Far from being an “ivory tower,” in the last 10 years Arizona State University has made deep community involvement a key part of its identity. The university goes beyond typical outreach activities to establish significant ongoing partnerships with cities, towns, school districts and organizations across Arizona and the world.

The desire to serve is fostered in ASU students. Last year about 14,000 Sun Devils participated in community service activities, performing more than 400,000 hours of service. More meaningfully, ASU students and faculty run three nurse-managed health clinics, work with entrepreneurs to start businesses, provide training for classroom teachers, mentor low-income parents, report regional news, develop sustainability solutions and provide testing for solar energy equipment and other devices.

The ASU-Mayo Clinic partnership is perhaps the university’s most transformative. The two organizations initiated their successful collaboration in 2003. Since then, ASU and Mayo Clinic have formed a joint nursing education program; joint faculty appointments; dual degree programs; and collaborative research projects in cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, cellular and molecular biomedicine, vaccine development, genetics and sensory motor coordination. In 2011, the partnership deepened when ASU relocated its biomedical informatics department to Mayo’s Scottsdale campus. Last fall, Mayo announced that all students at that campus would complete a specialized master’s degree in the science of health care delivery granted by ASU, believed to be the first such program offered by a medical school.

ASU also has taken up the gauntlet globally, developing research and educational partnerships in countries ranging from China to Mexico, from Ireland to Vietnam. Just as global cultures and societies are increasingly intertwined, so too are the economies of the world. Engaging with other countries is critical to the advancement of ASU as well as metropolitan Phoenix and the rest of the state. These linkages draw on ASU’s interdisciplinary strengths to amplify the results of research into climate change, health, water usage, renewable energy and K-12 education.

Locally and globally, these efforts are fundamental to the higher mission of ASU, which is to transform society.

“ASU has laid out the idea of the university as being one of the prime drivers in changing the world,” said Stephen Feinson, assistant vice president for global engagement. “There’s no option not to be engaged both locally and globally. We are all interconnected.”

The university, however, does not just transform society. Society transforms the university. Students benefit by seeing the larger picture of what they are learning, and they gain greater mobility in study abroad opportunities, internships and careers. In 2010-11 academic year, 1,574 students studied abroad, an increase of almost 14 percent from the previous year. Hundreds more worked on international projects, increasing their cultural awareness and their preparation for success in the 21st century.

ASU ranks 19th among all large universities for the number of graduates who volunteer and are accepted into the Peace Corps, and is one of the top schools nationwide for winning student Fulbright awards for study abroad.

One of ASU’s most successful transformative projects is GlobalResolve, a program in which ASU students and faculty design affordable, low maintenance solutions to health and environmental needs in under-developed communities. About 300 ASU students in engineering, business, design, sustainability, architecture and other majors have participated in the four-semester GlobalResolve courses in the College of Technology and Innovation, many of them traveling overseas to work with local residents in developing nations.

The ASU faculty also gains by working collaboratively with scientists and peers around the world, participating on research teams, seeking to solve common challenges. ASU has particularly strong ties with Sichuan University in China and with Technologico de Monterrey in Mexico, offering joint programs that include engineering and business.

Open for business in Shanghai

More than 700 Chinese executives have earned MBAs from the W. P. Carey School of Business Executive MBA program in Shanghai, launched in 2003 under the auspices of the Chinese Ministry of Finance. This partnership is invaluable as China has the second largest economy in the world, and its people are a rich source of talent and innovation.

ASU has received numerous national honors for its commitment to the community. The university has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll every year since 2008, and in 2010, it was one of only 10 schools invited to join the Changemaker Campus Consortium by Ashoka, a global nonprofit network of social entrepreneurs.