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Visitors experience sights, sounds and tastes of ASU's West campus

ASU's West campus opens its doors for visitors to explore learning and fun.
Missed the fun? Next Night of the Open Door is Feb. 17 at Polytechnic campus.
February 12, 2017

Night of the Open Door continues in Glendale with CSI, chocolate, creepy-crawlies and more

Arizona State University's Night of the Open Door — five free open houses over the month of February — continued at the West campus in Glendale on Saturday, where the rain held off as visitors learned about forensics, the neuroscience of chocolate, black widow spiders and other subjects.

Scroll down to see video and photos from the event.

Young visitors tried their hand at an Army ROTC pull-up challenge, real-life Angry Birds games, personality tests for future careers, crime-scene investigations and Minecraft fun as the West campus' schools and departments opened their doors to the public to show off ASU's learning spaces.

Check out the Downtown Phoenix campus' Night of the Open Door event on Feb. 3 here — including healthy cooking demos, coral reef exploration, journalism technology of the future and more.  

If you missed the fun, don't worry: There are three more free Night of the Open Door events this month:

  • Polytechnic campus: 4-9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17
  • Thunderbird campus: 4-8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18
  • Tempe campus: 3-9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25

Read more about what's in store at each campus here, including information on the free app that can help visitors map out the activities they want to visit.

Get free tickets in advance online and enter to win a gift package. Tickets also function as an express pass to collect the free glow wand and event programs at the registration booths once on campus.

Check ASU Now after each event for photo galleries and video, and follow along as our crew shows all the fun on Snapchat (search for username: ASUNow). See photos from the Downtown Phoenix campus event here.

Top photo: Sebastian Flores listens for "Sammy's" breath at the nursing booth during Night of the Open Door on West Campus on Saturday evening.  Photo by Deanna Dent/ASU Now

Barretts endow O’Connor Justice Prize

$3 million gift will help establish prize as an enduring symbol of commitment to the rule of law


February 13, 2017

Following Arizona State University’s public launch of comprehensive fundraising effort Campaign ASU 2020, the university’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law announced that well-known Phoenix business leaders and longtime ASU benefactors Ambassador Barbara Barrett ’72, M.A. ’75, J.D. ’79, and her husband, former Intel CEO Dr. Craig Barrett, donated $3 million to the university to endow the O’Connor Justice Prize.

ASU Law, which administers the award, first bestowed the O’Connor Justice Prize in 2014. It recognizes exemplary leadership in rule of law initiatives and honors the college’s namesake, the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor, former U.S. Supreme Court justice and advocate for the rule of law and judicial independence around the world. President Jimmy Carter receives the OConnor Justice Prize from ASU Law Former President Jimmy Carter is presented with the O’Connor Justice Prize on Jan. 27 at the Arizona Biltmore by (from left) former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor; Barbara Barrett, former ambassador to Finland; and Patricia Wald, former chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Barrett and her husband, former Intel CEO Dr. Craig Barrett, have donated $3 million to Arizona State University to sustain the prize in perpetuity. Photo by Deanna Dent/ASU Now Download Full Image

Past honorees include Ana Palacio, the first woman to serve as foreign affairs minister of Spain and former senior vice president and general counsel of the World Bank Group who is an ardent defender and protector of law, human rights and press freedom; and Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, United Nations high commissioner for human rights, the first non-white woman to serve on the High Court of South Africa and a successful advocate for establishing mass rape as a form of genocide.

The most recent prize winner is former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who accepted the award at the O’Connor Justice Prize Dinner, a formal event held at the Arizona Biltmore on Jan. 27. At the event, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law Dean Douglas Sylvester announced the Barretts’ philanthropic gift, which meets one of the college’s Campaign ASU 2020 goals: to sustain the prize in perpetuity.

“This extraordinary gift will help secure the O’Connor Justice Prize as an enduring tribute to the rule of law and those dedicated to promoting it,” said Sylvester. “Since its inception in 2014, the awards dinner has become a signature event for ASU Law, drawing honorees and dignitaries from around the world. We are so grateful that the Barretts’ generosity will ensure the viability of this world-class event into the future.”

Ambassador and Dr. Barrett are unwavering supporters of ASU. Among their donations is a gift — the largest made to the university at its time — that endowed Barrett, The Honors College, which a New York Times op-ed piece called the “gold standard” in honors education. She and five other Campaign ASU 2020 volunteer principals have collectively contributed more than $50 million to ASU since the start of the campaign.

“The spirit of ASU inspires me and so many others as ASU takes the lead as the New American University,” said Ambassador Barrett. “Justice O’Connor personifies energy, team spirit, hard work, talent and dedication. ASU’s O’Connor Justice Prize annually honors Arizona’s foremost jurist, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, while it simultaneously celebrates another of the world’s leaders who also is dedicated to the values of justice, human rights and the rule of law.”

The ambassador’s connection to Justice O’Connor began at the Arizona State Legislature when then-Arizona State Majority Leader Sandra Day O’Connor encouraged then-intern Barrett to attend law school. Years later, O’Connor administered the oath of office to Barrett as U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Finland.

Like the initial two O’Connor Justice Prize recipients, Barrett and O’Connor are women of “firsts.” The former was the first female deputy director of the Federal Aviation Administration, the first female Republican to run for governor of Arizona and reportedly the first female civilian to land in an F/A-18 Hornet on an aircraft carrier. The latter was the first woman on the country’s highest court, serving from 1981 until her retirement in 2006.

Beth Giudicessi

480-727-7402