.
These are all terms that we at ASU have become increasingly familiar with since Michael Crow took the reins. We've also become more familiar with money. We've seen increased tuition, a $50 million donation to the business college, $50 million to the engineering program, and too much money to count toward the future Arizona Biodesign Institute.
But up until now, we sensed a trend, too: Lots o' dough and headlines for the techies and future business suits, but for the starving artists in the humanities ... well, there's a reason they're called "starving."
Today, that trend was broken with the announcement of a $10 million donation to the creative writing department - the largest sum ever donated to an ASU humanities program. We praise President Crow for setting a good precedent. This donation is not only a needed resource for the new Center for Creative Writing, but also a symbol that we finally are fueling some creative power behind this University's academic and economic engine.
With this money, the campus will see more of a balance. Instead of being rich in technology and poor in humanities, ASU will be on the charts for both. And we think that's something to be proud of.
But it is not an endpoint. After all, those candidates in the creative writing program are seeking Master of Fine Arts degrees. And there are many other fine arts and performing arts programs on this campus struggling for scarce resources, too. The dozen or so departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, in addition to the art, photography and music programs, make up a community of artists and scholars who deserve the same caliber of education that those in the creative writing, business and engineering programs are receiving.
Today's announcement is a big step in that direction and heralds in an exciting new era for the Center for Creative Writing. While ASU's creative writing program is already recognized as one of the top programs nationwide, the committed faculty will now be able to bring in exemplary visiting writers, fund endowed chairs, grants, fellowships and build a space to house the new Center. Because of this, more excellent students and faculty will flock to our campus to take part in the program.
And this is the overall goal of any university president: to gain recognition for his or her university as a well-rounded institution with a wide array of programs in high rankings. Now that Crow has pushed our research and engineering programs to these levels, we would expect nothing less than today's generous nudge to help the humanities to excel.
We just hope the money keeps flowing. There are many more academic programs at ASU that need saving, and we think Michael Crow is just the man to do it.
