At Arizona State University's Undergraduate Commencement on Monday evening, Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Rafael Reif told the Class of 2018 that they now had the ability and responsibility to hold open doors that will allow others to pursue an education and better themselves.
Before Reif's remarks at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix, he and ASU President Michael M. Crow sat down with Adriana De Alba, who graduated this week from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU, for a wide-ranging interview that included discussion of what each institution does to provide access to higher education and what the two university presidents admire about their colleague's institutions.
De Alba started with a topic that ties the three of them together: what it was like to be the first in their families to go to college and how that has affected their leadership at two of the world's most innovative universities.
Providing access to higher education
Mutual admiration society
Full interview
More Sun Devil community
2026 Pat's Run draws thousands of runners to honor Pat Tillman's legacy
Nearly 30,000 race participants wound their way through the streets of Tempe on April 11 for the 22nd annual Pat's Run. The event is the signature fundraiser for the Pat Tillman Foundation,…
Fashion Forward project blends community action, sustainability by repurposing donated clothing
Apurva Anand held up a striped shirtdress and knew exactly how to style it.“I’m going to pair it up with a belt and make it look a little more formal,” she said.Anand, an industrial design graduate…
Pat Tillman Honor Run in San Jose takes on deeper meaning for Tillman's hometown
Former Sun Devil Football star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman grew up in the rolling hills of New Almaden in south San Jose, California, surrounded by a close-knit community that continues to carry his…