ASU sponsors free memberships to New York Academy of Sciences for faculty, postdocs, grad students

The academy's Science Alliance program provides access to programming, content and professional development resources


September 20, 2021

Arizona State University is partnering with the New York Academy of Sciences to sponsor complimentary one-year memberships for all interested graduate students, postdocs and faculty.

The academy, founded in 1817, has helped scientists, engineers and innovators pursue successful careers. Among the oldest scientific organizations in the United States, the academy has become an important and widely respected contributor to the international scientific community. Former academy members include U.S. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, and scientific pioneers Thomas Edison, Charles Darwin and Margaret Mead. New York Academy of Sciences Download Full Image

“At ASU, we are always looking for opportunities to empower our students, postdocs and faculty to advance research and discovery,” said Elizabeth A. Wentz, vice provost and dean of the Graduate College.

“Partnering with the New York Academy of Sciences through their Science Alliance program to provide free memberships gives our scholarly community access to the academy’s world-class resources,” Wentz said. 

Through its Science Alliance network, the New York Academy of Sciences supports universities as they prepare young scientists and engineers for successful STEM careers by aligning scientific training with workforce needs through webinars, workshops and other opportunities offered throughout the year by the academy and its partner institutions.

"Science Alliance works to empower early-career researchers to succeed in their careers and help design their future,” said Srikant Iyer, associate director of Science Alliance. “We create learning communities through cross-institutional connections and skill development workshops to be changemakers within the STEM ecosystem.”

ASU students, postdocs and faculty can sign up for the membership at nyas.org/asu.

Academy members have access to a number of benefits:

  • ​​Career readiness training: Career development resources, including online courses and webinars to help you acquire the skills you’ll need to succeed in a STEM-related field.

  • Webinars and programs: Discounted and/or free registration on all of the academy’s upcoming events featuring the latest research presented at the academy. For the time being, all 2021 events will be presented through online platforms while some previously scheduled events are being postponed to a later date.

Written by Jenna Nabors

Award-winning writer and scholar Clint Smith to speak at ASU's Marshall Distinguished Lecture Series


September 21, 2021

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University will host the annual Jonathan and Maxine Marshall Distinguished Lecture Series with Clint Smith, award-winning writer, poet, scholar and staff writer at The Atlantic.

The lecture, “A Conversation with Clint Smith,” will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, on ASU’s Tempe campus in Armstrong Hall. The lecture will be the signature event of The College’s inaugural Humanities Week — a collection of special events taking place from Oct. 18–22 to highlight the ways in which students and faculty are exploring the human adventure across time, culture and place. Clint Smith, award-winning writer, poet, scholar and staff writer at The Atlantic. Download Full Image

Smith is the author of the narrative nonfiction book, “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America,” which was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, and the poetry collection “Counting Descent,” which won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award.

He has received fellowships from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New America, the Emerson Collective, the Art For Justice Fund, Cave Canem and the National Science Foundation. His essays, poems and scholarly writing have been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, Poetry Magazine, The Paris Review, the Harvard Educational Review and elsewhere.

Smith is a 2014 National Poetry Slam champion and a 2017 recipient of the Jerome J. Shestack Prize from the American Poetry Review. His two TED Talks, "The Danger of Silence" and "How to Raise a Black Son in America," collectively have been viewed more than 9 million times.

Previously, Smith taught high school English in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where, in 2013, he was named the Christine D. Sarbanes Teacher of the Year by the Maryland Humanities Council. He currently teaches writing and literature in the D.C. Central Detention Facility. He is also the host of the YouTube series "Crash Course Black American History."

Smith received his bachelor’s degree in English from Davidson College and his PhD in education from Harvard University. Born and raised in New Orleans, he currently lives in Maryland with his wife and their two children.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Visitor parking is available in several lots and parking garages near the venue. Face coverings are required for the duration of this event. Due to room capacity limitations, seating will be limited and RSVPs are required.

The Jonathan and Maxine Marshall Distinguished Lecture Series brings nationally known scholars concerned with promoting culture through the humanities and a better understanding of the problems of democracy to ASU. This annual free public lecture is funded with a gift from Jonathan and Maxine Marshall.

Emily Balli

Manager of marketing and communications, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences