Visit to ASU West
The Provost of the ASU West campus, Dr. Elaine P. Maimon, gave an overview of the campus and its mission. ASU West is a comprehensive university, which currently offers upper division courses and Master's degrees. It was founded in 1984, and had its first graduates in 1993. Recently, the Arizona Board of Regents decided to allow the university to offer lower division courses as well. The first freshmen will be admitted to the school in August of 2001. ASU West is a learner-centered environment. In practice, this means that student learning is at the center of the decision making process in all aspects of campus operations. As a part of this, many professors are involved in research that may be accessible to their students as well.
Colleen Carmean and Dennis Isbell gave us an introduction to the wide array of technology available to faculty and students, in the classroom and in the library. The growth of technology use in the classroom was anticipated when the campus buildings were designed and constructed. ASU West has one central location for all technological resources and support for all professors and departments. It also offers training classes to aid faculty who want to learn more about how to integrate technology into their lessons. Access to library materials has also been affected by developments in technology. Professors can request information from the librarians through their office computers at their convenience. Frequently, students can access library indexes and databases directly from their home computers, and it is anticipated that more materials will be accessible through the internet in the future.
A faculty panel of three professors gave us advice about what to expect as future faculty members and how to adjust to a new working environment. We then separated into groups and spoke with professors in our own disciplines. We spoke with Professor Marta Pecuch-Herrero, one of the two ASU West math professors, who are part of the Integrative Studies department. Together, they are able to offer a variety of upper division mathematics courses to their students. They frequently offer evening classes because many ASU West students have full time jobs as well. Next fall, when the first freshmen arrive, the department will begin to offer the lower division math courses that will be required for students in all disciplines to satisfy the general education requirements. Certainly, the math department will expand considerably in the next few years as ASU West transitions to a four-year university.