ASU president honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

Arizona State University President Michael Crow was honored today with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation.

The GCOI annually celebrates Arizona’s leaders in technology innovation. This year's event was held at the at the Phoenix Convention Center. Crow was honored for his many contributions to the Arizona technology community during his 13-year tenure at ASU. Fittingly, this year's awards theme was “Future Forward.”

“Michael Crow’s entire career has demonstrated a commitment to employing science and technology to drive positive social, economic and environmental outcomes,” said Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council. “Arizonans everywhere can be proud that Crow’s leadership has transformed ASU into one of the nation’s leading metropolitan research universities and forever shaped our technology ecosystem.”

President Crow’s groundbreaking design for a New American University is fundamentally innovative and has fostered such technological strides as a NASA-awarded moon mission, life-saving developments in the treatment of Ebola, never-before-seen energy efficient white lasers, and the designation of ASU as one of two National Science Foundation Engineering Research Centers — technology hubs focused on solving some of the world’s biggest problems.

Although he has long been nationally recognized for his success in revolutionizing higher education, one of the most important tenets of President Crow’s vision for ASU is the importance of making a difference locally as well as globally. ASU’s charter demands that the university assume fundamental responsibility for the health of the community it serves, and the recognition imparted by this award is a testament to President Crow’s success in making a difference in Arizona.

ASU President Michael Crow speaks at the Celebration of Innovation event.

“The future of our state and our economy depend on producing the people, ideas and technology needed to solve problems and shape the kind of future that we want for Arizona,” Crow said. “I am grateful for this honor, which really recognizes the great strides we have made at ASU in creating an environment that encourages students from all walks of life to become highly adaptable master learners.”

Written by Ashley Irwin, Office of Media Relations and Strategic Communications