Arizona State University receives national and international recognition and is ranked among the top universities in the world based on our innovative approaches and drive for excellence in all aspects of the university, from the value and rankings of our degree programs to our sustainability leadership and the success of our students and faculty. Due to the outstanding achievements of ASU alumni and faculty members, The Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranked ASU number 78 in the Top 100 world universities, up three places in one year.

During 2010-2011, ASU was ranked fifth by the Wall Street Journal for producing the best prepared and most highly recruited students for the job market. Forbes named ASU among America’s best colleges, and U.S. News and World Report listed ASU’s graduate programs among the best in the country, including programs in the W. P. Carey School of Business, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, and College of Nursing and Health Innovation. 

ASU also ranks as a top choice for international students and as a top university for minority graduate degrees.

• ASU Recognition of Excellence
• Wall Street Journal ranks ASU 5th for recruiting new hires from graduate pool
• ASU business grads outpace national average in job placement
• ASU graduate school programs rank among best in the nation
• ASU doctoral programs rank in top 25 percent in the nation
• Bloomberg Business Week ranks business school a top value
• College of Law ranks 6th in nation for best law school for public interest
• Graduate nursing program in top 4 percent nationally
• ASU among top choices for international students
• ASU ranks at top for graduate degrees to minorities
• Teachers College one of the nation's highest-quality graduate education programs
• Top undergraduate English programs at ASU
• W. P. Carey supply chain programs rank among top 5 in nation
• W. P. Carey School of Business ranks as a top American graduate school
• W. P. Carey School of Business ranks top 25 in world

Since 2002, ASU has significantly increased its commitment of resources to improve recruitment and support ongoing student success. With the 2006 introduction of eAdvisor, an online advising tool, and aggressive retention activities, such as ASU 101 and Summer Bridge programs, ASU’s one-year persistence rate for first-time, full-time freshmen rose dramatically from 77 percent in 2006 to 83 percent in 2010. Ninety percent of incoming freshman students who began the fall 2010 semester are on track to complete their degree in four years. Upgrades to the eAdvisor online tool allow students to view career outlook information in the online academic catalog and to directly access course and program information through interactive major maps.

Our mission to provide excellence to a broad and diverse population positions ASU among the top choices for international students, placing 20th in the nation last year among all colleges and universities, according to the Institute of International Education. In the past year, ASU’s record-setting enrollment included more out-of-state, international and transfer students than ever before and increased student diversity. Since 2002, total student minority enrollment has increased by 83 percent and freshman minority enrollment has increased by 147 percent.

ASU wins race to keep freshmen in college
In the freshman retention race, Arizona State University is winning the state championship.

ASU's athletics graduation success rate at all-time high
ASU has achieved a 76 percent graduation success rate among student-athletes – an all-time high for the university.

ASU among top choices for international students
ASU is a top choice for international students, placing 20th in the U.S. among all colleges and universities, according to the Institute of International Education.

ASU's faculty includes some of the most talented researchers and creative thinkers of our time. They are leaders in their respective fields and mentors dedicated to their students' success.

Six faculty members received the title "Regents' Professor" – the highest faculty honor awarded at Arizona State University, which is conferred by the Arizona Board of Regents on faculty members who have made pioneering contributions in their areas of expertise, who have achieved a sustained level of distinction, and who enjoy national and international recognition for these accomplishments. The 2010 ASU Regents' Professors are Rachel G. Fuchs, Devens Gust, Sally L. Kitch, Ana L. Moore, Thomas A. Moore and V. Kerry Smith.

The President's Professor Award recognizes tenured professors who have made outstanding contributions to undergraduate education and are chosen based on a variety of criteria: mastery of subject matter; enthusiasm and innovation in the learning and teaching process; ability to engage students both within and outside the classroom; ability to inspire independent and original thinking in students to stimulate students to do creative work; innovation in course and curriculum design; and scholarly contributions. ASU proudly recognizes Leona S. Aiken, Richard Creath and Amy L. Ostrom as the 2010 President's Professors this year.

Ten outstanding ASU faculty members were recognized for cutting-edge research, creative activities and excellence in classroom performance with the 2010 Faculty Achievement Awards. This award acknowledges faculty members who contribute defining edge research in their specific fields, and provide exceptional undergraduate instruction and mentoring to ASU students. The 2010 Faculty Achievement awardees are Jay Blanchard, Gerardo Chowell-Puente, Karen Gerdes, John Kouvetakis, T.M. McNally, José Menéndez, Ronald Rutowski, Gary Schwartz, Valerie Stout and Willem Vermaas.

ASU attracts academics who challenge convention, break through boundaries and develop new courses and new ways of thinking. That sense of enterprise is a common thread among the 106 new faculty who began their ASU careers during 2010-2011. The list includes the highest percentage of minority hires since 2006, and the highest proportion of women in three years.

Daniel M. Bodansky

Lincoln Professor of Law, Ethics, and Sustainability
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Daniel M. Bodansky is a preeminent authority on global climate change whose teaching and research focus on international environmental law and public international law. He teaches courses in international law and sustainability and is a key player in the College of Law’s new Program on Law and Sustainability.

