In a meeting with The State Press on March 4, ASU President Michael Crow spoke on the University's commitments in the wake of a new U.S. presidential administration, as well as emerging artificial intelligence technology, ASU's men's basketball season outcomes and more.
Science funding with a new U.S. presidential administration
Crow affirmed his commitment to the ASU science community amid worries about the presidential administration's threats to the National Institute of Health and National Science Foundation funding.
READ MORE: STEM majors gather outside Hayden Library in protest of federal funding freezes
"We're not of the view yet that everything is changing," Crow said.
According to Crow, it's too early to tell what exactly the impact of the federal government cuts will be, but the University is preparing for changes in funding models and aims to protect students and staff who may be at risk for losing support for their projects.
"Our overall approach right now is to make our case for why our projects are important and to do the best that we can to weather this moment of uncertainty," Crow said.
Diversity and inclusivity
When asked if he anticipates the University will parallel changes made by the White House in removal of science communication related to diversity, Crow said, "we're not censoring or changing any academic work."
As President Donald Trump threatens the funding of institutions with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, schools across Arizona have started to make changes in response. When asked how ASU will maintain its commitment to inclusion as outlined by its charter, Crow said, "We've never had DEI goals, but we're more diverse than we've ever been ... That's because we have a charter based on the idea of inclusion."
Free speech and College Republicans United at ASU
On Jan. 31, the College Republicans United at ASU held a tabling event asking students to report their peers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The event drew hundreds of protesters to Hayden Lawn and was condemned by community organizations and members.
On the day of the event, the University released a statement stating the event was not "in keeping of the principles which underline our academic community," but ultimately allowed it to occur.
Crow defended the University's decision to allow the event, saying it did not cross the line into becoming an act of intimidation.
"Our students that are here are legally here with a wide range of immigration variables," Crow said. "Our judgment was that communication that they were projecting was borderline, but right at that edge."
READ MORE: Division between Republican student clubs further after controversial tabling event
Crow also talked about who ASU's Situation Engagement Team is. The team, brought up in a February forum at the West Valley campus, is deployed during demonstrations at ASU. It may be comprised of University police, staff and deans.
"We have to be there to protect the interests of our students, we have to protect public safety," Crow said.
Housing access
Crow acknowledged that apartments near ASU's Tempe campus "(cost) a fair amount of money."
He said ASU works to build its campuses around the Valley Metro Light Rail so students have transportation from other neighborhoods and to and from Tempe, Mesa and the Downtown Phoenix campus.
AI and semiconductor innovation
Crow said the University is currently working with about "50 large language model systems" and is developing a partnership that would create a personal AI assistant for students and staff with capabilities ranging from assisting in learning to offering career advice. However, he said, the University still has yet to make any final decisions and is evaluating the cost of bringing the technology to the entire school.
Crow also discussed ASU's significant role in Arizona's growing semiconductor industry, which includes housing the NSTC Prototyping and NAPMP Advanced Packaging Piloting Facility.
"It will be the most significant thing in advancing the Arizona economy since farming," Crow said.
READ MORE: ASU announces semiconductor facilities, partnership with Department of Commerce
Athletic scholarships and basketball season woes
As the Sun Devil men's basketball team's tournament hopes dwindle, with a 4-15 conference record and one game left in the regular season, Bobby Hurley's position as head coach hangs in contention.
"What I am going to say is that we have tournament expectations for all of our teams," Crow said. "So if we're not on a pathway that has some chance of getting there, then that's when we look at whether or not the coach can continue to service."
Crow denied commenting on Hurley's position prior to the end of the season.
"We have great athletes on the team, is what I would say, and there's a chance that we're going to get one or two more unbelievable athletes that are attracted to coach Hurley," Crow said.
Crow also said ASU's decision to go all in with the maximum 34 full athletic scholarships for baseball in 2026 works toward a larger goal for recruiting and supporting student athletes.
"We're going to help college students to finish going to college while they're athletes here by providing, incrementally over time, academic scholarships to all of our athletes on all of our teams," Crow said.
Correction: A previous version of the story stated that the meeting occurred on March 5. This was corrected on March 7, 2025 at 11:20 a.m.
Alysa Horton, Senna James, George Headley, Sophia Ramirez and Henry Smardo contributed to this reporting.
Edited by Senna James, Abigail Beck and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporter at spbracci@asu.edu and follow @SophiaBraccio on X.
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Sophia is a junior studying journalism and mass communication. This is her fourth semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Nomads with Notebooks and Blaze Radio and interned for The Arizona Republic.
