Academic departments in universities have traditionally developed independently, devoted to teaching and research in a specific intellectual endeavor. Over time they have developed into islands – self-contained units that isolate faculty members from routine intellectual interaction with those in other departments.

This traditional organization can make universities slow to react and respond to complex challenges, operating at a pace that is out of touch with the rate of change in the rest of the world. Knowledge knows no boundaries, and problems don’t present themselves as cleanly as a biology lab experiment or a bridge design.

ASU has strategically recombined complementary academic units to create programs that both maximize core strengths and facilitate the creation of new knowledge. The motivation is to create a more fluid, responsive organizational structure, where faculty with different skills can work together to more effectively advance knowledge and meet the challenges of the 21st century.

In the last 10 years, 31 new schools and dozens of new programs and centers have been established, some among the first of their kind. Traditional schools, such as the teachers college and journalism, were completely revamped into new models of teaching and research. The Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering reorganized into five schools, each with a focus on a specific area of challenge, ranging from biological and health systems to matter, transport and energy.

As a result of this fusion, ASU now ranks 23rd in the world for social sciences, according to the Center for World-Class Universities. Students get to work with some of the world’s leading scientists in earth and space exploration and in biomedical research. ASU has the top physical anthropology and bioarchaelogy graduate programs in the country. Research expenditures have topped $360 million for the first time.

“We have built an exemplar knowledge enterprise that is focused on addressing global challenges through innovative transdisciplinary approaches,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, senior vice president for knowledge enterprise development. “Our outstanding faculty, researchers and students are engaging in use-inspired research, advancing entrepreneurship and transforming society.”

Since 2002, ASU has made remarkable progress in transforming itself into a truly interdisciplinary institution. Among the new schools formed are these:

• The School of Earth and Space Exploration unites earth and planetary scientists with astronomers, also including engineering faculty who are interested in the development of scientific instrumentation on Earth and in space. The school emphasizes the importance of technology in modern science and is engaged in a broad research portfolio as well as the education of thousands of undergraduate and graduate students.

• ASU’s top-ranked anthropology department expanded to become the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. Nearly a third of its faculty members are political scientists, geographers, computer scientists, mathematicians, epidemiologists and sociologists. Faculty members are focused on innovative solutions to complex societal and policymaking challenges, such as emerging disease threats and allocation of natural resources.

• The School of Sustainability is the first of its kind: a comprehensive degree-granting program with a transdisciplinary focus on finding real-world solutions to environmental, economic and social challenges. It brings together multiple disciplines and offers a course of study emphasizing experiential learning, research with faculty, community service and leadership development.

• ASU is the first university in the United States to create an interdisciplinary research institute entirely devoted to bio-inspired innovation principles: the Biodesign Institute. It incorporates an entrepreneurial research culture in which scientists can work across disciplines and in close cooperation with industry. The three major areas in which the Biodesign Institute is working to make a difference are biomedicine and health outcomes, sustainability and security.

• The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts is built on a combination of disciplines unlike any other program in the nation, comprising schools of: Art; Arts, Media + Engineering; Dance; Design; Music; and Theatre and Film as well as the ASU Art Museum. It is here within the Herberger Institute’s studios, labs and classrooms that students investigate today’s complex challenges, define new approaches to these problems and imagine new solutions.

• In his 2002 inaugural address, ASU President Michael Crow identified the development of an interdisciplinary media arts and engineering program as one of his top priorities. This formal link between the arts and sciences was established with the creation of the School of Arts, Media + Engineering, co-sponsored by the Herberger Institute and the Fulton Schools of Engineering. The school’s mission – to conduct collaborative research on experiential media systems that focus on large-scale societal problems and integrate seamlessly with the human physical experience – closely aligns with the design aspirations of the New American University.

“By encouraging intellectual fusion, both core departments and interdisciplinary programs at ASU will become greater than the sum of their parts,” said President Crow.