Leland "Lee" H. Hartwell

Virginia G. Piper Chair of Personalized Medicine
Center for Sustainable Health
Biodesign Institute
Nobel Prize winner Leland "Lee" H. Hartwell is leading an expansive effort to establish and co-direct the Center for Sustainable Health at ASU's Biodesign Institute.The new center is the latest step in the evolution of the Arizona-based Partnership for Personalized Medicine with ASU’s Biodesign Institute, Translational Genomics Research Institute and Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Rajnish Mehra

E.N. Basha Chair of Economics
W. P. Carey School of Business
Mehra's research interests focus on capital markets, asset pricing and growth theory. His current research is concerned with the financial implications of privatizing the Social Security Fund and with the influence of bequests on the pricing of financial assets. Mehra is a co-author, with Edward C. Prescott, of one of the most cited papers in financial economics, "The Equity Premium: A puzzle."

Yasmin Saikia

Hardt-Nickachos Chair in Peace Studies
Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict
Professor of History
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Saikia will shape a new program in peace studies for the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict. Her research and teaching interests invoke a dynamic transnational and interdisciplinary dialogue situated at the intersection of history, culture and religion.

Osvaldo Sala

Foundation Professor and Julie A. Wrigley Chair
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
As president of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment and a coordinating lead author of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Sala is an international leader in ecological science and global environmental policy.

Daniel Schugurensky

Professor
College of Public Programs
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Shugurensky’s teaching interests include courses in adult education, sociology of education, education policies and politics, community development, research methods, citizenship learning, participatory democracy, and comparative and international education.

Tanmay Vachaspati

Professor of Physics
Vachaspati is a theoretical physicist working at the intersections of particle physics, astrophysics, general relativity, and cosmology. He has written extensively on cosmic strings, magnetic monopoles, black holes, and cosmological magnetic fields.

• ASU spaceflight research pioneer Nickerson receives top NASA science award
• Psychology professor Tracey receives two national awards
• Provost names Neal Lester dean of humanities
• ASU volcanology professor Amanda Clarke wins Wager Medal
• Ileana Orlich honored as Parent’s Association Professor of the Year
• Researcher's sustainability work earns NSF award
• Maienschein named Arizona Professor of the Year, recognized nationally
• Nobel laureate Lee Hartwell discusses new role
• 'Most Accurate Economist' to receive Lawrence R. Klein Award
• Species explorers to receive Linnaean Legacy Award
• Sommerfeld receives recognition for decades of research
• ASU professors honored with Excellence in Research Award
• Astrononmical Society recognizes Paul Davies
• Cronkite professor, Thornton, wins Educator of Year Award
• McCarty receives prestigious anthropology award
• Barnes receives award for leadership, mentorship
• van der Mars earns national physical education recognition
• ASU presents Shoemaker Award to NASA's MER chief scientist
• Ferguson-Bohnee receives 2011 Judge Learned Hand Award
• Five named fellows of the American Academy of Nursing
• Bell receives Sagan Medal for excellence in public communication
• ASU’s Archambault receives international award for online innovation
• Royal Society names Ondrej Krivanek a fellow
• Cutter named president of American Oriental Society
• Anselin elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Hanemann elected to the National Academy of Sciences
• Calleros, Gover receive ABA Spirit of Excellence Award
• Mahajan lauded as leading materials engineer
• Artiles named to presidential advisory commission
• Neisewander wins award for outstanding mentoring
• Lindsay receives White House honors for 'Recovery Act' research
• Allen recipient of Nurse of the Year Award
• Dahm recognized for exceptional civilian service
• Wilczek is ASU's 1st Origins Distinguished Research Professor
• Liu honored by scientific computing society
• Arizona school psychologists honor Caterino
• Cheng earns Gabriel dissertation prize
• President Obama to appoint Castillo-Chavez to national committee
• ASU entomologist Hölldobler receives highest honors in Germany
• Six outstanding ASU faculty members named exemplars
• Nine outstanding professors receive 2011 Faculty Achievement Awards

University administrators are engaged in supporting the mission and vision of ASU through their commitment to inclusiveness; pursuit of research and discovery that benefits the public good; and assumption of responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality, and health and well-being of the community.

Jonathan Koppell

Lattie and Elva Coor Presidential Chair, Director and Associate Professor
School of Public Affairs, College of Public Programs
Koppell's research concerns the design and administration of complex organizations, particularly entities that hover at the intersection of politics and markets.

Mitzi Montoya

Vice Provost, Dean, and Professor
Chair of the Technological Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management Department
College of Technology and Innovation
Montoya’s research focuses on innovation processes and strategies and the role of technology as an enabler of distributed team decision-making. She focuses particularly on the dynamics and performance of globally distributed work teams.

John W. Tippeconnic III

Director and Professor
American Indian Studies Program
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Tippeconnic is a nationally recognized expert on Native American education and has worked for the U.S. Department of Education as director of the Office of Indian Education and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. He serves on major national studies on Indian education, including the White House Conference on Indian Education, the Indian Nations At-Risk Report, and the Office of Educational Research and Improvement to determine the national research agenda.

• ASU appoints Diane Humetewa to advise President on Indian Affairs
• IT leader named chief information officer for ASU